Road Trip -- Intermittent Blogging -- Early February, 2016 -- Grapevine, TX, To The Bakken

Three hours from Williston. The FedEx guys in the Belfield truck stop are loving the weather. They are aware that Monday could be a harsh weather day.

8:00 a.m. Central Time, Daily Addiction, Williston: the coffee shop on Main Street is busy -- not nearly as busy as it was during the boom when the line stretched from the counter to the front door and folks stood in line for 15 minutes or longer before being served. I'm glad to see it is surviving if not thriving.  

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Friday, February 5, 2016

I chronicle my first day back in the Bakken at this post.

5:44 p.m. Central Time, Williston, ND: I'll post some stand-alone posts on Williston later, but for now, just a quick note: I got to Williston fine, arriving about 2:00 p.m. earlier today. I immediately went to Dad's apartment, picked him up, to pick up some groceries, check his lottery tickets, visit Books on Broadway, check out the new bypass north and west of Williston, and now dinner at Fuddruckers. My first impression: Williston is 1,000% better than I expected; and, if the price of oil comes back, maybe by 2017, it will be 2,000% better.

11:43 a.m. Central Time, Belfield, ND: beautiful, beautiful day; seems like summer in North Dakota, or at least an early spring; what little snow there is here, it is melting; perfect day for driving. Stayed overnight in Bowman, ND. With snow melting in North Dakota in February, with the sun shining brightly, with the roads in great condition, I'm trying to find the "down side" of global warming. If the Maldives "sink" there is plenty of room in North Dakota and Texas for the Malivians.

Three hours from Williston.

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Thursday, February 4, 2016

3:52 p.m. Mountain Time, Sturgis, SD: overcast, but otherwise beautiful weather; feels warm; slush and mud; melting snow.

1:09 p.m. Central Time, Winner, SD: bright, sunny, hot, slush; beautiful weather. Lana Del Rey; cruising; biography of Ayn Rand. 

11:00 a.m. Central Time, O'Neill, NE: roads clear; beautiful day for driving; huge amount of snow along roads, especially in towns.

6:20 a.m., Concordia, KS, another excellent McDonald's. Has more than enough outlets for charging mobile devices. A big change from my experience years ago with McDonald's. Roads are fine; some evidence of snow/ice, particularly in town in parking lots.

5:45 a.m., departing Salina, Kansas. 

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Wednesday, February 3, 2016

10:05 p.m., motel in Salina, Kansas: plan to leave in the morning. Roads clear to south of York, NE. I-80 with slush which will probably freeze overnight. Black ice. Improve during the day. 

11:02 a.m. McDonald's in Salina, Kansas: the camera shots suggests the roads are in a lot better shape than the descriptions provide(d). However, much depends on the skill of other drivers. It still appears pretty bad in south Nebraska, and it would be impossible to avoid it. I have decided to stay one more night in Salina. Wow, it's a great day. The weather here is beautiful; and, lots of time to read.

8:06 a.m., motel in Salina, Kansas: it looks like the road north to Nebraska state line will be open later today, but Nebraska still looks formidable and it's not going to get above 28 degrees, it appears, and then western South Dakota isn't looking all that good either.  I'll definitely stay put for a several hours, probably stay another night in Salina. 

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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

7:27 p.m. Taco Bell across from "motel," Salina, Kansas:  things could not have worked out better. I am snowed in, here in Salina, Kansas. I have enough power on the computer to last an hour or so. Actually, I'm not snowed in. A light snow is falling, but I am told by the state DOTs (Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota), there is no way I am heading north, east, or west out of Salina tonight.

One of the nice things about 30+ years in the USAF, is billeting is never an issue, as long as there are no critters, alive or dead, in the room. When I trained with the US Marines, they were thrilled to be sleeping in a tent. I couldn't tell if the motel sign said rooms "$29.99 or $39.99 and up" but either way, it's fine with me. The neon red "open" sign was all I wanted to see. It does not appear there is wi-fi in the room. I'm not going to ask.

The gentleman at the front desk speaks enough English to check me in but I don't want to ask about motel amenities. I assume there are none. I told him I hope to spend only one night; he says not to worry: the roads will be open tomorrow. He's from India so he probably knows. I grew up in North Dakota, so I have my doubts. Also, Norwegians are, by nature, never very optimistic.

