Another one of those “we should have gotten gas when we saw gas stations at that exit way back there” statements. Saw a small sign at an exit off I-40 east that there was gas & food here. Sign said “open” but everything was locked up. Unlike the station in Texas where we could still get gas, it was not possible here. Drove more slowly (60 MPH) and got to the next available gas at Tucumcari NM. Drove 228 miles since last fill-up.
Driving I-40 east, minding our own business, listening to a book on our MP3 player with our headphones, when suddenly the interstate is closed both directions. The eastbound lanes are directed off at San Jon NM to go south on 469. Two lane road doesn’t look too bad. The entire line of vehicles turns left (east) and we follow, though the road doesn’t show up on my map of Texas. It is on the GPS and it says we are on Historic Route 66. Well, this part of Route 66 is original and has not been paved – ever, it seems. We think it can’t go on like this for too long, and we don’t have much choice with 18-wheelers in front and behind. This picture was taken at 1:42 pm.
It’s 2:07 now. The road is going AWAY from I-40, it is now 2″ gravel washboard and the trucks & cars behind us are wanting to go faster than we are travelling. We can’t go any faster, no where to turn around and to go where??
2:09 pm. “Bridge” signs says 4 ton limit. Since everything from I-40 is now travelling this road, you can imagine how many trucks travelled this bridge.
Looking right (south) from the “bridge” as we crossed. Not much here.
2:30 pm. After 45 minutes of literally bouncing on a deep washboard gravel road and smelling our antifreeze boiling over, I (Dorothy) could tell from the GPS that another road, #93, turned left (north)and went to I-40. We could see I-40 in the distance and traffic was now moving on it. But no one else was taking #93 – they were all following like sheep down this road from hell. We passed #93, but decided we would take a chance and try to turn around. Paul pulled over as best he could when there was a break in traffic, made a U-turn and got on #93. We sat there a minute because this road wasn’t in any better condition. What to do? Suddenly a police car came rushing down #93 toward us. Paul waved at him and asked if we could get to I-40 on this road and he said yes. The policeman was rushing to try to turn the others back to get them on #93. We learned later that there were several bridges barely safe for cars, let alone 18 wheelers.
2:33 pm. It didn’t take trucks long to start passing us. We had had enough and just got over as best we could. We both admitted later that we had wondered what we would do if something broke. We just didn’t want to say it aloud at the time.
2:43 pm. One hour and 16 miles later (I checked on Google maps), we’re safe at the truck stop. A DOT worker told us that smoke from a grass fire made it necessary to close the interstate due to poor visibility. He said that no one had been there to direct traffic and it was a dangerous situation to have 18-wheelers using those old bridges. That’s why the police car finally came rushing down when they realized what had happened. It was 108 degrees, too.
Pile of dust built up on the lower adjuster of the 4-link bracket. There was a layer of dust on the seat and inside the door.
3:28 pm. After calming down and cooling off, we left New Mexico behind.
Missed the “Welcome to Texas” sign and got this somehow. Miles travelled today: 437
Welcome to Oklahoma. It’s easier to take a picture of the Welcome Center than driving by the sign at 70 MPH. We have been very impressed by all of the Welcome Centers. Great literature if you need it and coupon books for hotels that offer nice discounts. We should have stopped at these years ago! Stayed the night in Clinton OK