Looks Ca Ca Ca Cold... Great trip report Gerald! > 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 > >