4. Pecos to McKinney, Texas
Day Four: After a great Texas breakfast, I topped the truck off with diesel and got on the road before Jennifer. Barbara followed close behind to avoid getting separated again. Jennifer and the kids would catch up later on the road from Pecos to McKinney as we lugged up rolling hills and stopped for gas, fast food, and potty breaks. Oil rigs and refineries dotted the landscape as we passed through Odessa, Midland, Sweetwater and Abilene. Pick-ups whizzed by me even when I was going 75 mph. Texas driving was like running the Indianapolis 500 on a straight road. Even the eighteen-wheelers were rolling at a frenetic pace. The only way to survive was to join the rat race. It was a relief to turn off I-20 at Weatherford up Highway 51 to Decatur. We hoped to avoid the afternoon traffic snarls around Fort Worth and Dallas. Along the way we encountered a major accident that detoured us on country roads near the highway. Beyond the accident, the countryside was rolling hills, green pastures, horse ranches, and sprawling ranch houses. But when we turned east on Hwy 380, we ran into an endless line of stop lights and traffic all the way to McKinney. Eventually, we turned onto Rancho de la Osa Trail where we spotted Steve and Jenny on the road headed for home. Steve directed me to the alley and guided me to a spot by the garage. After a quick tour of the house we took a Sidler family picture, hugged everyone, and decided to find our motel south of Dallas.
The freeways were crowded and crazy as we went directly through downtown Dallas to our motel in Duncanville. I barely missed a head on collision turning against the one way traffic on the frontage road near the motel. Soon we learned that drivers have to go up the one way frontage road to the next crossover to the one way frontage road going the opposite way. Endless circles became the norm to get anywhere. Back at the motel we fell asleep quickly exhausted from three days of driving and dealing with Texas drivers.
Next: Day Five: Austin and San Antonio
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