Thursday, December 31, 2015

Two Days and I'm back.

Of course you all knew I wasn't going  be able to sit there and watch the snow very long....  It did stop snowing by about 5 pm, and I went over to my son Ben's house to announce I would leave in the morning...  I drove in 4 wheel drive, but the plows were out on the major roads...

The next morning it seemed to clear for a little while and the sun came out...  So I loaded the Jeep and shut the house down...   I drove in 4 wheel drive until I got to a major highway where I shifted into high 2 wheel and bolted for the interstate...

The highway had a number of folks that had recently slid off into the median, and they were still standing next to their cars,  wondering what to do next...  The Jeep didn't falter or slide a bit...

Once headed South on the Turnpike I came upon a fellow standing in the median talking to another driver in the opposite lane...  Then rounding the corner, I found his semi truck laying over on its passenger side in the ditch..  The dirty side and wheels were facing me...  I'll bet that will call for a new pair of shorts....   But he seemed OK...  I pressed on...

As I got closer to Wichita, the sun went completely under and it was clear that their storm event was an Ice Storm with not nearly as much snow...  Drippy sloppy slushy mess as I stopped at a McDonalds for bathroom and a burger...

While the sun never did come back out, the highway became dryer the farther West I went.  We stopped in the rest area at Bloom, Ks, and Biscuit got her walk in..  She seems to like this place as its like a little park, but the smells cause her to be quick about the stop.

Onward, Guymon, Ok, and then Dalhart, Tx..  Where a 6 inch sub called my name.  It was dark by then, and I didn't realize that the snow on the ground had increased...   By Tucumcari, Nm, it was at least ten inches...  That's about 580 miles, so I got a motel room... I've stayed there so much, that all I had to do was tell the fellow my phone number and give him a credit card...

I was in that room for about 9 hours, and with a fresh shower and hot coffee biscuit and I were on the road again the next morning...  I 40 was covered in that white salt road deicer powder....  Some folks were managing so slip and slide in that stuff..  Several cars were again in the median with their drivers looking perplexed...  But the sun was out and for the most part the roads were clear.

Things were sloppy in Albuquerque, but I only stopped for gas...  In Gallup, I stopped for another 6 inch sub..  Once I made Holbrook, I stopped and broke the ice off of the Jeeps hood as the temperature was now above freezing for the first time...

With only 180 miles from there and still the middle of the afternoon, we headed South over the Mongollon rim...  There was some snow and wet roads up there, and I took a rock right in the middle of the windshield...  So that made the trip a little more costly...

It was 57 when I arrived here at the house, and I was back in a light sweat shirt..  But the people in Wal Mart last night had winter parka's on....  A matter of your perspective I'm sure..

Retired Rod

4 comments:

  1. So glad to hear you are safely back. And the weather is going to warm up this week-end just for you. Happy New Year. Talk to you in 2016.

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  2. Glad you made it back safely. Hope you have a Happy New Year.

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  3. Glad you made it safely. You might want to replace the windshield yourself without turning it in on your insurance. I didn't realize a windshield is an accident on your insurance. I've since taken off glass coverage.

    ReplyDelete

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