Snowstorm Turns My 6hr Trip Into 32hr Trip - LIVING in my 4RUNNER

I want a break from the cold weather. I did it! I officially put in my two weeks at work. I couldn't sleep the whole ride. Time to say goodbye to Arizona. I am in Sedona right now and it is snowing. And I am now on my way to Durango to find some more snow. We got some people who are stuck. I would tow you out but I am not the vehicle for that. I made it all the way up here just to find out that the road is closed. Dang it. Another one bites the dust. So I was going to stop at Slide Rock and wait there for them to open the road back up. But I've decided that I'm just going to go tomorrow. Because I don't want to deal with everybody else on the roads today. Because I've seen enough and I haven't even made it 10 miles out of Sedona. I've already seen 3 or 4 cars stuck. Not worth it. I'm not doing it. Deja Vu right now. Because 89A is closed I was going to hang around Sedona for a little while. However, I am a day ahead of schedule right now. And I would like to keep it that way. So I am actually going to backtrack to Cottonwood. Hop on the interstate at Camp Verde I believe. And take the interstate up to Flagg instead of taking 89A. The interstate is open right now. So I am able to do that. And I think that's the correct decision to make. And the safer decision to make quite honestly. We are back on track. On the interstate. It is 1.02. We're heading to Durango after all. I'm actually not even mad about this detour. Because I haven't driven the interstate to Flagg yet. So I get to discover a new route today. And that's always fun. Well... I have unfortunate news. The interstate is closed as well. It wasn't closed. But it is now. So I am officially stuck. I have done everything that I can to get out of this valley. And I can't leave. Okay. So I'm going to make the most of this. And make some more food. Meal prep some more. Because it's as warm as it's going to be for weeks. It's now 3 o'clock. I'm still stuck here. But I did make some cheeseburger pasta. It was kind of a fail. If I'm being completely honest. The pasta just fell apart. Which was unfortunate. But it still tasted good. So I guess we could call it a half win. I'm not sure when they're going to open this. I kind of heard buzz about it being midnight. And I don't really have anywhere else to be. Like I could drive into town and sleep there. But it doesn't really make any difference sleeping here or there. So I guess I'm just going to stay here and wait. It is now 4 o'clock. And I think it's time for a nap. I just woke up. I don't know what happened. But that was the best sleep of my life. I woke up and I was like holy crap. I gotta go. I gotta go. People are moving. Gotta go. It was kind of chaotic to wake up that way. But it's 6.30. And I'm trying to decide if I want to go into Flag tonight. Or stay down here. Because it's going to be really cold in Flag. Turns out I am going to go to Flag after all. Because I just remembered that I need to pick up a couple things. Before I head to Durango. And places that I have to pick these items up from don't open until 9 or 10 in the morning. And I'm hoping to be long gone by then. But they still are open tonight. Which means I'm going to suffer in the cold tonight. I guess. Merging on a hill in the 4Runner is not fun. Where's my power? It's a free for all out here. There are absolutely no lines on this road. 6 miles to Flag. Almost there. Other than not being able to see the road at times. It's pretty simple. On my way to the evening camp spot. Which is Home Depot. My addiction to bananas right now is a little out of hand. This is my second banana of the day and it's only $7.45. So, game plan for the day. Drive to Durango. I hope. Who knows if I'll actually make it there. I mean, yesterday I only made it like 60 miles. And had the intention of driving all the way to Durango. But first, one needs the proper fuel. Which happens to be pancakes this morning. It's only frozen. Oh, it's not. I'm so surprised. Alright, full send. Here we go. I'm so impressed right now. Look at this guy. Oh, this is a hackle. It's off, I promise. This is epic. It is time. I'm officially saying goodbye to Flagstaff. Wasn't sure I was actually going to make it out of this place. About 5 hours to Durango. I think I'm going to take the scenic route. So, the mountains just came into view. And the biggest smile crossed my face as soon as I saw them. I love Colorado. Oh, it makes me so happy to be back. This is my first time in Colorado when it's been winter. The only other time that I visited whenever there was significant snow was October right after a major snowstorm. And I was only here for a couple of days. So I didn't really get to enjoy it. And I was on the front range. This is my first time in Colorado in the winter. I am going to go ahead and send it on up to Purgatory tonight. I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to camp in Durango or at Purg. But, there's not really any good camping around Durango. So, I might as well see what I can find up at the resort. Alright, so it's 7.08. I made it to Purg. And I'm going to go to bed because I'm exhausted. I'm not convinced that I'm not going to get kicked out of this parking lot though. There's nobody else here and I was kind of expecting there to be other people. Oh well, you never know unless you try. So, I'll see you guys in the morning. Okay, so it's 5.30 and I'm getting out of here.