Day 45
Shepard to Silsbee
I was chased by a Texas storm all day. When I left Shepard, I looked over my shoulder and the sky to the West was dark. As I headed East, I noticed the storm front was keeping up with me. It must have been moving about 10mph, which is about what I do when you average in my stopping time. I pulled into a gas station and got two breakfast tacos. A truck driver there told me I had better get some shelter tonight because a storm was headed towards Silsbee (my destination). I was inclined to agree with him, after watching the storm front follow me all morning.
About 1pm I pulled into a country store in Honey Island. I was about 20 miles from Silsbee at that point. I had a hamburger, even though I wasn’t terribly hungry, and watched the storm creep closer. By the time I got back on the bike, I was getting just a few drops of rain, the leading edge of the storm. No more stops for me until I reach Silsbee.
I was hoping for a nice hotel in Silsbee. No luck. Even though there is a bed, I’ll be sleeping in my sleeping bag tonight. I got checked into the room just as a burst of thunder seemed to shake the ground. It was perhaps the loudest burst of thunder I’ve ever heard. I looked West and the sky was dark. It was only 4pm. I opened the door to the room, moved a chair into the doorway, and waited. Within two minutes the storm hit. Thunder and lightening that you could feel. The rain came down in sheets that made the visibility a thousand yards or so. I watched the show for a good ten minutes. The foremost thought in my mind, how glad I was to be under a roof and not out in the open. I was fortunate to run ahead of the storm front all day.
This isn’t Seattle. Within an hour the front had passed over Silsbee, depositing (according to my weather app) an inch of rain. Currently, several hours later, the temperature is 70 degrees and the humidity is 96 percent. I’m almost in Louisiana, in fact, I’ll be there tomorrow. Seems like it has taken me a long time to get through Texas, and indeed it has.
For the record, my two favorite campgrounds in Texas were El Cosmico in Marfa, and The Shepard Sanctuary in Shepard.
My flask of Jim Beam is all gone.
Miles: 62
Chased by a Texas storm front all day.