I walked across the parking lot to see if Taco Bell has wi-fi. I haven't been in a Taco Bell in 30+ years. I know that because the last time I was in a fast food "taco" restaurant was in a "Taco something or other" in Los Angeles back in 1974.

It couldn't have worked out better. I brought eight books with me to read, and if I had not been forced to stop, I probably would not have gotten to them until later this week. So, after some quick blogging, a taco (actually a burrito), I will be back in the room reading.

After completing my order, "Kevin" asked me my name so he could call me when my order was ready. I thought "hey, you" would work since I was  the only one in here. But I'm glad I told him I was "Bruce" because two more people just walked in -- make that four. It's getting busy.

The other nice thing about this unscheduled stop it prepares me for the part of the trip I like the least: going west across half the state of Nebraska and covering the entire state north to south. It will take a full day, even if the roads are clear. I never look forward to Nebraska. The state is fine; it's just a long, long haul.

So, God willing, I will be back on the road in the morning. I won't know until tomorrow because I won't have wi-fi in the room. But the gentleman from India says the roads will be clear by tomorrow. Inshallah. 

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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

6:25 p.m.  arrived McDonald's, Salina, Kansas. All roads to north and west are closed due to snow. Can go east but that's the same direction the storm is headed and roads are already closed in eastern Nebraska. No reason to go as far east as Iowa since northwestern Iowa is already snowed in. I'll spend the night in Salinas, see what tomorrow brings. 

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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

3:30 p.m. departing McDonald's, Perry, Oklahoma.

2:30 p.m. arrived McDonald's, Perry, Oklahoma. Windy, 50 degrees, feels like 40, I suppose; dry; clear. Jacket weather but kids in short sleeves. Two moms just brought in a dozen boys and girls, probably 2nd through 4th grade. They each got a huge ice-cream cone. And all with big smiles on their faces.

Beautiful drive. I always enjoy the ride through Oklahoma City area. It seems I never have traffic going north, but when I return southbound it's always very busy. Again, no traffic this time. A long time ago and in a far away place, I once had a close friend who had ties to Norman (Oklahoma). Always brings back powerful memories.

I would write about the music I'm listening to, but I doubt anyone cares, so we move on.

But, this is interesting; SNOW. All highways in southern Minnesota are closed (Feb 2, 2016, 2:59 p.m.) due to heavy snow from SuperStorm Kayla; I-80 in Nebraska closed.

Winter Storm Kayla is hammering the Plains, and the impacts have become very serious for hundreds of thousands.

More than 100 miles of Interstate 80 were closed Tuesday in Nebraska due to the nearly impossible driving conditions, the state Department of Transportation reported. The closure spanned from an area west of Kearney at Exit 369 all the way to Exit 257, near Beaver Crossing. There was no timetable for when that freeway would reopen.

According to Google maps, Exit 369 is east of Kearney, and is the exit for Beaver Crossing; exist 272 is the exit for Kearney, according to Google maps. I guess I will have to check this out for myself. Exit 257 is west of Kearney, on Highway 183. 

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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

11:50 a.m. departed Marietta McDonalds; this article is a must-read. I will read it at the next stop. Archived. Off the net  now.

11:10 a.m. arrived McDonalds, exit 15, 13 mile marker, I-35, south side of Marietta, OK. Same spot I stopped last trip north; multiple electric outlets; wi-fi friendly. The construction activity at the 13-mile market noted last trip, is a bit farther along, but not much; looks like new roadside rest area; tourist rest area? Several oil rigs in the area. Don tells me blizzard continues in Nebraska; foot of new snow. I probably won't get to Nebraska until tomorrow or sometime overnight; we'll see.

Wow, I thought Texans were friendly. When I came in, it was very, very busy, so I sat down, started working, waiting for line to die down. Quiet now; a young woman from the counter stopped by to see if customers were doing okay. A few minutes later I went up to counter; same woman; I ordered a small Coke. She gave me the cup -- no charge. Okay, I'm blown away. I said I would be back up in a few minutes and order lunch. I'll give her an extra $5 to hold for next customer that needs a meal.

9:50 a.m., departed Grapevine, TX; traffic backed up on Highway 121 out of town; back roads through town got me to Highway 114 west very nicely, past Texas Motor Speedway.