Sharon: How many of your cars has Steve wrecked? Sharon Chamberlain <iluvvws@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: v\:* {behavior:url (#default#vml);} v\:* { BEHAVIOR: url (#default#vml) } It sounds like an adventure Gerald, glad your home in one piece. You were at least prepared for everything, we sure hated to miss it but I get nervous on ice, Steve totaled my Volvo years ago on ice right at the corner by our house.I love the rainbow pic. -------Original Message------- From: Gerald V. Livingston II Date: 1/23/2007 12:39:08 AM To: tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [tcb] Havasu Trip report -- part 2 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