Mother Nature is breathing down our backs. More on that in a bit - let's start this post with a photo of my handsome boy today...
Ah, that is soothing for me. Now, back to the day... Joan was up at 4:30 this morning... so, we were all up at 4:30 this morning. Ruf looked at me and said, "What the hell?"
I told him, "We have to make some miles, buddy - settle in."
It was cold and dark when we left; gassed up and pointed things south. A straight shot today: down US 81, which turns into I-135, which turns into I-35. Looking to the east, the sun lighting up the horizon...
Just before Wichita, KS, the weather changed...
Fortunately, it had warmed up to 41º by that point, so it wasn't freezing rain. Made a mess of the coach and car. Rolling into Oklahoma, the rain let up and the temperature jumped 10º. Oklahoma City seemed unusually busy with traffic, and their roads are beat to hell (from all the traffic). Some of it felt like a constant rumble strip.
The winter storm is all over the media. So far, we have managed to stay ahead of it. This is supposed to be rain, turning to freezing rain, turning to a heavy wet snow. We did our longest day today, another 10 hours of driving. Along the way, we saw a couple caravans of utility bucket trucks heading north.
Our goal for the day was to make it to our favorite casino RV park on the Texas/Oklahoma border. No reservations, no problem - it isn't very full. This area is supposed to get the first of the storm by noon tomorrow - we should be well down the road by then, but it is following our route. No doubt we are going to get rained on through Austin and San Antonio, but the temps should be above freezing. It will be another long day tomorrow, if we have it in us and Mother Nature doesn't rush her march south.
Today, we were into the park in time for Rufus to get a walk...
And the opportunity for me to get a few shots of the motorhome (dirty from the rain we went through, but still looking good)...
I had heat on in the motorhome until the last 100 miles or so. Joan ran the air conditioner when we got down - just to make sure everything on it is working. Yep, damn near froze me out, and it is quieter than the a/c unit we had.
We'll be showering tonight, then turning in early. If we get up and the temperatures aren't below freezing, we'll head out. The low for tonight here is supposed to be in the upper 30s - the local TV stations are warning people about how to deal with this storm. Last year in February, the whole state of Texas got hammered by a winter storm that went all the way to the Tropical Tip and kept us in the deep freeze for weeks; wide spread power outages. It was ugly. I'm thinking the media and governments are trying to be better prepared this time around. This storm will stretch from New Mexico, across most of Texas and all the way to the northeast part of the country.
If we can get out ahead of the storm, we'll be rolling early. Another 10 hour driving day will put us home on Thursday. So much for a "leisurely trip home."
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On the local TV stations, we just heard that school districts from Dallas and northward are already cancelling school for Thursday and Friday due to the winter storm. This isn't going to be pretty.
2 comments:
Long driving days are no fun, but being stuck in the middle of winter storms is even less so. And I say that as someone who used to not blink twice about driving eight hours between Anchorage and Fairbanks in the winter at -40°F. My last trip from Michigan back to Idaho (family emergency) had me starting out on I-90 planning for the northern route, then diverting south to I-80 when Rapid City was closed by storms, then further south to I-70 via Denver and Vail before I could finally turn northward again in Utah. Glad to see Rufus having some good travel days and quality time with Mom and Dad in the RV. He's a good boy, you know.
Duke reminds me a lot of Rufus - he is a big fun-loving cuddly boy that only wants to be where the people are, and to snuggle. We're still playing "cat herder" as Lucy and Duke don't want to get along -- yet. Each gets time in different parts of the house with people and are getting used to closed doors. But every time they see each other directly it turns into a "cat battery". Cathode and anode = sparks flying. But we will be patient and give each of these great cats all the time they need to adapt. My hope is that things settle out by the end of March, when Alice leaves for ten days in Hawaii and Aloha Music Camp. I'll really have my hands full juggling cats solo if things don't improve markedly. Fingers crossed.
Hi Earl - the long travel days paid off for us: this cold front came in earlier than anticipated. Glad to be home and have the motorhome safe in our storage unit. It is cold and blowing like stink this morning… wouldn’t want to be driving and unloading in this weather.
Hope Lucy and Duke are able to “live together in peace and harmony” before the end of March!
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