Sunday Stills – Stormy RV Trip

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Terri’s latest Sunday Stills challenge is Storm. She titled her post “Riders on the #Storm” and took us along on a some of her stormy road trips.

Terri’s challenge reminded me of a cross country RV trip we took towing our 5th wheel trailer. We left home in early April, 2007. Our plan was to drive north to Wisconsin and then travel west on I-90, visit Olympic National Park and then drive south along the coast on Highway 101 to see the Pacific coast in Washington, Oregon and California. What we didn’t plan on was driving through snow during the first part of our journey.

We started seeing snow flurries in Illinois. When we got to a campground in Wisconsin the snow was really coming down. The featured image is of our dog Blondie in the snow for the first time.

We left Wisconsin and started west on the interstate. We ran into a huge snow storm in Minnesota. The road was icy and driving on it was terrifying. We decided not to try to go any further when we saw a sign for a motel at the next exit. We parked in the motel parking lot hoping they would let us stay for the night with our dog Blondie. The desk clerk was very kind and let us have a room near the parking lot exit so we could take Blondie in and out without disturbing the other guests. Luckily they had a restaurant and we were able to have a hot dinner. We kept our eye on the weather and the road conditions all night. The next morning the roads were predicted to reopen later in the morning. The hotel staff was very helpful and let us have a late check out while we waited for the roads to open.

Snow covered trees beside the interstate in Minnesota

A farm in the snow beside the interstate in Minnesota

When the roads were opened back up we hit the road and continued west. We arrived safely at a state park.The rangers checked us in and since we were the only campers there and we could have any site we wanted. The water was frozen but there was electricity so we were good. We had quite an adventure camping in the snow in this beautiful park.

We had the park to ourselves at Blue Mounds State Park in Luverne, Minnesota

The next day we continued our westward trek. The weather was clear the next few days as we wandered around South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana without any problems. Our final stop in Montana was another snowy adventure. Everything was fine when we went to sleep that night. The next day we woke up to several inches of snow. We were headed west with more snow moving towards us from the east so we got out of there as fast as we could and arrived safely at our next destination in Washington.

We woke up to snow in the campground Garrison, Montana

We were grateful to have survived the storms and were able to enjoy nice traveling weather for the next two months as we continued our west coast adventures.

Many thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills challenge Riders on the #Storm

Every Day is a Gift

22 thoughts on “Sunday Stills – Stormy RV Trip”

    1. Thanks Ritva! When we left Georgia we had no idea there would be any winter storms ahead of us. We learned that April was not a good time to travel through that part of the U.S. Luckily we were able to get safely off the icy road and find a motel for the night and we could wait until the roads were clear to continue on our way.

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  4. So the moral to your story must be your truck had 4-wheel drive, Beth? I often wondered if trailers need chains, too. The snow adds beauty to the pictures, and of course Blondie looked like she enjoyed her winter wonderland. Your experiences staying in the motel and campside mirror ours with the kindness and hospitality given.

    You also reminded me that 5 years ago this month, we began living in our trailer for 2 months, while waiting for our house to be built. Some of those weeks it snowed and February we experienced our first 9F temps. I know what it takes to camp in crazy conditions, you’re one tough cookie. Loved reading this. Hope the arctic blast has moved on for you!

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    1. Thanks Terri! Yes, we had a four wheel drive diesel Chevy Silverado. Traveling in the RV was always an adventure! We went places we never would have gone without the RV and had many great memories we will never forget. Glad you enjoyed my story.

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    1. Thanks Judy! RVing isn’t for sissies! We were determined to continue with the rest of the trip and I’m so glad we did. After that trip we kept RVing for about 12 more years. When the camper had a flat tire on a busy highway we decided it was time to give up our RV travels.

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  9. Beth, with all the hype of the storm that’s due in our area tomorrow, you’d think it’s going to look just like this! I can’t imagine driving in snow and ice. I’m sure these photos brought back fond memories and a few moments of ‘I can’t believe we did that.’

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    1. Thanks Suzanne. The worst driving day was when we had to spend the night in a motel. Henry was driving in the tracks left by the truckers but it was too scary to keep on going. After that we made sure the roads were clear before we got back on the road each day. The temperature here will be dropping all day and predicted to be in the 20’s over night. Rain and some snow are also predicted for tonight. Fingers crossed neither of us loses power!

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  11. With all of the traveling we do on America’s highways and byways, Beth, we are extremely aware of and cautious when it comes to storms. I have no problem driving 500 miles out of our way to avoid major events. Still. we get caught on occasion. Looks like you got caught a lot! Blondie does not look happy!

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