I reunited with the interstate by way of the Petrified Forest.
It is indeed amazing what a mere 225 million years can do. I'll not bore you with the details of petrification, the short story is that this was once a tree lined stream located near the equator on the now defunct continent Pangea. Drift and uplift have now rendered this landscape into a grassland.
Back on the Mother Road. Don't forget Wynona.
A quick loop through the Desierto Pintado, under the gathering sky...
And then it was but a hop skip and a jump home.
Except it wasn't.
I knew there was a storm due to arrive on the front range that was going to make driving along the I-25 corridor a less than pleasant experience. I decided to make a day of it and push on homeward. I stopped for gas in Springer, NM and motored on northward. Much to my surprise, about 30 miles south of Raton something loud, catastrophic and collateral happened to the truck. It started with an ominous vibration, which made me think I should pull over to the breakdown lane. By the time I could process that thought, "BLAM!" "Clank!" "Clunk!!" "Rattle.." no brakes, no steering. As it turns out the transfer case blew up, probably instigated by the driveshaft. (There is an impressive dent in the front of the trailer from something (driveshaft?))
And then the blizzard hit.
