A High Wind Advisory has been in effect since last night, with winds at or near 30 mph and gusts much higher. (The desk clerk told me this morning that wildfires threatened areas near the hospital.)
When I tried to go out last night the wind was blowing so hard I just went back to my room. At 1 pm this afternoon, 28 mph winds with 35 mph gusts were reported on my AccuWeather app.
I would have liked to just stay in bed, but I didn’t want to spend a third night in Amarillo, so at 10 am I braved the wicked winds and headed back to Hwy 60. The first few miles were rough going along the access road, but it was better once I hit Hwy 60 itself. The strong headwind, however, was a challenge all day, and setting up my tent was something out of Laurel and Hardy.
Tonight’s forecast is a mixed blessing—the winds are supposed to die down, but the temperature is going to drop into the 30° range by early morning and not reach 50° until noon.
My camping spot is on a dirt/gravel side road next to the barbed wire. Sadly, the freight trains, just across the highway, are near a crossing, so I’ll be hearing the whistle blasts on a regular basis all night.
For those interested in the tools I’ve been observing on the roadside, I couldn’t believe it, but I finally found that elusive hammer! (Not to mention a smushed Dell computer.)
Seventeen miles today. It would have been more had the wind been at my back.
@ Panhandle, Texas