BIG TRIP Chapter 5

Twenty years ago in the spring of 2002, I drove around the country by myself for six weeks. Here is another installment from the journal I kept on that trip.

-rh

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DAY 9 May 10th, 2002 What an amazing travel day this was...! The night before I was forced inside my tent just after dark by the notoriously blood-thirsty Texas Mosquitos! After being held prisoner by the blazing sun all day, with no option but to huddle under my little square of shade under the tarp, I had to turn in for the night at like 7:30pm. Ridiculous. I wrote a few postcards and did a little reading before falling asleep very early, probably around 9 or 10pm, at the latest. The wind off the gulf was brutal all night, shaking and rattling my little tent so loudly and with such force that I could not sleep. In the morning, after very little rest, I got up before sunrise and tore down the campsite. After washing up, I was able to hit the road by 7am. The drive through Texas was AMAZING. It was great to see the changing terrain: from the swampy marshland of the eastern, gulf coast side, through the hill country, flatlands, badlands, and low mountains west of Houston and San Antone. The drive from San Antonio to El Paso was beautiful, watching the mountains grow taller and more numerous. I drove over 850 miles in just over 13 hours and made it all the way to El Paso by sunset! Surprised myself, even. My breath was taken away repeatedly as I drew nearer to El Paso; the mountains are just spectacular. I took several pictures from the car, just holding my camera up and clicking as I drove along.

I heard a scary weather forecast on the radio when I was in the Odessa/Midland area. I could tell from my maps that the worst of the weather was far from where I was driving. But I could also see from the skies around me that I would not totally escape these storms. The skies looked beautiful but strange and I could plainly see that the storms may not be close but they were all around me. Off to my left at one point, I saw what I first thought was a pillar of smoke. It appeared just beyond a ridge on my left and when I came around the side of the ridge it was immediately apparent that this was no pillar of smoke. (I can recall thinking to myself, “I’m out in the middle of the desert here - what could possibly be BURNing, anyway?”) Rather, it was a real live Texas Twister. A serious tornado. A long tall brown stem dipping down from the clouds and kicking up a shitload of dust at its base. There was a lot of dust in the air yesterday, due to the high winds. This made even nearby mountains appear bluish-grey and kinda faded, though they were relatively close. I mention the “low visibility factor” because this twister was so close that I could see it very clearly. Certainly no more than half a mile from the highway. It was truly awesome AND terrifying. I had the presence of mind to grab my little camera and snap a few pictures. As I was taking pictures of it, a second twister cropped up right next to it! Quite a disturbing yet exhilarating experience. (Afterthought: when two or more tornados join forces they inevitably combine to make ONE VERY BIG TORNADO.) Driving through the desert in Texas while a huge storm system is passing thru is some serious shit! I accelerated to get the hell away from that particular funnel cloud, but the dust kicked and pushed and fought me from all around as crosswinds pushed and pulled at my little car all day! One particular cloud gathered to my left and met me head on in the road. Its force was considerable; After it passed I could FEEL it release the car from its grasp and I lurched forward out of its forceful winds. Bizarre and scary. I knew the worst of the weather was elsewhere but my journey was not without its weather-related challenges. There were, at one point, storm clouds to my left and to my right. But up ahead the clouds parted and the sun shined brightly on my path. It was one of those moments when I felt certain that the Lord’s hand was guiding me through the storm. It was an amazing sensation, to feel like I would be safely led thru all this calamity and danger... The closer you get to El Paso the mountains are HUGE and everywhere. Dozens of spectacular rock formations on every mile of the drive. I am certain this amazing and beautiful terrain kept me in high spirits as I entered my 11th, 12th, and 13th hour of driving. Instead of growing stiff and weary, I became more and more exhilarated with each passing mile. Just amazing. I arrived in El Paso before dark and checked into a Motel 6 right off the highway. Desk clerk informed me that the bridge over the Rio Grande is not far. I’ll cross over tomorrow afternoon for my first-ever visit to Mexico!

El Paso, Texas