As we proceed

After a couple of nights in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, the trip out was unexpectedly difficult. Bright, sunny weather, but the wind was horrendous. Our rig is a Class C, which is the most vulnerable to gusts: more surface area (“sail” area) than the Class B, less weight and higher center of gravity than the Class A. As a result, I had to drive substantially slower than my norm, and we stopped more because of the extra time.

This wasn’t overcaution, either. When I stopped for fuel, our rig was positioned with the wind behind us, and the gusts were so powerful they ripped the cover off the vent over the bathroom area. (I have the opening covered with cardboard and tape right now, which — unless it rains — will serve until I can acquire and install a replacement for the vent cover.) At any rate, we made our current stop about half an hour before sunset, which was all we really needed, and will move on in a few days.

Apart from the problems it caused us, the wind gave us an unprecedented sight: a stream of tumbleweeds surging across the highway in front of us, looking for all the world like a herd of stampeding small animals.

At any rate, we’ll be moving out tomorrow for the next stage of the trip, and things look to be calmer from now on.