Leaving Cedar City we made a swoop near the Grand Canyon but had to leave that for another trip. We had a nice look at Zion National Park from a distant overlook but had to leave it for another day as well.

Dropping down into Arizona we eventually hooked up to I-40 for the only extended stint we would do on an interstate. We had determined to make a large push on this day so as to have only one day left for the final leg to home.

That seemed like a good plan until Albuquerque when we discovered rain. This would be the first real rain encountered and we were now over 6,000 miles into the trip. After sitting behind a semi that had hydroplaned off the highway (and getting drenched in the process) we headed onward, stopping at Clines Corner to check on each other and on the weather.

Being stuck there for a while there was not choice but to have a burger, french fries and more coffee. I had been listening to channel 19 on the CB and to the NOAA weather channel and felt that we were getting away from the storm area although what was currently dumping on us would lead you to believe differently.

On a hunch, I called a motel in Santa Rosa and discovered that they had not gotten any of this storm. Emboldened by that news and the fact that the rain at Clines Corner had lessened, we pushed onward. Our goal for the day had been Ft. Sumner but we were glad to pull into Santa Rosa 695 miles later.