Truck buffeted by winds all night, then the snow starts, this propels dreams into fitful scenarios of drifted doom, a winter spent among the dunes. Unable to proceed, popsicled. Up early, road is wind-cleared, but only locally. Weather threats drone on the radio, and whiting-out proceeds. Pack up and head out. Pass the ranger, give a wave, and don’t even stop at the Center, only a mobile image or two fired off. South and west is where the bad weather is. Wolf Creek Pass is closed. Have to call Richard and Holly to check in from the messy Safeway parking lot in Alamosa, they are completely snow-bound in Durango, and Richard is pretty sick, so, head more south than west. But SR-285 continues to degrade and traffic drops off to nothing. A foot of packed and drifting snow on the road, and more coming every minute. First I was bummed at the pick-up truck in front of me going pretty slow, but after a while, I was happy that there was someone else who was on the road and directly ahead of me to at least get some idea what was happening up there. Plows were not making much progress against the snowfall and for a time I thought that I’d end up in a drift, but it gradually tapered off towards Santa Fe. Hands aching from gripping the wheel.
Shut down driving systems at 1400 a bit north of Albuquerque at the Motel-8 parking lot in Bernalillo, too late to do the run all the way to Prescott today without pushing my throbbing head through several glass, brick, and stone walls. Check in with a couple right jolly Pakistani guys running the front desk. Long hot bath. And lying in somebody else’s bed watching enough cable teevee to get my money’s worth. Free wifi, regroup for the next storm coming through tomorrow morning.