My View from 1958

Friday the 13^th. What could go wrong? And it was April…..Spring! My wife Jan and I were moving items we purchased from Colorado to Iowa. I was driving a mini-van and my wife was driving a SUV.  We checked the weather and it was a go….so we took off on what should be about a 10-hour drive.

The Great Plains have always held surprises in regard to the weather. The early pioneers who traveled west on the Oregon Trail found out how cruel the Plains weather could be. Flash floods, blizzards, tornadoes….but those were the early settlers who did not have the Weather Channel or the WeatherBug app to warn them of pending doom. I, of course, studied the weather. Friday was to be windy with a chance of rain….Saturday a chance of snow and maybe blizzard like conditions. No problem…by Saturday we would be past Grand Island, Nebraska far ahead of any pending storm. So, we decided to make a dash for it. We would be driving on Interstate 80. Interstate 80 roughly takes the same path as the Oregon Trail.

Mother Nature can be very unpredictable. We started the trip east with winds blowing about 30 to 40 miles an hour. No big deal. We stopped in Fort Morgan, CO for a Subway…. windy, getting colder but we have the weather technology. I remember having a heck of a time getting the door open at Subway due to the winds. No problem. We are good.  By the time we got to Julesburg, CO the snow was flying, and it was sticking to the roads……hmmmmm……started to panic a bit but heck North Platte was only 120 miles away…..we can make it. The weather cannot move 75 miles an hour, can it? As we traveled down the interstate, Jan and I stayed in constant communication on the cell phone. We were sure we would outrun the storm. We relayed information about visibility, tire traction, wind and of course words of encouragement.

Then the storm really hit. I mean it hit hard. We had to slow to 40 miles an hour, then 30 then 20. We put on our emergency flashers so those behind us could see us……then the white outs came. I have never experienced a true white out before this trip, but there we were on Interstate 80 and everything just disappeared. No way to tell who was in front of you…no way to see if you were even between the lines…..just a whitish-gray haze and panic.  It’s very much like closing your eyes and hoping you can keep your car on the road. That is not an exaggeration. My heart was racing. I sensed a semi near but only occasionally caught a glimpse of the tail lights. As long as I had a view of a truck light, I should be ok………………. right?

On occasion the wind would subside and we could get a bearing. Finally, an interstate exit sign. Exit number 117. Brule, NE…. population 307. Well, there is an exit sign so there has to be gas, food, services. Maybe a motel. Right?  This has to be a legitimate place, right? I mean, if there are no services, they would not suggest a traveler to exit, right? Wrong!  We took the exit and pulled into a gas station. Two other cars and a couple of semis were already there. We are safe. Food, fuel, toilet and perhaps a warm booth where we could wait out the storm. I jumped out of the Van and raced to the door…..and pulled but it did not budge…….the station was closed.  I peaked in the window. The station actually looked abandoned……it was.

I hopped into the SUV to discuss the situation with my wife. We decided to take a quick tour of Brule in the SUV. We discovered it offered no necessities. No stores, no restaurants, no motel and it was questionable to me if anyone even lived in the city limits, so we went back to the abandoned gas station to wait and see what would happen. I later read that at one time Brule was a thriving farming community. Brule flourished at the turn of the 19^th century. It operated as many as five gasoline stations, a drugstore, ice cream parlor, two hardware stores, lumber store, three grocery stores, theatre, barbershops, a hotel, creamery, and several cafes. Time changes all and Brule and time were no friends.

The wind continued to howl; the snow was blowing horizontally to the ground. On occasion I would jump out and clean the snow off the SUV windows, roof and hood. I did not want to get buried in the drifts. The down side was I was getting soaked from the wet, heavy snow. We waited and waited, but the wind just would not let up. For about 5 hours it continued to blow as a steady unrelenting pace. The snow just kept coming. One of the cars that was also at the gas station parking lot suddenly started up and took off. What do they know that we don’t know?  Is the storm coming to an end? Did the Department of Transportation (DOT) halt mother nature’s savagery? 

We decided we needed to make a dash for it too. I mean, if they can make it why can’t we?  We have an SUV.  AWD!!! The van had front wheel drive. A quick search with Google Maps and we found a motel 9 miles away. Ogalala, Nebraska. Called. Yes, they had a room! Interstate 80 was closed so we could get there by taking a parallel path, State Highway (SH) 30. Not a problem. It has to be better…..lite traffic I am sure. No big semis to watch out for. And besides, those other people must have made it…..right?

We decided to leave the van at the gas station and take the SUV to the hotel. What could go wrong? Off we went, but about a half a mile later all of the sudden the road disappeared. I stuck my head out the window to try to get our bearings and make sure we did not drive into the ditch. The wind was worse than ever…..snow poured into the SUV as I tried to navigate. We drove by a pickup in the ditch. The emergency flashers displayed an ominous warning. Then another SUV in the ditch. Finally, we saw flashing red lights ahead on the main road. A county employee told us to turn around. The road was closed, as there was a major pileup ahead.

