In San Jose

I made it to San Jose on Tuesday, March 22.
It just started to snow in the Summit after Truckee.
Tuesday night it started to rain in San Jose. The forecast was snow in Reno, so I just made it to San Jose in time, before the bad weather (heavy rain in CA and snow in NV).

My night stays were in:
Buffalo, NY
Toledo, OH
Des Moines, IA
Cheyenne, WY
Salt Lake City, UT
Reno, NV

Nevada

Today's drive, from Salt Lake City to Reno was the worst part of this trip. A lot of snow between Salt Lake City and Elko, in the mountains. Besides the high wind in Nebraska, from Salt Lake City to Winnemucca the wind was even worse. My car's performance dropped from 25mpg to 20mpg because of the wind blowing from West to East. Fortunately there was no snow accumulation on the road.  After all, we are in Spring now.

In Nevada, I was stopped by a highway patrol for doing 78mph on a 75mph highway at 8:30pm. He let me go after seeing that I was coming from NY. So be careful while driving in Nevada.

 

Wyoming

Yesterday, driving from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City was ok. There was a little bit of snow in the mountain between Cheyenne and Laramie. Crossed Wyoming on I-80. There is nothing to see. Yellowstone and Devil's Tower are too far from I-80.

Weather wise, Wyoming was quite good. Just a little bit of rain.

The Weather Channel was reporting storm in Kansas City and snow in Flagstaff.  I-80 was a better choice than I-40 this time.

In Nebraska, I passed by North Platte, home of Buffalo Bill Cody.
So it seems the Wild West was here in Nebraska.
I'm staying in Cheyenne, Wyoming, tonight. It was almost 11 hours of driving.

Yesterday I passed by the birthplaces of Ronald Reagan (Illinois) and John Wayne (Iowa). I also passed by the covered bridges of Madison County.
It was very windy going from Omaha to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Highway speed limit is 75mph. Much higher than California (65mph).

Ohio and Illinois are just a huge flat land. No mountains.
I experienced the Friday afternoon traffic in Chicago area.
Mississippi river in Illinois was not that wide. It didn't look like one the most important rivers in the country.
I avoided the storms in Kansas and Oklahoma (reminds me of Wizard of Oz) but will get the high wind in Cheyenne/Laramie, WY.

First night stayed in Buffalo, NY

Second, in Toledo, Ohio

Tonight it is at Des Moines, Iowa.

Taking I-80

This weekend there is hail storm in Kansas and Missouri, and very hot weather in Texas, NM and Arizona.
I-80 seems to be a better drive. No snow, but with high wind.

change of plans

Change of plans. Close to Arizona it is 90F during the day. Instead of I-40, I'm going to take I-80. The worst part of I-80 is around Laramie, WY. The weather forecast shows only rain, no snow, so it should be fine.
I saw Niagara Falls. Very nice. Still there is a lot of snow at the base of the fall.

starting my road drive

I left Rochester today. I didn't expect to spend so much time cleaning the apartment and loading my stuff in the car. I didn't drive much. Stopped in Buffalo and stayed in Motel 6, Amherst. For the price, it is decent. My car is completely full. I cannot see anything in the rear mirror. I bought a wide angle side mirror to see my blind spot. The roof top cargo carrier was a little bit tricky to load. The straps are not that good. I had to buy extra straps to make sure it would not fall.