On the way to Uvalde
With 3300km of travel, we decided to take 4 days
and headed off on Monday, 23 July, with a first stop at Columbus, Ohio. A 20 kt
headwind most of the day caused a 20% increase in fuel usage. There were a few
road works also that caused the speed average to drop. The second day started
off with overcast skies soon turning to thunderstorms and heavy rain. By noon it
cleared and the temperature started going up again. We stopped over on the
outskirts of Memphis. By the third day, sitting in the car for hours started to
be uncomfortable, but the road through Arkansas is much smoother now most of the
concrete slabs have been replaced with asphalt. Still a few stretches of
rhythmic bumping, but a big improvement over previous years. We were able to
enjoy the sight of wall-to-wall CUs, hoping those conditions were a promise of
things to come in Uvalde. The ride was uneventful until 60 miles from Dallas
when the GPS chimed "traffic ahead" and suggested an alternate route. Thinking
it was going to be roadworks again, I ignored the change in route and right
after the suggested exit, the traffic literally screeched to a halt. After 15
minutes of barely moving and seeing cars cutting across the grass between the
highway and the service road, I did the same, choosing a relatively flat area to
cross with the trailer. Of course, it's not long before the service road is
blocked too, but crossing over to the other side we progressed about 20 kms. We
then got to an intersection where police were re-routing traffic. We ended up on
hwy 66, crawling along for an hour before rejoining hwy 30. It turns out the
highway had been completely closed, probaly due to an accident. We stayed in
Mesquite, on the outskirts of Dallas. Only able to find unlicensed fast food
places, we decide to head into Dallas downtown for a beer and a bite. We found a
nice place called the Hofbrauhaus with a terrace and though it was still a bit
warm to sit outside, with the air conditioning inside, it was actually too cold
to sit indoors!
Today a short trip to San Antonio, and a tourist
round of the "river walk". Tomorrow a short drive to Uvalde to be there in time
for a 10AM safety meeting, and registration. Saturday, a technical inspection of
the glider and hopefully some flying.
Nick and Christine
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