Ice Trek

We took off late-morning to begin the icy trek across Oklahoma.  The roads were relatively clear to Cleveland, allowing speeds of 40-50.  The Keystone Expressway was very clear all the way to Tulsa -- and the road quality deteriorated bigtime right where city maintenance began.  As we got through part of Tulsa and onto US 75, the road had not even been graded at all.  There were about 3 inches of ice still on the road, which meant speeds of about 25-30 virtually all the way to Indian Nations Turnpike.  Interestingly, the turnpike had been graded and was completely free of ice, allowing for good speed.  Another 30 minutes past the turnpike was fine, but then came the intermittent freezing rain/snow.  About the time we've cruised through Dallas and are in the southern part of Dallas, we hit the massive snowstorm -- couldn't even see the elevated roadways, because they're already covered in snow.  Great, since there's no motels or anything in southern Dallas for miles.  So we manage to drive another 20 miles in the crap -- with semis and other vehicles just flying by like complete lunatics -- before settling in for the evening at the Quality Inn in Ennis.  The name is not misleading -- it is a nice roadside inn, and quite a welcome site.  And so, ten hours of driving yields a grand total of about 380 miles.  

One of the many reasons I like Houston so much is that we don't have to deal with arctic blasts like this.  Blar.

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