If you’ve come to read about another great road trip where we hightail it outta Wisconsin for some of its winter – well, you’re outta luck. If we were typical snowbirds and were heading to our winter home or packing up our RV for a parking spot in Florida or Arizona (staying put until the crocuses pop up back home) we probably would have gone ahead with our plans. Since our road trips consist of hopping from place to place – with hotel, timeshare, family and friend stays – we opted not to risk it. We cancelled months of planning in several fell-swoops – out of an abundance of caution for reasons I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about.

First Time was a Charm

About this time two years ago (2019), we were making final preparations for our very first retirement road trip where we would travel around and see the sights, staying put for a week or so and then hitting the road again. We packed everything we couldn’t live without in the back of our Ford Edge and headed off to the southwest, with stops all the way to Arizona and stops all the way back. Extreme weather across the entire country left us in jackets and jeans – or at the very least – chilly in our flip-flops in Arizona, but once we hit the higher elevations in Utah, our winter coats and boots came back out. Our family back home offered very little sympathy, as they battled frigid temperatures in our absence.

As hard as it was to beat the cold rain and fog in Zion (for the ambiance) and the beauty of the snow on the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, our intention was to get away from that stuff! Please check out our itinerary at the end of Escape the Tundra – Finale and click at the beginning to view lots of pictures of the great southwest, with special attention to Zion and Bryce!

Second Time was a Charm, although cut short

Our second road trip in 2020 took us southeast – mostly to Florida, with two weeks on the beautiful island of Aruba. We saw plenty of long-legged birds, gators and lighthouses and enjoyed some history and lots of relaxation with sand between our toes, all while our family’s teeth were chattering back home. Visit YouTube to see a slideshow of my favorite photos along with a song I love.

An itinerary contains links to blogposts on the Deep Freeze Recap. We really had a wonderful trip and there was so much more to see in the Sunshine State than we had originally thought. We were so looking forward to our third trip – back to the southeast but with new stops along the way. As we got closer to departure, we knew it was not going to happen.

Since it’s hard for me to stay inside for long, especially when there’s good stuff to see out in nature, I’ll pretend we’re on a road trip and share snow and winter scenes from our beloved Wisconsin over the next several months.

Hoar Frost? Who knew!

I had never heard of hoar frost until 2021, and what a beautiful phenomenon it is! For about a week, the trees would provide a beautiful backdrop for the drive in to work, provided you had to make that trip.

“Hoar frost forms when water vapor in the air comes in contact with solid surfaces that are already below the freezing point. Ice crystals form immediately, and the ice continues to grow as more water vapor is frozen.”

I’m sure there will be plenty of new-to-me phenomenons as I pay closer attention to the beauty of winter in Wisconsin, so keep a close eye on this blog. I just may win myself over and stay home next winter. Strike that. A plan is already in the works for another trip southwest.

Next up: Winter Continues

Happy trails,
Barb