[tcb] Re: Havasu Trip report -- part 2
- From: sammie smith <bugcollections@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 06:43:12 -0800 (PST)
G: great report. Wish I coulda been there, but as it turned out the decision
to not go was one of the better ones I have ever made. started coming down
with the crud on Sunday before Wed when I was going to leave. Felt better on
Tuesday and thought yeah I'll go for it, then kept watching the weather
forecast for Havusa and points in between and decided not to go about Tuesday
night. And as it turned out the crud got worse and lasted for 2 weeks. I'm
just now getting up and about. Had I gone in the weather that developed I
would probably still be in the hospital somewhere in AZ with pnuemonia. But
there is always next year.
Sammie
"Gerald V. Livingston II" <gerald.tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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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