We humans have made some remarkable advancements to fight off old frosty, but I tell you this, there are some temperatures that we just shouldn’t have any part of. Man it’s cold out. When I got in my car for work this morning the temp was -2 degrees F. The windchill was -13. Getting near the Yakima records. My freshly showered hair froze stiff almost immediately until the heater finally started to kick in ten minutes down the road. The high today is supposed to be in the teens. At the very least, the one advantage Yakima has when it’s this cold is that it’s usually accompanied by sunshine. The better to see you with my dear.

I’m planning on driving back to Michigan late next week some time and have been keeping an eye on weather patterns and road conditions of my possible routes (90/94, 90, or 80). I’m almost guaranteed to hit weather no matter which route I go. I mean 196 just south of GR could be as bad as anywhere. It would be nice to at least minimize my chances of being stranded in a blizzard or freezing rain in the mountains though.

I’m leaning toward going the high route, I-90 to I-94, WA-ID-MT-ND-MN-WI, which may seem counter-intuitive, but I think actually provides more predictability than either of the other two routes that send me through Wyoming. I just get a bad vibe from that state. The I-80 route (lowest route of the three, WA-OR-UT-WY-NE-IA) especially, has hundreds of miles exposed to those gusting Wyoming winds. Too many issues with blowing snow and black ice, though really any of the plains states could bring that fun as well. I also could take I-90 all the way across (middle route, WA-ID-MT-WY-SD-MN-WI) which could be a fine option if the weather there looks better.

Really any of these states could have some spectacular winter event this time of year, so my plan is to check the forecast the night before and shoot for the least bad one. I’m anticipating that this trip will take a little longer than my standard two days. Shouldn’t be any worse than driving to Alaska though.