Last week in September – I am on my way back to Denver after a 5 week RV van road trip. I am currently experiencing weather related travel issues which got me thinking about this trip’s weather cycles. I haven’t chatted about the weather but I think it is time.

I started the road trip by traveling through Wyoming. It was windy and hot. I remember thinking it is always windy in Wyoming. When I drove through South Dakota I remember thinking does the wind blow in SD all the time? WINDy in Iowa, parts of Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. Rarely could use cruise control because of the wind gusts. The first weeks of my trip encountered rainy days, dewy mornings and days of driving with clouds. I left Iowa after an intense thunder storm and nearby tornadoes in Sioux Falls. As I drove into Missouri, then Indiana, Kentucky & Tennessee the weather became dry, hot and humid- weeks without rain. I quit looking at weather reports! My van was covered in splattered bug guts without rain to wash them off.

I left Indiana on Friday, September 27 around noon. The WIND was blowing but my favorite road from Bloomington to Terra Haute 46 was as lovely as usual – Farm lands, floating lakes, bridges, cemeteries, lots of tree lined passages and familiarity. I got on I-70 and was quickly in dangerous situations as semi trucks would pass me and the wind currents messed with my high profile vehicle. Very windy and scary. I quickly left the interstate and got on 40. So much better – yet trucks coming towards the van caused the windshield wipers to pop upward. Could not make it to St Louis!

Click below to see me driving in the wind!

https://writtenbyconniec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMG_0584-10-5.mov

Saturday I got up early to try to miss the wind and drove I-70 through St Louis to Columbia. The wind got worse so I headed south to rural 2 lane rural roads. I ended up tired and in a RV camp in Sedalia, Missouri. That night as I laid in bed reading I started to hear weird thunder in the distance. I checked the radar for the first time in weeks. See picture of weather map. The storm came fast and hard. I found myself snuggling into my quilt which was soggy from the rain leaking into the back door!

It took me three days to get through Kansas because of the horrid winds. One day I drove 250 miles and it took 7 hours – another day I drove 9 hours and went 275 miles. I arrived in Lakewood, Colorado on Monday, October 1st with sore shoulders and hips from all the tense driving.