This could well be our 100th drive west to California. We have made the 350 miles (560km) drive so often we are no longer certain just how many trips have been made. This particular journey will take us to Santa Barbara, California, to spend Christmas with family. We left Phoenix in the rain and heard later that fog closed Sky Harbor Airport. California, on the other hand, was all blue skies and warm days. This photo was taken about 80 miles from the California border, traveling west on Interstate 10 from Phoenix, Arizona.

When time allows, I’ll never skip the opportunity to stop in at The Northwoods Inn, and so it was as we lost an hour on our up to Santa Barbara.