Dec 24
It took me 14 hours to drive 650 miles. That averages out to just under 47 m.p.h. My average speed from KC to St. Louis was 73 m.p.h. Yowch.
About halfway between Columbia, MO and STL I called my mom and she warned me that I-64 was closed in Indiana.. ..apparently 20 inches of snow is a lot
After I got through STL and was in Illinois the snow started showing.. there was only one over-turned semi in the median, I’m not sure why he was over turned because up to Mt. Vernon, Ill. the roads were fine. Once I got past Mt. Vernon and saw the electronic sign that said “I64 CLOSED AT INDIANA BORDER” I started to worry. The roads in Mr. Vernon were crap - they’d only had a dusting compared to what I was heading into.
The further into Illinois I traveled the worse the roads were. I stopped at a rest-area since I had filled my bladder up when I was having lunch in Mt. Vernon and that almost turned out to be a Very Bad Thing! First off, the ramp into the rest stop was not plowed at all, but at least it was packed enough from earlier traffic that it was drivable. Well I get up close and the way is blocked by a truck and a couple of minivans. Oh well - I park my car on the side and trudge my way up to the visitor center which is FULL of truck driver who are stranded. Once I’m done taking care of business I head back out to my car, hop in and start backing my way out of the entrance ramp back onto the highway. Oh shit, a truck is trying to make its way in, and of course if he does that he strands every one in front of him since the way out is blocked. GRR. Luckily he recognizes what is about to happen and manages to back his way out and park elsewhere without stranding the few of us who are brave/stupid enough to keep going.
About 15 miles outside of Evansville, Indiana there was so much snow on the highway that my car (remember, I drive a MINI) was bouncing all over the place. Average speed at that point was about 20 m.p.h. I had to slow down to less than ten at that point. Two miles later traffic stopped. I sat in one spot for probably 30-40 minutes watching the outside temperature on my instrument panel drop from 8 ºF to 0 ºF. Every once in a while someone would drive past, and I heard sirens at one point as well. I was really close to an exit ramp, so I just turned around and went West in the East-bound lane and exited from the entrance ramp and visited a little town that was up next to the Interstate. I parked and exchanged pleasentries with other motorists, then I went inside for a bit to warm up and stand (been in my car SITTING too damn long already!). I got back into the car after a bit and headed up to the highway to see what was going on, and cars were actually moving at that point so I went back down and started heading out. I called my mom with an hourly update and told her that things were finally looking good again and NO sooner had I said that I heard a ding and my low tire pressure light started to flash. Grrrrr.
Ten miles per hour for the next 15 miles. I64 was like an obstacle course - people just left their vehicles where they were! It was good times, except that I was only going 10 miles per hour and I was still two hours at NORMAL speeds from Kentucky, and it is about another hour and 45 minutes at normal speeds to the parents house once I get into Kentucky!!
Luckily tho, a bit outside of Evansville the highway was cleared up enough to be able to go 30-40 m.p.h. at a lot of points, and it was also cleared up enough to safely pass people who didn’t want to go over 20. I even managed to find an exit that was clear enough to get off and check my tire pressure, which luckily was all 4 tires low on pressure (it was 3º outside) and not a flat! So I gassed them up (air is a mixture of gasses!!), along with the car (I fueled up about 8 times on this trip, almost all of them 5 gallons or less.. never miss an opportunity to pee or get gas in this kind of weather!!).
Once I made it through southern Indiana and got into Kentucky the roads were nice and clear with an occasional patch of snow or ice. Speed moved back up to 60-90 (depending on road conditions) and I made it to the parents house at 12:30 PM EST (or 11:30 PM CST). I got on the highway at 9:30 that morning in Kansas. Fourteen hours.
I better get some good presents this year.
Happy Holidays from Me & Mr. Bigglesworth!!
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About halfway between Columbia, MO and STL I called my mom and she warned me that I-64 was closed in Indiana.. ..apparently 20 inches of snow is a lot
After I got through STL and was in Illinois the snow started showing.. there was only one over-turned semi in the median, I’m not sure why he was over turned because up to Mt. Vernon, Ill. the roads were fine. Once I got past Mt. Vernon and saw the electronic sign that said “I64 CLOSED AT INDIANA BORDER” I started to worry. The roads in Mr. Vernon were crap - they’d only had a dusting compared to what I was heading into.The further into Illinois I traveled the worse the roads were. I stopped at a rest-area since I had filled my bladder up when I was having lunch in Mt. Vernon and that almost turned out to be a Very Bad Thing! First off, the ramp into the rest stop was not plowed at all, but at least it was packed enough from earlier traffic that it was drivable. Well I get up close and the way is blocked by a truck and a couple of minivans. Oh well - I park my car on the side and trudge my way up to the visitor center which is FULL of truck driver who are stranded. Once I’m done taking care of business I head back out to my car, hop in and start backing my way out of the entrance ramp back onto the highway. Oh shit, a truck is trying to make its way in, and of course if he does that he strands every one in front of him since the way out is blocked. GRR. Luckily he recognizes what is about to happen and manages to back his way out and park elsewhere without stranding the few of us who are brave/stupid enough to keep going.
About 15 miles outside of Evansville, Indiana there was so much snow on the highway that my car (remember, I drive a MINI) was bouncing all over the place. Average speed at that point was about 20 m.p.h. I had to slow down to less than ten at that point. Two miles later traffic stopped. I sat in one spot for probably 30-40 minutes watching the outside temperature on my instrument panel drop from 8 ºF to 0 ºF. Every once in a while someone would drive past, and I heard sirens at one point as well. I was really close to an exit ramp, so I just turned around and went West in the East-bound lane and exited from the entrance ramp and visited a little town that was up next to the Interstate. I parked and exchanged pleasentries with other motorists, then I went inside for a bit to warm up and stand (been in my car SITTING too damn long already!). I got back into the car after a bit and headed up to the highway to see what was going on, and cars were actually moving at that point so I went back down and started heading out. I called my mom with an hourly update and told her that things were finally looking good again and NO sooner had I said that I heard a ding and my low tire pressure light started to flash. Grrrrr.
Ten miles per hour for the next 15 miles. I64 was like an obstacle course - people just left their vehicles where they were! It was good times, except that I was only going 10 miles per hour and I was still two hours at NORMAL speeds from Kentucky, and it is about another hour and 45 minutes at normal speeds to the parents house once I get into Kentucky!!
Luckily tho, a bit outside of Evansville the highway was cleared up enough to be able to go 30-40 m.p.h. at a lot of points, and it was also cleared up enough to safely pass people who didn’t want to go over 20. I even managed to find an exit that was clear enough to get off and check my tire pressure, which luckily was all 4 tires low on pressure (it was 3º outside) and not a flat! So I gassed them up (air is a mixture of gasses!!), along with the car (I fueled up about 8 times on this trip, almost all of them 5 gallons or less.. never miss an opportunity to pee or get gas in this kind of weather!!).
Once I made it through southern Indiana and got into Kentucky the roads were nice and clear with an occasional patch of snow or ice. Speed moved back up to 60-90 (depending on road conditions) and I made it to the parents house at 12:30 PM EST (or 11:30 PM CST). I got on the highway at 9:30 that morning in Kansas. Fourteen hours.
I better get some good presents this year.
Happy Holidays from Me & Mr. Bigglesworth!!
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One Response to “The Drive Through Hell Is Paved With Snow”
December 26th, 2004 at 8:59 pm
OMG, you poor angel… I can’t believe you were caught in that mess. I saw it on the news on TV. You need to move out to California and hang out with me… Yep!