Yesterday afternoon I picked up a couple of large water filtration units down in Colorado Springs heading for the Stockton, CA area. The units are quite large and had to be tarped. The guys at the shipper helped me to get the tarps over the units.
The tarping was quite a job as there were high winds. We put one tarp on three times because the wind kept blowing it off before we could get a few straps on it to hold it in place.
The high winds were a real problem as I was heading north. I had to stop several times and re-strap the back of the rear tarp because the wind kept tearing it loose. It was an exhausting drive.
Just north of Ft Collins, CO I hit the snowstorm. It was snowing very hard and the wind was blowing the snow making it almost impossible to see the road. It normally takes about 2 hours to drive from Colorado Springs to Cheyenne, WY but last night it took me five hours.
When I got to Cheyenne I found that I-80 was closed going west due to the weather. Great. I pulled into the truck stop, which was already full of trucks. I found a spot to park. It isn't actually a parking space but I parked anyway.
When I got out of my truck and went to close the door it wouldn't latch. The latching mechanism was frozen. I beat and banged on it until I could finally get it to latch. I went into the steak house next to the truck stop and had some dinner and a couple of beers before calling it a day.
This morning the truck stop is jam packed with trucks. When I went inside to get a cup of coffee I heard one guy saying that he couldn't move his trucks because his brakes were frozen and another saying that he could get his started because his fuel had jelled up. It's a real mess.
I am feeling the effects of fighting that wind yesterday. My arms and shoulders are stiff and sore from the effort of keeping my rig on the road.
I am now waiting around for them to re-open the highway so I can be on my way. The sun is shining and the wind has died down, for now, so I have hopes that it won't be too much longer.