First entry of what I hope is may more.

On Thursday 12/29 we left on what would end up being a 1300 mile trip that would circle the lower 3/4 of the state of California and a little bit of western Nevada. We would head north on Interstate 5 then East on Intersate 80 to take us to Lincoln, CA for 2 days which ended up being 3 due to 80 getting closed on us on 12/31. From there we would head further East on 80 to Reno, NV then get on 395 South to Gardnerville, NV. We stayed with my aunt and uncle for two nights then continued South on 395 to Bishop, CA for one night. After that we continued South on 395 until we reached Victorville, CA and got on 15 South. From there it's a few different highways till home.

Thursday would take us from Long Beach to Lincoln, about 440 miles. No pictures from this leg because by the time we got to open highway it was night time and raining.

Friday 12/30 was spent in Lincoln visiting family. It rained all day but during the lighter moments we got outside for a little while.

Saturday 12/31 we attempted to get to my aunt and uncles in Gardnerville Nevada but were met with the closure of the highway due to too many people crashing on interstate 80. After hours just to make it a couple miles to the turn around point we went back to my parents house in Lincoln for the night.

Sunday 1/1/23 we started the new year with clear skys and and open interstate. After a short pit stop in Reno for lunch we made it to Gardnerville, Nevada.

Interstate 80 open and on our way

everything looked like a greeting card from the previous days snow storm

Once at my aunt and uncles we were greeted with the most snow the town had seen since 1997. The weather reports online were showing me they were expecting 1-3" of snow, they ended up with about 24" of snow in less than 1 day. Luckily my uncle had a tractor and had cleared the driveway before we got there. Once unloaded the kids were free to play in the most snow they had ever seen.

Monday 1/2/23 brought more fun in the snow. So far the warmest temp we have seen at their house is about 22 degrees F with overnight temps around 14-17 degrees.

View from their back deck looking west towards the Sierra Mountains

More snow starting to fall

Tuesday 1/3/23 we started our trip back south heading for Bishop, CA. The views on this leg of the trip were incredible and don't come through photos the same as seeing it in person. We were hoping to pit stop at Mono Lake but due to the snow most of the small side roads, turn-outs and businesses were closed. 

About 1.5-2" of snow fell overnight

Wednesday 1/4/23 we were treated to some more snow after breakfast. Nothing stuck to the ground but the kids enjoyed seeing it come down and catching it. Once packed we would hit the road for our final leg home. The clouds and threatening rain made for some good scenery through the high desert. This leg felt like the longest as the landscape doesn't really change much and the distance from Bishop to home was longer than we had anticipated.