I jumped out and guided Jan as she turned the SUV around and avoided the steep slopes of the ditches that seemed to forever be sucking us toward them and their inevitable doom. Once turned around we had to roll the windows down and stick our heads out to see either side of the road.  We also had to be aware of on-coming traffic. I felt for sure we were bound to end up in the ditch.

We stated inching our way back to the gas station oasis, but just when we thought the wind and snow could not get worse, it did. We could not leave the windows down for long periods of time as the snow flooded the car. Then the worst happened. I rolled the window down for a quick peek, but the window would not roll back up. Stuck open like the hatches on a doomed battle ship. We could not seal the incoming moisture out of the car. I pulled up on the window like a mad man. What have we done?  How could we be so stupid. Even if we made it back to the station, we would have to sit out the storm with an open window. Howling wind and freezing temperatures. Surreal.

Finally, about the 5^th attempt the window came up into place. I am not sure what happened but I feel this was a test. “OK Mike, you’re an idiot. You did not stay put. Rule number 1 in a blizzard. Stay put. All the history books you read about pioneers perishing on the trail during winter storms was because they got lost. Did you not learn anything? You went on a very dangerous drive. Let me teach you a lesson you will never forget”.  I will not.

We made it back to the abandon gas station, with still no signs of life. The engine of the Diesel trucks continued to roar.  The other car was now smothered in snow and ice. It looked abandoned but how could that be?  There was absolutely nowhere to go. The town of Brule was abandoned as far as we could tell.  We pulled into the exact spot we were parked at earlier. The wind was still blowing hard. The snow was driving hard. The temperature continued to drop.

We had some bottled water and snacks like popcorn, jerky and peanuts, so we are not going to starve to death. But the big issue now was, what happens if mother nature calls….and she will…….and she did.   I had to step out to take care of business. By the time I was done, I was covered with snow and ice. My clothes were saturated. It was like I stood under a water sprinkler for two minutes with my winter coat on. The snow and ice stuck to me like flies to a fresh cow pie. Once back in the SUV, I immediately became concerned about getting a chill. I attempted to warm up and dry off. My wife, bless her soul, never found the need to answer mother nature. I was jealous. Luckily our vehicles were packed with clothes and blankets, so we had a source of warmth and a change of clothes…..but what if mother nature calls again?

The sun began to set but the storm was still relentless. The temperature dropped like a rock. My next concern was how long will the fuel last? We started the SUV about every 45 minutes to generate some heat and ensure the car would not freeze up. Again luckily, we filled up with gas in Fort Morgan, CO, so we had over half a tank of gas. If we were conservative, we would be ok. Gas was only about 8 miles away in Ogalala, but it might as well have been 80 miles.

The night was going to be long, cold, sleepless and boring. We needed a diversion. Cell “Hot Spot” and Netflix. I do not recall how many episodes of “The Office”, we watched but I was so thankful for spending time with Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, Dwight Schrute and the crew of Dunder Mifflin. I had seen these episodes before, but for some reason tonight they seemed fresh. It passed the time and provided a mechanism to take our minds off the situation. We both managed to drift in and out of sleep over the night, which for me was not easy. I am six feet tall and my car seat would not lay back since the car was so packed. Truly uncomfortable.  I am not sure what time it was when I woke from my doze, but I noticed the wind subsided. The snow and sleet stopped falling.  The gas station was eerily quiet….and still.  We were surrounded by huge snow drifts. Mother nature is still in charge. The only sound was the faint noise of the diesel motors. It was still very cold, but the storm had finally passed.

A quick look to the east and we could see the faint yellow ribbon of the rising sun. What a welcome sight. A check on the internet revealded that the interstate was still closed, but we could see cars and trucks on the road. Signs of modern life!  It must be passable by now! I jumped out of the SUV, opened the van door and started the motor. It started right away. Now to scrape the windows. That was a chore, but I finally defeated the demon.   Again, the interstate started to come to life. The Semi trucks pulled out heading West. The lifeless car next to us came to life. I have no idea where the two occupants came from but their car fired up and off they went…. with only small peep holes to see. I was sure I would have to call the highway patrol and inform them of frozen bodies at an abandon gas station. Stephen King.

We felt now was the time to make a dash for the motel. I called the motel again, and they said they still had a vacancy. Let’s do it. The roads must be good. Look at all the traffic. Right? Off we went. The roads were like sheets of ice as you might expect. We drove slowly but I was now in my element. After living in the Midwest for most of my life, I can navigate an ice packed road. Slow and easy.  I remember a DOT truck coming from the opposite direction giving me a one finger salute. I am sure he took this road closed stuff seriously.  Finally, after a half hour drive, we took the exit and drove into the hotel parking lot. I was never so glad to see a Super 8 in my life. It was like the Taj Mahal to me. Heat, a bed, all you can eat breakfast. Coffee. Now that is living!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My wife and I often reflect about our adventure. Looking back, it was kinda……well………fun? I frequently wonder how the early settlers survived these elements. No popcorn, no heat, no AWD, no Netflix, no road map, no cell……… I always considered myself a bit of an outdoorsman. I love to hike and camp. I am not sure I would have survived the Oregon Trail. If I had, I doubt I would have considered the journey fun.