Five Fingers Fifty States: Windy Day

The RV seemed to be doing ok yesterday. I'm making my way across I-40 I picked up a new noise towards the back but I think it's a strap on the roof in the wind resonating above 45 mph. It was heavy winds all day. And a scary moment on the road. I was driving along and the freeway and a truck was passing me and as it was half way past started to drift off to the the left towards the meridian. I thought they would correct and get back in the lane but they kept going off the road! The truck at full speed drove across the grass meridian, across the east bound lanes, off the other side of the road and up a small embankment before it came to a stop. What a crazy site. I don't think they hit anything or anyone. I'm lucky they didn't try to correct and come back across my lane from the dirt. I'm guessing the driver just let the momentum go forward or would have for sure jack knifed. There was no place to stop and see if they were okay. I called 911 and kept going although slower for awhile. It could have been a gust of wind or just got they distracted. I stopped down the road to get gas and asked some guys that pulled in behind me. They didn't see the accident happen but saw the truck off the road and thought it was a strange place to be "parked".

I probably crossed the shortest part of Texas. Only 178 miles. Texas is one of those states that can take days. I've been to Texas a few times before in my past and didn't find a reason to stop this time through. I often wonder how they decided on the boundaries of states. I suppose often it's rivers. Sometimes it's just straight lines with now difference from one side or the other. But crossing Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico it's also the geography. Oklahoma had rolling green hills of farms. Texas was flat and dry. There were more hills on the ocean in Key Largo then the ranches in Texas. Then as you head west the buttes appear in the distance and you start climbing in elevation. The landscape turns to short pines and sage brush. I think it is the landscape that makes the people they way there are and gives the place it's feel. I've been hoping from KOA to KOA as I make my distance west and last night was in Albuquerque. It was the first camp ground I've seen surrounded by barbwire. The checkin host said it used to be out in the country but the city sprawl has surrounded it. It felt okay for the night but glad I'm not staying. Time to roll on.