Part II - The Drive

Hell is not on I-25, but high water was everywhere, at least at the beginning.  As we drove north, Colorado was one continuous thunderstorm.  Water poured off the windshield, and Kristin followed my tail-lights toward Wyoming.  Vader, back in the van, was howling and tearing his bedding apart.  (We had tried to give him a calming tablet, but he wanted no part of it.)  Traffic was lighter by the time we got to Wyoming and met I-80, but the rain wasn't.

Now, a word about rooftop cargo carriers.  If you have a roof rack on your vehicle, you can buy a rooftop bag with straps that attach securely at the front, the rear, and both sides.  If you have no roof rack, but do have rain gutters along the sides of your vehicle, there are rooftop bags available with side straps and special clamps.  Held by the tension of the straps, the clamps fit under the rain gutter and keep the rooftop bag in place.  The first kind is what I had on my car.  As my car has no rain gutters, we bought a cheezy looking one-size-fits-all roof rack, and attached the cargo bag to that.  It worked flawlessly, and I recommend the system.  The second type of cargo bag, the type on Kristin's Caravan, will work as well.

Provided it isn't raining.

Because if it is raining, water will flow, as one would expect, over the rain gutters, lubricating the rubberized metal clamps holding tightly there.  Pushed by the wind, the straps will walk slowly toward the aft of the car, the end of the rain gutters, and freedom.  In the worst case, you, who are now following closely behind, will very briefly see the rooftop bag come loose and hurdle toward you, right before everything goes black and a great peace comes upon you.  In the best case (which is our case) you will hear your wife's voice over the radio saying "I'm going to pull over.  I think there's something wrong with my roof bag."

You'll both pull off at the next exit, but, beware, because in your haste to take a look, you might accidentally turn off your car.

Two bungee cords and eight or ten tries at the ignition later we were back on the road. The rest of the trip was basically normal.