During July and August 2012, we made two trips to Seattle from Dallas taking different roads to check on the drought which had impacted the U.S. During the July trip, we went south and north. During the August trip, we went to Iowa then to Seattle before heading back to Texas. The following charts illustrates clearly the increasing levels of drought as reflected in the drought monitor for the U.S. as of May 31st, July 3rd and July 10th.
The July trip was to check out drought conditions in the western US, give an AAII talk in Portland, meet with various subscribers in the Oakland, CA area and the Phoenix area on the way back.
The July trip started from Dallas about 5:00 a.m. as we headed towards Wichita Falls, TX to eat breakfast at the Cracker Barrel restaurant at about 7:30 a.m.
After breakfast it was north into Oklahoma towards Frederick, OK where the wheat had been cut and then west on farm-to-market roads to rejoin US 287 back in Texas at Childress. Evidence of crop and pasture damage was easily seen in Oklahoma and Texas. With a full tank of petrol in Amarillo, I-40 was joined and the wind started picking up. Moving on into New Mexico the dry pasture land was evident. As darkness fell, we were closing in on Gallup, NM with the Lincoln MKZ hybred showing 36.3 mpg for the day's trip of 802 miles.
Dawn was breaking as we turned on US 666 north out of Gallup until joining AZ 264 to Genado, AZ before heading north on US 191 toward Colorado. This part of the trip showed clearly the lack of rain.
From 191 in Utah, we turned west on US 163 towards Medicine Hat, UT but turned north off on the scenic dirt road to tour the Garden of the Gods before ascending the face of the enscarpment on UT 261. This is one of those roads which is not for the faint of heart but breathtaking views. After reaching the top of the cliff, we headed north through the Utah forest which also showed signs of drought before joining UT 276 west and north to where we had lunch at Glen Canyon visitor center. Following lunch we continued west to Hanksville where we took UT 24 to the Junction with I-70 near Green River. We then turned north to Price on US 6 and up over Soldier Summit to Springville, UT where we joined I-15 north to Provo and the Salt Lake valley. We called it a night at Tremonton, UT about 7:15 p.m. at the Hampton Inn. Today's mileage was only 629.
We spent several hours in the morning updated the Market Musings and getting started on our presentation in Portland. Leaving Tremonton at 9:30 a.m., we headed on I-84 towards Boise one of the short legs while taking side trips to look at the potato, barley and hay crops being grown along the Snake River Valley. Talks with several farmers confirmed that irrigation meant the difference between a crop or not. We arrived at the Fairfield Inn in Boise at 5 p.m. Today's mileage was 299 miles.
Breakfast at Elmer's restaurant in Boise with members of the Logan, Minton and Nesbit clans lasted a few hours.
Then it was back on the road towards Seattle on I-84 through the Treasure Valley where irrigation made all the difference. In Oregon, the hills after Ontario were already brown from the heat and lack of rain. The crops around Baker City and La Grande also showed poorly. West of Pendleton, OR we took I-86 to Yakima and Seattle. We arrived in Redmond at 5:30 p.m. PDT. Total mileage was 508 miles.
Following breakfast in Redmond, we headed south on I-5 to Portland and the Hampton Inn at the Airport. Total mileage was 191 miles. It was time to work on the presentation for AAII after we arrived at 3 p.m. and also wrote Monday's Market Musings.
After updating the AAII presentation and publishing Tuesday's Market Musings, we presented "Looking at the Markets" to a packed AAII audience in the evening at the Sheraton Airport hotel. Mileage was 0.
To beat the traffic, we left the airport at 6:00 a.m. headed south on I-405 and then I-5 to Oakland. The drive down I-5 was slow with intermittant rain during most of the day. The crops in the Willamette Valley were looking pretty decent compared to the rest of the trip. We arrived in time to meet some subscribers for an evening meeting at the Oakland Airport. Mileage was 667 miles.
After breakfast, we left Oakland to join I-5 to Los Angeles, I-210 around LA and then I-10 headed toward Phoenix. The San Joaquin valley in California showed the effects of the drought. Water management is going to be a major issue in the future. Traffic was flowing decently and we arrived in Blythe, CA at 8:00 p.m. after driving 590 miles. It had been a long day and we needed to publish the Musings.
Back on I-10 at 5:00 a.m. headed towards Florence, AZ for a meeting. Arrived at 9:00 a.m. After the two-hour meeting was over, it was back to Florence Junction, AZ to join U.S. 60 to Globe, AZ and the Salt River Canyon.
Then it was on to Show Low and Springerville, AZ and Socorro, NM where we hit I-25 towards Albuquerque for the night.
On the road at 4 a.m. towards Santa Rosa, NM for breakfast. Then south on U.S. 285 to Vaughn, NM to join U.S. 60 again to Clovis, NM and Lubbock before taking U.S. 380 at Post, TX headed towards home where we arrived at 3:00 p.m. CDT.
The map of our July 2012 sojourn is shown below:
Unless crops were irrigated, the trip confirmed the fact that yields in much of the growing areas throughout the western U.S. would be significantly less than trend-line. Whether it was corn, hay, fruits, soybeans, potatoes, wheat ... all were showing signs of stress from either lack of rain or too much heat.
To return to the 2012 Trip Log, click here.
Fred Richards
August 28, 2012
Corruptisima republica plurimae leges. [The more corrupt a republic, the more laws.] -- Tacitus, Annals III 27
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Last updated - August 28, 2012