This entry was written offline, and is backdated.

Today’s journey began at sunrise … 7:30 central time. After a brief stop for coffee and sustenance at my favorite Texas fast food eatery, Whataburger, I rolled through Dallas and Fort Worth, and continued on my journey through Texas. Passing through the widest part of the state, which is huge by any standard imaginable, it was humbling to realize that after a full day of driving, I would still be in Texas tonight. Going cautiously due to the delicate right front tire, I planned to stop as soon as I could reasonably expect a Wal-Mart to be open. The tires on the van came from Wal-Mart, and BC had advised that there would be an advantage to having the tire replaced there.

My first stop at a Wal-Mart turned out to be a waste of time, as it was one of those rare, old Wal-Mart stores with no tire center. I had to go a bit farther, into Abilene, to find a more modern one. I lost only an hour getting the tire changed and the tires rotated, and was rolling West again by around noon. The weather had by this time cleared significantly, and the temperature was above freezing, making for a more comfortable ride.

In the afternoon, as I passed through George Bush’s hometown of Midland, Texas, I saw a sign advertising the “Petroleum Museum”. Curiosity compelled me to stop for a look around. It turned out to be a most interesting place, with exhibits that educated me on the processes of oil exploration, drilling, and production. There were some nice-looking outdoor exhibits as well, including a real drilling rig, but it was a bit cold for much of that.

Evening closed in and darkness fell as I approached El Paso, and it was at this point that things got ugly. First came heavy snow, so heavy that conditions might have been described as a near white-out. Ten miles or so later, I began to see the results of this natural I.Q. test as some of the less capable drivers discovered such concepts as centripetal force, inertia, and stupidity. After another ten miles, the freezing rain began, and the shoulders of the road were littered with vehicles in various states of dentedness. At one exit, a huge truck had spun out and was sitting perpendicular to traffic, blocking all lanes. Police waved us off onto a service road, which was soon jammed and at a virtual standstill due to lack of traffic management further on. When the interstate was reopened half an hour later, several folks decided that a short slide down a shallow embankment was preferable to waiting another hour for the Texas police to get a clue, and I agreed. Soon I was moving again, along a nearly deserted stretch of I-20.

Not being one to press my luck, I started looking ahead for options, and found a good place to stop just a few miles on, about 15 miles east of El Paso. Even parking the van was an adventure, as by this time, every exposed surface was covered with a shining layer of ice about a half inch thick. Temperatures were again in the teens, with 20 mile per hour winds pushing the wind chill into the single digits. It is too cold even to venture out in search of food, so sleep sounds like the best option. The plan is to once again get started at sunrise, and it seems conceivable that I’ll make it into L.A. tomorrow night so long as there aren’t any further weather-related delays.