DAY 89
Week 13
DUMAS (Texas, USA) to SALT LAKE CITY (Utah)
Sunday September 17th, 2006
TODAYS MILEAGE – 927 miles or 1492 kilometres
TRIP MILEAGE – 11076 miles or 17825 kilometres
It's been a long day!!! 
Back on Day 37 of this trip I thought I had long day driving the 547 miles (881 kilometres) from Green Bay (Wisconsin) to Detroit (Michigan). As it turns out, this leg from Dumas (Texas) to Salt Lake City (Utah) easily out does the previous efforts by a long shot.
The morning started at 5AM, all cold and blustery and didn't get much better for the day. I had left any winter woolies back in Austin thinking that I wouldn't even need a pair of sweat (track) pants until I get back there in November. Yesterday I had every window open on the Man Pad and was boiling my arse off, while today I had it all closed up with the LPG fired central gas forced air heater going.
The run up from Dallas (Texas) to Dumas (Texas) had a fair amount of cross and head winds, but it was nothing compared to this leg of the journey. Advertised wind gusts up to 45 MPH (72 KPH) were pushing the Man Pad around the road like a t-shirt on a clothes line. I was literally all over the road like a mad woman's shit, but could do little other than hold on and enjoy the ride.
I don't mind telling you that the stress level was at warp factor 11, but there was nothing you could do other than trying to take your time and try not to hit anything or run off into the scrub.
11 o'clock saw me pulling into the car park of the Walmart near downtown Salt Lake City (Utah) and wouldn't you know it, I just happened to find the only Walmart in the United States that has a multi-level car park with a ceiling height of 9 feet, as full three feet (one metre) shorter than the Man Pad. After being on the road for 18 hours and only stopping for fuel, I was knackered and didn't want to find another place to park up for the night, so I just drove around to the delivery dock and parked as far away as I could so that I didn't impede traffic.
A security guy comes over to suss me out and I tell him I'm delivery a new line in the morning. He says OK and it's off to bed for Fitzy with the LPG fired central gas forced air heater keeping me toasty.
Hopefully tomorrow is a little less stressful.