[tcb] Havasu Trip report -- part 2
- From: "Gerald V. Livingston II" <gerald.tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:38:56 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
I was between El Paso and Ft Stockton on Tuesday morning coming home. By
the time I got past Ft Stockton the signs were up that I-10 was closed from
Sonora to San Antonio.
I-10 between Ft Stockton and Sonora seemed OK because of the big trucks
keeping the right lane pretty much clear. Then I screwed up and exited for
fuel before I got to Sonora because I figured it would be a cluster-f$%@
right there at the point they were stopping everyone. The turn onto the
entrance ramp was the biggest slide of my trip -- at 5mph. I made the turn
and the Rivi just kept right on going on the road behind me. I got lucky
and caught a dry spot before it could drag the ass end of the truck to far
off my trajectory.
Turns out Sonora wasn't so bad after all. That kinda sucked.
I got to Sonora and went north to El Dorado up 227 (yeah, weird but the
weather/ice was worse to the south than to the north, the roads to the
south were closed).
Headed down Hwy 190/Hwy 87 towards Fredericksberg. Doing fine until the sun
went down. When that happened the melting flakes that had been falling on
the road all day created an instant 1/2" of ice.
The *SECOND* time the Riviera tried to come around and be the lead vehicle
I just found me a pull-out beside the road and stopped. *22* miles from
Fredericksberg.
Luckily, I was on my way home from a weekend cold-weather camping trip. I
just went back to the bus and fired up a heater and the stove and made
myself some coffee. Then I went back to the truck and fired up the laptop
and watched the last 6 episodes of Supernatural season 1. I slept in the
truck running it a few minutes when it'd get cold enough to notice. All my
camping gear in "Wal-Mart tubs" was in the Rivi and it would have been a
pain in the rear to pull them out so I could sleep in the bus. I had 10
gallons of spare fuel in cans in the back just in case. I tend to take back
roads on my trips and sometimes don't see a gas station for a LONG time.
After the sun came up I discovered Hwy 87 is not a good place to be in icy
weather. I thought I was going to have to spend another night there because
there wasn't enough traffic to break up the ice so I could drive again. I
finally was able to head out about 10:45 driving 15 - 20 mph with the truck
in low gear. I only lost traction and started sliding a couple of times
during the 1 hour+ that it took me to go the 22 miles into Fredericksberg.
I know how to drive on ice but it has been MANY years.
290 from F-berg to Austin was still bad in a few places. Mostly spots where
there are fields for open grazing on both sides of the road so the wind
kept re-freezing the road.
Once in Austin I had to adjust my trajectory a couple of times due to ramp
closures. That's why I love my GPS on the laptop. 17" screen so you can SEE
what the map is showing you without really looking away from the road.
Took 71 down to I-10 because I had Eric's roof-rack to deliver in Houston
and I wasn't sure what 190 across Lake Livingston would be like. That was
all pretty clear sailing. Still raining as I got closer to home but no ice.
Anyway, work beckons (17 hours/day through the 29th, downside to my little
trips).
There are a few (bad) photos of the campout and trip at
http://www.phorce1.us/bbbxi/. It was a bit chilly in AZ (high 20's) so I
was more interested in keeping hands in pockets than holding the camera.
G2
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