DAY 11 Dec 30 2008 - LA to Cedar City , Utah - 439 miles

Left LA at 10 am of Dec 30 and reached Cedar City at 5.30 PM, Roads were clear and the sky was clear and sunny. No traffic jams except near Vegas where the traffic was slow due to the volume. Cedar city was -7deg C compared to 20 degC in LA. The plan for tommorrow Dec 31 si to leave Cedar city at 9 am to reach Pocatello, Idaho by 5.00 Pm. The roads are partly snow covered on this section and we have to cover 400 miles. wish us good luck

DAY 7,8,9,10 till Dec 29 in Los Angeles

JOE ON THE BEACH

Had gala time in LA. In four days and five nights we were in LA we visited Hollywood, Universal Studios, NBC studios, Santa Monica, Venice (Muscle) beach etc etc. Th temp was like 20 deg C, no rain. I wanted to play at least 9 holes at a nearby golf course but everybody (incl Joe) discouraged me instead took me shopping. OK more details later.

On Tuesday, Dec 30 at about 10 am we are checking out from the Ramada Hotel, Burbank and the plan is to drive 439 miles up to Cedar City, Utah and stay a night in a motel. The weather on I- 15 going North till Cedar city is seems to be nice and clear. Do not envisage any weather related problem. Will write in details later

DAY 6 - Las Vegas to Los Angeles - 250 miles

It was day 6 and a Christmas day - Dec 25 - Joe treated us all with a nice Christmas eve dinner last night. Thanks Joe. We had a nice 5 mile walk at the strip so we had some room for breakfast this morning. Left Vegas at 10 am on Dec 25and reached Los Angeles at 3.30 Pm. Good drive but encountered heavy showers just entering LA. En route we stopped at Barstow so that Joe and Anne can pray. The church was called Catholic church of St Joseph, nice church, we all prayed for giving us a good time. Checked in at the hotel at 4.30 Pm. Plan is to be in LA till Dec 30/31. Also received a message from Ranjit Salvi that he will be in Vegas on Dec 30 and 31. We will see if we can meet him in Vegas. The LA drivers are always in a mad rush and drive so close at 80 MPH , that's why there are 100 cars piles ups when there is an accident. We always try too drive on the right side of the road at 70 MPH. The max temp is 9 deg C but next few days its going to be 20 deg C so will have fun. There was a traffic jam at the opposite lane as LA residents were going out of town and we were entering town. so good for us.

DAY 4 & 5 - In the Sin City - Las Vegas

Spent 3 nights and 2 days in Vegas. Dec 23 and 24. Checked in Circus Circus hotel at about 6 pm on Dec 22. The room was good as we booked in the newer West Tower (rooms in other towers are horrible). Lots of extras like $1 per day for telephone, $11.99 for 24 hours for WiFi connection. My recommendation is not to buy it. Had lots of fun and watched lots of free shows. Kids went to the adventure dome which has some not so awesome rides (better rides at the West Edmonton mall) good shopping at the outlet mall, doesn't look like there is a recession in the US. Had a flat tire ( a big nail) near the hotel that was repaired quickly at a nearby tire service store for US$15. Good that the flat tire was not on the highway.

DAY 3 - SLCity to Las Vegas - 400 miles

Left the motel at about 9.15 am on Dec 22 and we thought that the drive to Vegas would be a good one but in fact it was the worst drive. The temp in SLC was 1deg C and was raining so did not matter much but as we drove further (about 30 miles) the temp began to drop to -3deg C and for next 100 miles or so (till Provo and Cedar city ) there was continuous snow fall . We drove at an average of 30 MPH and visibility was extremely poor. Had to put on hazard lights for quiet some time. There was no forecast for a snowfall but the precipitation came in suddenly as the area is in a valley surrounded by mountains. It took about 9 hours to reach Vegas. While approaching Vegas there was lots of rainfall near the Utah/Nevada border

DAY 2 - Helena to Salt Lake City- 500 miles

left - some section of a slippary road near Idaho falls. below- a better section of the road

Reached SLCity at 6 PM on Dec 21, Checked in City Creek motel in near temple square. good motel for 1 night $64. always ask for an AAA discount. Back to the road condition, the roads were horrible for 50 miles out of the 500. Lots of blowing snow in Idaho Falls so the visibility was poor. one good thing was everybody was driving at 40 miles per hour except a few pick up truck drivers who would overtake from left blowing snow on my windshild. P lan is to drive to Las Vegas from Salt Lake city and check in at the Circus Circus hotel. We should be in Vegas by 6 PM of Dec 22

Day 1 Calgary to Helena - 400 miles

Left - I -15 road condition - not bad
Below - Snow around our home

The first day was full of excitement with slight uncertainty as we were not sure about the road conditions. We left at 10 am and were on hwy 2 S in 20 minutes. The road was pretty good with some snow on the shoulders. the average speed was about 100 kms /hour and reached Coutts/sweetgrass border post at 1 Pm. Spent an hour in the line up at the border and caught the US I -15 to reach Helena at 6.30 PM. Plan was to keep driving til Butte but those 50 miles from Helena could feel very long - as we were very tired. The road conditions from Sweet grass to great falls was excellent except the 40 mile mountainous stretch just before Helena. Stayed at the Quality Inn who charged $100Us for a room. Good room with WiFi connection. Had a quick 2 tots of Bacardi gold which felt relaxing. After dinner had a quick workout and am ready for bed. Plan for day 2 - Dec 21 is to drive up to Salt lake city.

Day 0 Dec 19 2009

We are all set, full tank of gas, dry food, winter clothing and blankets and am ready to go. Plan is to leave Calgary by 10 am on Dec 20 and be on Hwy 2 south by 10.30 am, reach Hwy 4 South - Coutts canadian border/sweetgrass US border by 1.30 pm. Then starts the US Hwy I-15 South to Helena and Butte (both in Montana). Hope to reach Butte by 6 Pm and stay overnight at one of the motels. Do not wish to drive later than 6PM of Dec 20.

2008 YEAR END WINTER ROAD TRIP

Hi, Starting morning of Saturday, December 20, we will be on our two weeks long 2008 winter trip from Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Los Angeles, California, US - a 5000 kms plus return trip. We would be crossing Alberta into Montana, Idaho , Utah, Nevada and California. Will be posting more tommorrow and every night so please stay tuned.