The trip here today took longer than any time in the past. The wind was terrible around Oklahoma City. Thankfully the 18 wheelers were all going slower and taking it easy. I have seen the wind worse. Once I was coming home from MO and the wind was so bad, the trucks were having a hard time staying on the road. Many had pulled off but those still driving scared me half to death. The wind wasn’t that bad today but there were so many more 18 wheelers than I’ve ever seen on the road. I’m not complaining. I think that’s a good sign. One of our good friends has recently purchased a truck and started driving so I have a whole new respect for truck drivers after hearing some of his stories.
A funny thing happened. I stay home so much and never leave the house and that makes it even harder for me to go on a long trip like this. I can almost talk myself out of it and then convince myself of all kinds of crazy things that COULD happen. When I first started making this trip to MO from TX seven years ago, right when I turned off going towards Graham, TX, I would see an elderly man walking. I usually leave early in the mornings but never at an exact time. For probably five years, it didn’t matter if I was really early or a bit later in the morning, I saw him walking. Then, a couple of years ago, I stopped seeing him. I even varied the time of my trip a bit to see if possibly I was just missing him but no, I never saw him. I wondered what had happened to him. This morning . . I saw him! He had his same funny hat, his reflective vest and his walking stick. It made me so happy to see him again and gave me confidence that my trip was going to be just fine.
Even the traffic through Oklahoma City wasn’t awful. One of my biggest complaints going through there is that the drivers are so terribly rude. They get right on your bumper, they cut in and out of traffic and will cut you off in a heartbeat. Today, maybe everyone is getting in the Christmas spirit. Traffic wasn’t horrible and the drivers didn’t seem rude.
No matter how long or how bad the trip was, this girl was waiting for me and that made it all worth while. She was so happy to see me! She knew I was coming today but I got here in time to pick her up at day care. I had to run by their house and meet Nicole and get booster seat, Speck was really happy to see me too . . it’s nice to be loved, even if it is by a 6 year old and a dog! 🙂
Carolyn says
So glad to read you arrived safely. I know you will make lots of wonderful memories.
Jeri says
Looks like those front teeth are getting ready for the tooth fairy soon! Glad you made it safely, been from Corpus to Des Moines and back too many times to count, I feel ya about OK, Semi’s and Wind. Have a blast with your Grandbaby. Speaking of Grandbabies…..another anytime soon?
Jeri in South Texas
dezertsuz says
Oh, excellent! You are already there and having a great time! Enjoy yourself and your family time. When I go west, I drive I-40, and between the east coast and about St. Louis, I think it is SO dense with trucks, then you get out of there and the traffic dies way down. Some parts of the west, it’s like the wide open farm road! Of course, we weren’t in the booming economy the last time I did that, August 2013, so it may be awful all the way to Flag. I’ll find out in a few months! That’s where I turn south.
njgrl4ever says
So glad you made it safe and sound.
We did the same route you do one year going from Nashville to OKC (via Little Rock) then Texas but then we headed to Albuquerque and north.
Yup some of that drive was crazy. One year we went from Nashville back to Oregon and hit bad weather from the get go. We caught the tail end of a tornado in Missouri and it scared the bejeezus out of both of us. We ended up pulling half way up an off ramp in between 2 eighteen wheelers for some protection. Whew, that was our brush with the bad weather belt.
Liz says
Judy – glad you made it through OKC without incident. Based on the Mesonet data, you were driving through 30-45 mph gusts. The trash cans were bouncing around the street (after pickup, thankfully!).
One thing to remember about OKC traffic is that it is the intersection of I35 (major N-S route from Mexico to Canada), I-40 (major E-W route across the south US) and I-44 (major SW to NE route that gets the I35 and I40 traffic going towards St.Louis and points in the northeast US).
SO, it’s not that OKC-based drivers are so bad, it’s everyone else cruising through the area. In addition to all the semis moving goods across the states, we are now having the semi-annual migration of the RVs going south to Texas or west to Arizona.
But, timing is everything while driving. I remember driving from OKC to Detroit area and I timed my travels through Tulsa, St.Louis, Indy and Detroit to avoid rush hour traffic. Sometimes, it is easier to stop to relax along the way than stress out sitting in traffic.
Judy Laquidara says
There are several cities that have rude drivers and, in my opinion, OKC is one of them. I drive all the way across Oklahoma on 44 and the drivers don’t seem rude nor do they seem rude as a group in Tulsa. I go through OKC on different days at different times and have seen times when traffic is worse than at other times but haven’t found any rhyme or reason to it. One Saturday morning about 10:30, I went through when there was nothing as far as I knew that would cause traffic issues and it was the worst traffic ever and I had thought Saturday morning was a better time to go through. Yesterday, a Thursday, at almost noon, traffic wasn’t so bad but when I went home two times ago, it was a Thursday about noon and traffic was super heavy.
As far as stopping to relax, OKC is just a little over four hours into my trip going to MO. Not far into the trip or tired at all. I have never had to really sit in traffic going through OKC. It’s always moving . . sometimes at a crazy, frenzied pace and sometimes at what feels more like a harried, high speed chase.
When we first began making this trip, Wichita Falls seemed a bit like a smaller version of OKC with crazy race car type driving but the police there have cracked down on speeders. It’s rare for me to go through there without seeing a number of people pulled over, as well as motorcycle officers on the highway. That has made a huge difference in how it feels to drive through there.
Nelle Coursey says
I am glad your trip there was a good one and a safe one. There are more people that love you too! I do! You have become a good friend and mentor to me. Don’t know what I would have done without you and the others in our group! We are there for each other! I told you Speck was waiting and watching for you!!
Twyla says
Glad you made it without too much stress. And I agree if everyone would drive the speed limit I would feel more comfortable driving out on the highway. Even today there was a slow moving pickup in front of me and a Huge pickup rode my bumper into town on a two lane road (did he really think he was intimidating me with that big bumper? HA! not this gggrandma.). I don’t tailgate as I always worry if that person behind me hits me then I will probably hit the one in front of me. As I know you will have a great time visiting and making wonderful memories.