Pictures of this trip are in my Albums in the Gallery under the names: "Texas! My 50th Reunion Trip" (or something like that) and "Texas: Part Deux".
As most of you know I left here (Ft Morgan, CO) on June 1 to go to my 50th reunion. It was beautiful -- calm and cool -- for about the first 50 miles. Then between Akron and Anton, CO, the wind went from dead calm to 30-40mph straight out of the south. It stayed that way!
The route I took, Akron - Anton - Cope - Siebert, Kit Carson, Eads, Wylie, Holly... all in CO -- is mainly empty. Big wheat farms, large acreage for grazing a few cattle...we are in what Horace Greeley called the "Great American Desert." Our average annual rainfall is under 15" and for the last couple of years its been closer to 9-10" ANNUALLY!
About the time I passed Wylie, the temperature went above 100F. And it mostly stayed there until I was almost home. I'd guess that 2200+miles were with winds of above 30 and temperatures above 100F.
I stopped at the Mid-America Aviation Museum in Liberal, Kansas and wandered around there for an hour or so. Nice break from the heat. Then I cut through the panhandle of Oklahoma east of Guymon, and was back in Texas at Perryton and Canadian. I made it to Elk City, OK, my intended overnight stop at around 6:30 and hunted for a motel until about 7:30 or so before giving up and going south another 60 miles to Altus, OK. I stayed at a "Budget Motel" there. It fit the name, but the bed was OK and the AC worked.
The next morning I went south instead of east as I had planned and got into Texas about 25 miles later. The temperature was back up over 100 before I crossed the Red River and the wind was pushing 50mph. When I turned east on 287, it was a 90-degree crosswind and brutal in the 105 heat.
After Wichita Falls, I was in more trees on US-82 and the wind got broken up a bit.
(It's late...I'm going to close this and go to bed. I'll add to it soon.
As most of you know I left here (Ft Morgan, CO) on June 1 to go to my 50th reunion. It was beautiful -- calm and cool -- for about the first 50 miles. Then between Akron and Anton, CO, the wind went from dead calm to 30-40mph straight out of the south. It stayed that way!
The route I took, Akron - Anton - Cope - Siebert, Kit Carson, Eads, Wylie, Holly... all in CO -- is mainly empty. Big wheat farms, large acreage for grazing a few cattle...we are in what Horace Greeley called the "Great American Desert." Our average annual rainfall is under 15" and for the last couple of years its been closer to 9-10" ANNUALLY!
About the time I passed Wylie, the temperature went above 100F. And it mostly stayed there until I was almost home. I'd guess that 2200+miles were with winds of above 30 and temperatures above 100F.
I stopped at the Mid-America Aviation Museum in Liberal, Kansas and wandered around there for an hour or so. Nice break from the heat. Then I cut through the panhandle of Oklahoma east of Guymon, and was back in Texas at Perryton and Canadian. I made it to Elk City, OK, my intended overnight stop at around 6:30 and hunted for a motel until about 7:30 or so before giving up and going south another 60 miles to Altus, OK. I stayed at a "Budget Motel" there. It fit the name, but the bed was OK and the AC worked.
The next morning I went south instead of east as I had planned and got into Texas about 25 miles later. The temperature was back up over 100 before I crossed the Red River and the wind was pushing 50mph. When I turned east on 287, it was a 90-degree crosswind and brutal in the 105 heat.
After Wichita Falls, I was in more trees on US-82 and the wind got broken up a bit.
(It's late...I'm going to close this and go to bed. I'll add to it soon.
