Day 1 - Tuesday January 13

The day dawned with a new layer of snow and additional work for the snow removal crew. With the new snow and wind forecast for the day we decided to make a late start today to let the roads get better or wait until tomorrow. So we continued packing and reviewing what we had already packed - a few things got rejected but not much. After my nap, I saw my favorite pillows wrapped and awaiting placement in the trailer - at that point I realized that today was the day! We finally made our get-away at about 5pm - in time to see a beautiful sunset. First stop was Jim & Kay Piper's in Waldo, WI where we dropped off Cathey's African violets and received a fine supper. We departed the Piper abode at about 7pm and headed south on Hwy 57. There were still slippery spots and only the right lane was mostly clear until we merged with I-43, then the road conditions improved and were very good from Milwaukee to Rochelle, IL. We stopped briefly in Rochelle and when we got back on the road I noticed it was beginning to snow. Before long it was snowing hard and we only continued on to Mendota, IL and found a motel.