Wind

It seems learning something everyday is the common thing. Did you know that I40 going across Arizona through Flagstaff has a high altitude of well over 7,000 ft. I was thinking flat lands, warm Arizona sun… I guess I spent too much time in Phoenix.

There is a lot of wind in the high dessert. I plan to send a letter to the Arizona Department of Transportation strongly suggesting to widen the lanes to maybe 20 to 30 feet each. I want to apologize now to the small RV I was passing when the wind put me into their lane. Sorry! After several hours of white knuckle driving, I again was on the quest for a rest area to calm down a bit. Guess what, every rest area on I40 East in Arizona is closed. I looked at these places going by and could not see a physical reason for the closing. My guess is a cost saving issue, but it really sucks. And they are saving money on fixing roads also. Not having spent much time in an RV before, I was sure the body was eventually going to fly off the chassis as I watched the chassis drive on down the highway.

I made it to New Mexico, still fighting the wind, but not quite as bad. I talked to a few people who were curious about MotorSilk as I was refueling. I have not treated the RV with MotorSilk yet, since I am getting a baseline without the treatment for comparison. Currently I’m averaging around 10.5 mpg. Another 1-2mpgs will help the refueling bill greatly. I made it through Albuquerque, big cities are hard to maneuver in the RV, and kept driving east hoping to stay way ahead of the bad weather that was following me. It’s getting late and I’m on the search for a New Mexico rest area. After going by two that were closed I finally found one open and settled in for the night. This time I strategically placed myself out of the path of the main drag and decided I could avoid the farm animal alarm clock with ear plugs. At last, a good night’s sleep.