AUSTIN/PART 1

My good friend Tommy picked me up at the airport in Kansas City a couple of Saturdays ago. My late afternoon arrival left just enough daylight to see brooding, dark gray clouds and dirty, slushy snow. Tommy had arrived earlier to prepare a couple of truck and trailer rigs for a drive south to Austin, Texas for the 73rd Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo. He would be the lead dog driving an 18 wheel rig composed of a black Kenworth, with chrome every where, including two majestic smoke stacks on each side of the cab, pulling a trailer that is a self contained barbecue rig. The trailer was done in bright oranges and reds with ribs being slathered with barbecue sauce on the side, a real eye opener tooling down the highway. I was to follow in a black F-350 Ford dooly pulling a 33 foot trailer loaded with support goods for the big rig.

The next morning, Tommy, being the extra cautious sort, checked all fluid levels and every tire for air pressure and we were ready to roll. As we left Blue Springs, Missouri I noticed a sign proudly proclaiming this was the home of David Cook, a past American Idol winner. I had once passed a similar sign for Carrie Underwood somewhere in Oklahoma. Tommy set his cruise control for 70 mph as I drafted along close behind while we meandered through the KC area then settled down on the I-35 for the nearly 800 mile run to Austin.

Tommy had rigged up a CB in my truck so we could converse with each other, often times just to break the monotony but also to give notice of fuel or meal stops. The chatter on a big rig CB is a world all its own. Some lingo I understand, most I don’t. But it is fascinating. I felt like the movie “Smokey and the Bandit’ as I saw law enforcement vehicles that thought they were cleverly concealed only to have a trucker proclaim on the CB “Smokey bear at mile marker 139”. You could sense every trucker in that vicinity simultaneously backing off the throttle.

We left Missouri and crossed into Kansas. If this isn’t the flattest real estate on the face of the earth it has to be close. Being at the tail end of a long winter there is nothing but miles and miles of brown prairie. The prairie became gentle rolling hillside as we passed into Oklahoma. Somewhere south of Oklahoma City we stopped at the Sooner Café for a late lunch. A greasy spoon if there ever was one but a delightful greasy spoon. As is most often the case when you are away from the major metropolitan areas there is great pride in the universities that represent their states. In Kansas it was K State and Kansas. Here there was no mistaking we were in Oklahoma Sooner country. Pictures of autographed athletes from OU adorned the walls and all manner of gear was available in Sooner red and white. I love the pride these people have in their schools. We stretched our legs, had a great lunch, resisted a persistent waitresses efforts to order their “world famous lemon meringue pie” and returned to the road.

Darkness fell as we approached the Texas border and a light rain began to fall. After we crossed into Texas the light rain became torrential. The Ford F-350 I was driving had about 10 different windshield wiper settings. Earlier I had thought that was a little overkill. Not now. I used every one in an attempt to keep water off the windshield. Following closely behind an 18 wheeler in heavy rain is sort of like driving through a car wash. You can’t see anything. You completely rely on the truck in front of you. If he were to drive off a cliff you would more than likely follow him. I trusted Tommy and stayed close as he reduced speed. All the while Tommy is talking with other truck drivers on the CB to find a motel with truck parking. There are not many that do. Not only do they not have the space they do not have ingress and egress for an 18 wheeler.

We passed town after town until we took a chance and pulled off the highway in Denton, Texas. After passing up several motels Tommy found one which did not have truck parking but out of frustration he made truck parking. We walked next door for a bowl of tortilla soup then settled in for the night.