West Texas Highway

West Texas Highway      July 15, 2016       

I arrived to the rest area just east of El Paso on Interstate 10 at 1:20 am.  Got out and walked a bit to stretch before getting a few hours’ sleep.  It was still very hot at 102° I parked among fifteen to twenty vehicles and tractor trailer trucks rolled the windows part way down to allow any breeze to flow through the vehicle but to be honest there wasn’t any for most of the night.

I awoke about four in the morning took a quick walk and bathroom break and hit the road once again. It was nice in that with no working air conditioner the windows down provided much needed cooler air to cool me off and be somewhat comfortable.  The highway was mainly deserted this time of the early morning and I could see the first inklings of first light the eastern horizon.  Slowly the light changed hues from the blackness of nighttime to a dull grey then as the sun was closer to the horizon and the rays raced a crossed the sky it changed to purples then orange to red.  The few clouds were starting to glow and change colors becoming bright orange as the sun was just popping over the horizon.

I was driving very close to the Mexican border for about one hundred miles with the USA ending about a half mile from the highway and Mexico across the river and mountains to my right.  My AT&T carried texted me a message, “Welcome to Mexico, say goodbye to roaming charges . . .” I can only assume that the cell towers in this area are on the Mexican side of the border and they can make money from travelers passing through El Paso.  Luckily I did not have anyone to talk or text with at four in the morning.

I could see lights in my rear view mirror approaching from a long way off and several looks later the vehicle was almost on top of me.  Less than a minute later a white dodge challenger passed me going very fast.  It reminded me of the movie Vanishing Point, the original movie in 1971 and remade in 1997 where a white challenger raced across Colorado and several other western states out running the police until a final confrontation.  This white challenger passed by and quickly left me in his dust as I watched the taillights slowly fade away in the distance ahead of me.

About thirty minutes later just after sunrise I noticed way ahead the flashing lights of a police car.  Stopped on the side of the road were the Challenger and a Texas Highway Patrol Car, black with the white hood and top.  It looked like a Dodge Charge as I passed by as the trooper was issuing his ticket. I continued on and climbed a hill and lost sight of the flashing lights in my rear view mirror of the Challenger.

I was going along the sun was directly in my eyes as I drove east making it difficult to see and having to use my visor to block the sun.  I was hoping the sun would hurry up and rise above the horizon.  It was starting to give me a headache but I could see that miles down the road on the horizon there were clouds building into an early morning thunderstorm.  Every once in a while I could see the flash of lightning from cloud to the ground.  It would be probably about an hour for me to drive to get into the clouds and possible rain but was hoping it would cool things a bit.

As I was watching the storm build I noticed the Challenger coming up from behind me once again passing me quickly and zooming off ahead of me.  I kind of chuckled as he passed as his speed had not really slowed down and he was off to the races.  I watched for several minutes as he vanished from my view point.  About twenty five minutes later I could see up ahead the flashing lights of a Texas Highway Patrol car and this one had stopped a white Dodge Challenger.  As I drove by I could see the trooper talking to him and issuing another ticket.  It was funny that I was driving the speed limit and was making better time than the Challenger a tortoise and the hare moment and laugh for me.  It helped to amuse me on the long boring drive along the West Texas Highway.

By nine in the morning I was just getting into the rain and shortly the thunderstorm.  It was a nice soaking rain that was not a gully washer but enough water that you could see the highway but needed the windshield wipers going constantly. I drove on for about an hour before I had to stop once again for fuel. I was on the back side of the storm as the rain was very light as I pumped gas.  There was no awning over the pumps so it felt good to have the cool water droplets hitting my shoulders as I cleaned the windshield.

Just as I was finishing up and was about to pull out of the service station and back onto the highway who should be coming off the exit ramp but the white Dodge Charger.  I was wondering if he needed fuel or just time to cool off after the two traffic stops.  I bet those would be expensive fines if he was clocked at his true speed on the freeway.  I continued back up the on ramp and heading southeast toward San Antonio.

My long drive across west Texas for the most part was boring and uneventful other than the Challenger.  The scenery is mostly desert with light brown hues scattered with small scrub trees. I did not see any cactus along the way but there were many in Joshua Tree NP.  There were a couple areas where there were wind turbine on the ridges and oil rigs pumping away.

I needed fuel once more before I arrived in San Antonio so stopped at one thirty to grab some lunch and get gas for the last leg to my daughter’s house.  When I arrived at three thirty that afternoon she did not know I was coming.  She was told earlier that morning that a package was supposed to be delivered between three and four.  I parked on the side of her house and walked up to the front door hoping she would not be in her office overlooking the front yard.  I wanted to surprise her for her birthday on Saturday and she thought I was still in Oregon but would be driving down to Atlanta north of her going through Utah, St. Louis, and Chattanooga.  I talked to her on the phone the day before and she thought I had not left to head down to Atlanta after my brother in law’s death.

I rang the doorbell and she looked through the peephole (thinking to her-self that’s my day but knowing I was still in Oregon).  She opened the door and was totally shocked that I was standing in front of her. She screamed and my grandson hollered from upstairs and bounded down the steps to greet me.  We hugged and she kept saying she could not believe I was there. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up on things and their upcoming move from Lackland Air Force Base to Travis AFB in California.

I looked forward to the visit even though it was short and sweet.

Ice