Ah....Winter Driving
I don't mind winter driving, within reason. Reason ends when the highway becomes covered in ice. At one point yesterday, I was progressing at the blazing speed of 15 miles per hour on an interstate highway. So was all the traffic around me, including the big trucks. Saw at least one accident which had to have involved fatalities. I did wave at the cars off in the ditch who had blasted past me and apparently thought I was silly to be driving slowly. It took me ten hours to drive what would ordinarily take less than six.
Today I finish the trip. It is presently 38 degrees though the 1/2-1 inch of ice on the roads is still here. It is also foggy, a bit windy and very rainy. There is little in the world that is slicker than wet ice. The rain is expected to stop around noon, at which time the temperature is expected to drop into the 20s. I have watched a beer truck spin its wheels in the parking lot and a full-size pick up truck slide out and around as it departed. The driver did, at least, manage his slide well and was able to direct his truck where he wanted it to go. He just did it with locked up wheels.
I expect the rain to end as I drive further north. I just hope it ends before the roads freeze. I think it would have been wiser to stay home this year. I'm tired from driving and from being sick. I don't have my shopping or knitting finished, thanks to the bad weather and driving delays. ugh.
Stay Safe!!
To all the EMS, Fire and Law Enforcement folks out there (and all of you who worked last night)--be extra careful. I heard sirens running all night last night and several times already this morning. It was always kinda fun working on holidays, but bad weather just makes it dangerous for everybody. Civilians don't have to be out in the crummy weather. The folks with the badges and emergency vehicles don't have a choice.
Had I been quicker on the draw yesterday, I'd have dumped a big bag of homemade chocolate-peanut butter chip cookies on a bunch of IL state troopers. They were all stacked up at a closed weigh station, probably planning how to handle the heavy holiday traffic and the crappy road conditions. It would have been funny to see the looks on their faces.
Today I finish the trip. It is presently 38 degrees though the 1/2-1 inch of ice on the roads is still here. It is also foggy, a bit windy and very rainy. There is little in the world that is slicker than wet ice. The rain is expected to stop around noon, at which time the temperature is expected to drop into the 20s. I have watched a beer truck spin its wheels in the parking lot and a full-size pick up truck slide out and around as it departed. The driver did, at least, manage his slide well and was able to direct his truck where he wanted it to go. He just did it with locked up wheels.
I expect the rain to end as I drive further north. I just hope it ends before the roads freeze. I think it would have been wiser to stay home this year. I'm tired from driving and from being sick. I don't have my shopping or knitting finished, thanks to the bad weather and driving delays. ugh.
Stay Safe!!
To all the EMS, Fire and Law Enforcement folks out there (and all of you who worked last night)--be extra careful. I heard sirens running all night last night and several times already this morning. It was always kinda fun working on holidays, but bad weather just makes it dangerous for everybody. Civilians don't have to be out in the crummy weather. The folks with the badges and emergency vehicles don't have a choice.
Had I been quicker on the draw yesterday, I'd have dumped a big bag of homemade chocolate-peanut butter chip cookies on a bunch of IL state troopers. They were all stacked up at a closed weigh station, probably planning how to handle the heavy holiday traffic and the crappy road conditions. It would have been funny to see the looks on their faces.
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