Every October our board fills with snowbird moves east: about 460 miles on I-40 through Holbrook and the Petrified Forest, close to seven hours of driving. Derek Osborn runs most of these himself.
A Lane That Runs Both Ways
Arizona to New Mexico each fall as part-time residents chase real seasons again, then back each spring before the desert heat returns. Derek keeps a rough calendar of both waves, so a booking made in August for October rarely hits a full schedule.
| Stretch of I-40 | What it asks of the crew |
|---|---|
| Mesa to Holbrook | Climbing out of the valley onto the high desert plateau |
| Holbrook to the NM line | Long open miles; a late-fall cold front can mean ice by morning |
| Into Albuquerque | Old Town and the North Valley bring narrow streets and mature trees near the curb |
Elevation changes the unload, not just the drive
Albuquerque sits close to a mile up, and a crew that spent the morning loading in Mesa heat feels it fast. Derek builds a slower unload pace into the afternoon rather than pushing the same crew through the whole day.
All five Matthews Movers trucks are company-owned and every mover is a W-2 employee — nothing gets handed to a New Mexico carrier partway through. Our other lanes reach Las Vegas, San Diego and Denver.
