Baby, It's Cold Out There

Art enjoying the Kindle

The man with the beige wagon worked for almost two hours to get all the snow off his car

Art cleared all the snow from windows and top but left the icicles

Starting to melt

Long distance view of the Rialta

Outside our door

Art trying to raise the desk chair level —Finally just put a pillow on it

Yesterday, Saturday, we determined that we could make a run for it and try to reach Amarillo. Hopefully before dark. We made it, not before dark, but it was one of the scariest bits of driving I've ever done. All went well until we crossed into Texas. Then the infamous storm, "Boreas," began to show it's strength. We only had about an hour's driving left before Amarillo and it began to snow. But I had already begun to feel the ominous effects of the black ice. Even the slightest little skid is a scary thing on highway 40, especially as you go on an overpass or bridge. It just got worse and worse until all cars and trucks had their hazard lights blinking and eventually the trucks slowed down to about 7 miles per hour. I wasn't sure I could keep going at that speed without coming to a stop. And I was convinced that if I did stop I would  just spin my wheels if I tried to start up again. So, let's just say it was tense all the way in to Amarillo. The stretch that would normally have taken under one hour to cover took over three hours of inching along that icy highway. The TV said there were 8 deaths and many pile-ups from this storm already but we didn't actually see any of them. Police cars and ambulances were driving out toward where we had just been in frantic looking flurries as we reached the outskirts of Amarillo.

There is nothing to do but to wait it out here today. Perhaps the road will clear enough between here and Albuquerque  by sometime tomorrow morning, and if so, we'll make another run for it. But I'm not going out there on the highway until the black ice has melted or been removed. The Rialta and all other cars in the parking lot of our little La Quinta Inn are covered with snow and the temperature is below freezing, so not too many people are moving out today. I'll try to get a few photos in a little while. (Guess not. Art just came in out of the cold and announced that he was able to clear most of the snow off by using the new window washing squeegee we're traveling with). Meanwhile, we're in a warm and cozy place. I'm working on the computer and Art has taken over the Kindle. It's Sunday and there must be a movie or two to see while we're holed up here.  

While I was driving last night Art was reading "Route 66" highlights about the sights we were passing. A giant Cross near Groom, (190 feet tall) Texas was one of the features we could easily identify as we crept along in the parade of 18 wheelers mixed with a few automobiles. The cross is billed as the Tallest Cross in The Western Hemisphere. It was softly lit but truly formidable and I would guess that more than one truck driver was directing a prayer in its direction as we approached the huge, softly glowing form. I was actually very grateful for the presence of those trucks. Even though each passing of one of those long giants was like a scary moment frozen in time,  I'm sure they made tracks that made it possible for me to get a little traction and have more chance of checking off another mile without experiencing the disaster that I kept thinking was surely just around the corner.

Hope all's well where you are and that your weather isn't quite as eventful as it is here. Actually, I see that Boreas has brought Oklahoma City to a complete standstill. So I'm really glad that we managed to leave before it reached that location. We're at least a little closer to making another step along the way.