Running on Empty

I awoke early today, did a quick wash-up, unhooked, and hit the road, getting gone by 7:15 am. I ate my banana and part of the apple fritter that I'd gotten at the grocery ydy. The banana was great - just a bit green so that the peel came off with some difficulty in spots. I love them like that! The fritter was ... doughy. Ick.

The temperature when I left was 49°, and there were just a few wispy clouds. The temperature warmed rapidly, so that the next time I looked at the temp, it was 71°! It stayed in the 70's for the rest of my drive across central and western Texas.

In fact, I didn't notice much of anything, but the traffic and the beautiful countryside, as the trees gave way to shorter trees and then brushy stuff and tumbleweeds. Do you know what happens when you run into a tumbleweed with your vehicle? Poof! It disintegrates!

Oh, and there were more wind farms! West of Abilene onward toward Sweetwater, and then more down the highway. Their gentle clockwise rotations ... I wondered why they are all white -- why no one has thought to paint them in colors or patterns.

I was listening to Sirius radio -- the Roadhouse station, which is classic country -- lots of somebody-done-somebody-wrong songs. Love it.

I was about 35 miles from Van Horn, Texas, traveling on 20, merging onto 10, out in the middle of literally .. nothing.. when I looked at my fuel gauge. Not only was it sitting on E, but the light was on, telling me that I was on my last gallon or so. I didn't know how long it had been on.

My mileage indicator told me that I'd been 347 miles since my fill-up, though, and that was not far enough! The wind had to have been a factor in my low fuel performance. I went back in my mind, trying to remember when I'd last passed an exit with a diesel station. I touched the Where To on my GPS, and found that there was a fuel station, Chevron, in 8 miles. Cool. I slowed to 55, wanting to conserve what fuel I did have, so that I could make it the 8 miles.

I climbed some minor hills and glided down the other side, and finally made it to the exit. Turning off the highway, I saw that the diesel price was 3.85. Ok... whatever.. I'll pay! But ... no! The pumps were bagged "out of order." The station was closed!

Checking the GPS again, I found a station 13 more miles down the road. But could I make it 13 more miles? I prayed. I called Jack and asked him to pray, since his prayers likely mattered more than mine. I counted down the miles. And I prayed.

I do have Good Sam Emergency Road Service, but I could not imagine sitting out in the middle of nothing waiting for someone to bring me fuel. The thought seemed unacceptable. I prayed to get to the exit. And I prayed that the station there would be open. And I prayed that, if they were open, that they would have diesel.

I've never imagined that God could concern himself with things like whether some lamer who didn't pay attention to her fuel gauge would make it another 13 miles. Surely He was busy taking care of who wins the playoffs or someone passing an exam, right? Anyway, I prayed.

Ten miles... 9 miles. I told myself that I have walked 9 miles. I could walk 9 miles today, but.. I didn't have to. 8 miles.. 7.6 miles... 6.4 miles.. I prayed. I cried.

Three miles. And I could see a red flashing sign in the distance. It was the fuel station. The flashing told me that it was open! 2.5 miles... easy walk. 2 miles. 1.5 miles.. I prayed. I could see that the flashing sign had not only red lights but green ones! Green is the color that they use for diesel prices on these signs! Was it so for this one?

One mile... The sign said exit one mile. And when it was 0.7 of a mile, the GPS told me to exit here. And now I could see that it was diesel that they were advertising! I prayed that I would make it all the way to the station. And I sobbed with relief as I pulled up to the diesel pump. I called Jack to tell him my happy news and to thank him for praying for me, and I got out to pump.

On and on the fuel pumped.. 26.47 gallons it took! And this was into a tank that holds 26.4 gallons. The price was 43 cents a gallon LESS than what I'd paid at the last stop, also in TX. I was the only one there. I had a real Twilight Zone feeling about the whole experience, like that the station had been put there just for me, that somehow God arranged for me to have more fuel than the tank would hold... I don't know.

So I drove on in to Van Horn, stopped at Pizza Hut and had a personal pizza. Again, I was the only person dining in the Pizza Hut. And I went over to the neighboring DQ and celebrated the moment with a Blizzard -- Chocolate Extreme, with additional Snickers and Heath. :)

Tonight I'm in Las Cruces, after having driven 497 miles today. I'm at the Hacienda Resort, which is quite a nice spot, with a gorgeous mountain view, and the sunset and 70° were wonderful treats for me as I did my walk around the park.