and sound tonight at the microtel el paso east. the wind is beating at the window, but we are warm an cozy inside again tonight.

after going to bed last night in dallas with temps in the 70s, this morning we awoke to mid-30s with a windchill in the low 20s. and it didn’t get better. the first couple of hours of the drive were windy with some scattered rain/freezing rain, but after fort worth somewhere, it got bad for what seemed like an hour. the scattered showers turned into steady freezing rain and sleet. thankfully, the roads out here are mostly flat, and the ground had yet to get frozen itself, so nothing stayed icy for long. except for the bridges. every time we hit one (oh, every couple miles or so?) the van would shift and wobble until the tires grabbed the pavement on the other side of it again. i know i’m from the northeast, but i will never really enjoy driving in terrible weather like this.

those conditions didn’t last too long, and it was smooth sailing until the other side of midland, texas. i think it was right after we merged from i-20 to i-10. then the freezing rain began to fall in ernest. with the windchill, the van had already been accumulating ice, especially the windshield wipers. we couldn’t keep those cleared off and working well for more than a few minutes. pretty soon, there was only one clear spot to see through, and brian was craning his neck to use it. the grasses and shrubs along the roadside were white with ice. after a couple of treacherous patches, it finally stopped. the last 100 miles to el paso were dry.

so thankful to not be in the car and not to have to be in the car all day again til we are on our way home in a few weeks. so thankful that there was a restaurant nearby so we could chow on gluten free pizza. now if only we could get the much anticipated climbing into this mix! a winter storm warning remains in effect here in el paso through sunday afternoon, so here’s to hoping that the sun will come out (…tomorrow…) monday.

Posted on November 22nd, 2013