Hi All & Merry Christmas

After moving to Florida from West Virginia 23 years ago, the last thing I want is to head north in the winter time.

But, with our daughter's graduation happening on Dec 14th in Flagstaff Az how could I say no just because it was going to be freezing?

And so this winter odyssey began.

6:11am Dec 8th, the Mini is packed, or should I say stuffed. Battery powered scooter, two duffel bags, Necessity bag, towels, rags and a cooler full of diet coke and bottled water, not to mention the air pump, tire repair kit, rachet with socket to fit the lugs, spare belt, flashlight and of course a roll of racer's tape. Duct tape that is. A stop for coffee before jumping on the interstate and we're off. 13 hours and 758 miles later were in Lafayette, La.

Day two were up and out the door at 6:16am. The weather is warm and I have shorts on. The plan is to make Ft Stockton our second night's stay. At 6:15pm we roll into our motel and while we knew it was getting colder outside, the 39 degrees really blew up my shorts for an unwanted Texas welcome. 730 miles in 13 hours. I was sure we were driving much faster than this.

Day three was a short trip to Tucson to visit with friends for a couple days. Average Dec temps in Tucson are 65 degrees. Not this time, as the daily highs were in the low 40s.

Day 5, were out the door at 7:30am heading for the Verde Canyon Railroad in Clarksdale. Clarksdale is between Phoenix and Flagstaff. The elevation is not as high as Flagstaff, so while the temps were in the 40s, there was no snow to be seen on the tops of the mountains. The train ride is 4 hours total. Magnificent mountains and valley. We even seen a moose on the return trip. Aroung 5:30pm, we're back in the Mini and heading up rt 17 to Flagstaff. Did I mention, Flagstaff had 17 inches of snow the day before with a low temp of "1" degree? A we travel north, the temp gauge is steadily falling the closer we get to Flagstaff. At one point getting down to 14 degrees. Once checked into the motel we meet up with the daughter and kids for some dinner at Cracker Barrel.

The following morning, we're up around 8 and I go out to warm the Mini. Hit the starter and the Mini fires right up. At 5 degrees I'm glad to see the Mini has the ability to come alive. But wait, there is a problem Houston. The gearshift is stuck, frozen in place. I can't get it to budge. It's stuck in first gear. What do I do? Well, while holding the clutch to the floor, I call Downtown Mini in Orlando. Being they are in Florida, they're no help but offered to find a local dealer. The dealer was in Las Vegas! So, thanks but no thanks. By now, the wife has joined me and found the predicament we were in. A few choice words by me, (no help) and a prayer by the wife and finally the shifter loosened up and all was well for the day.

Each of the following days we stayed in Flagstaff, 5 in all, the shifter was frozen each morning. I started leaving the trans in neutral at night so I could start the Mini and not have to hold the clutch in until the motor warmed up enough to free the shifter.

On the way back towards Florida, we traveled through Safford Az and Mount Graham. 10,000 feet high. Safford is where Trish lived before I coaxed her to join me in Florida and so Mt Graham is a favorite place of her's.

With no snow tires or chains, we headed up Mt Graham, heavy snow in site and all. Most of the road was clear but there was still plenty of snow and ice to navigate. The only obsticle that stopped us was the gate around 9,000 feet that stated the road was closed. It had taken about an hour to reach the gate and thus another hour to traverse the mountain back to the bottom.

On the second day leaving Las Cruces, NM, I decided we weren't stopping in Texas and thus, 920 miles later we finally bedded down at the Hampton Inn in Sulpher La.

Leaving Sulpher at 7am, I smelled swamp land and 846 miles later we were back home in Winter Springs at 9:30pm.

4,827 miles
173 gals fuel
Avg cost $3.17 gal
Avg MPG 27.81

Other that the frozen shifter each morning while in Flagstaff, the Mini plugged along like a trooper.

The Valentine saved us numerous times.

So after hundreds of pictures and great memories, the Corvette is back up on the lift after it's week of use before the trip and the Mini is all cleaned up, ready to go back into action as the daily transportation.

Enjoyable daily transportation that is.