1/30 Handling the winter storm came down to just two decisions: Whether to take the northern route via Amarillo, rather than Dallas – which would have allowed me to pass through more states I have not been to, but the weather maps showed bright red and even purple areas in those states, and I saw cars on TV covered in inches of ice –, and then again on the morning in Tucumcari whether I’d go via Oklahoma and St. Louis, or go yet further north to Kansas City. I chose the former, based on the snowfall predictions, and it was alright, although Oklahoma had probably the worst cover of snow on the city highways of all places I passed through. Also, and I did not know that, Oklahoma City is on the easternmost stretches of the Rocky Mountains, and the descent from OKC into the plains was one of the more challenging parts of the drive.

I was always in a hurry. Partly because of tracking and trying to out-maneuver the winter storm, and partly because it was technically a work week, and from Monday I was supposed to have regular work days and drive from the late afternoon into the night. And because of this, I also tried to make as much headway as I could over the weekend.

To realize the potential of this trip, and to actually do something along the way, rather than just eating miles, I should have had two or even three weeks for it.