Mad Dash

This is the reason I made the mad dash for home.

Well, this and as recently as this time yesterday morning they were still predicting that I would not make it home by this morning. The storm that hit the Denver area late last week was supposed to be moving through the Midwest yesterday. As late as 06:45 when I heard the last weather report in Kensington the prediction was that I would not make it to North Platte, Nebraska.

This wheel was one on which the fog the driver had gone through had frozen to the hub cap while it was in motion. That accounts for the outward frostcicles all over the outer edge of the wheel cover.

(I have to admit, both of these pictures were taken on Saturday in Minnesota, but they illustrate why I had to beat the weather.)

The driveway to dad’s that had been slick (but lovely) the day before was predicted to get a pounding by noon yesterday. Once I was on the road, I had the perfect weather for driving! It was cold, but except for freezing fog that coated my car’s wing mirrors, nose, and antenna, the road was good and the drive was uneventful.

It wasn’t a personal best, but it was not far off. The mileage was longer than normal because I swung south trough Iowa instead of cutting straight across South Dakota (this because my route was supposed to be snowy and icy by noon along that route). So instead of 990 miles, the odometer showed 1058.3. Door-to-door time was 14.13 hours. (12.85 hours of moving time.) This gives me an effective average speed of 74.88 MPH overall average and 82.36 MPH moving average.

This morning I saw a weather report that the fog that I had passed through last night had frozen to the roadbed and the route I took was icy and snowy this morning. The weather forecast calls for snow this afternoon and so, it seems that it was a good move to leave when I did. I may not have been on the road until Wednesday otherwise.

Now I have the days I had planned as drive/recuperation time for cleaning and getting ready to go back to work.

How nice!

Wherever you are today, I hope that you’ll have a wonderful, relaxing day!

Don Bergquist – October 12, 2009, Lakewood, Colorado, USA