It has been super-windy here this week, and today was the worst. It blew so hard that glasses in the house shook. We have heard there have been gusts up to 60 mph.

I had to drive to Phoenix today, and on the way to Road Forks, I could see huge clouds of blowing dirt out in the distance. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. (By the way, if you ever decide to surprise visit us, as one of my friends did, don’t take the Portal exit off the highway. It is 50 miles on mountain dirt roads that sometimes aren’t passable without 4wd. Take the Road Forks exit in NM instead. It is pavement the whole way and a very easy, pleasant drive.)

Actually, to the east of us on the 10, there are many signs on the highway that warn of dust storms and possible “ZERO VISIBILITY CONDITIONS”. The signs actually warn you not to stop in a moving lane if this happens…good advice I think. Anyway, we’ve laughed at these signs many times, but today was the first time I could actually imagine that this might happen. Fortunately, I didn’t have to go that way. To the west, where I was going, was very windy but not dangerously so.

With all this wind and seeing the effect on areas that have been overgrazed or plowed, I can almost imagine conditions during the Dust Bowl.