The weather

Everyone loves to talk about the weather.
So here it goes, "the weather" for the ground covered on the U-Tour.
NorCal is foggy, misty, moist.
SoCal is sunny.
"The desert", stretching from SoCal East of the 4,000 climb outta San Diego to about Leakey, TX, is HOT. It's hot, dry, as in "11 year drought" sunny and dry. I was definitely surprised that there weren't more photovoltaic panels and passive solar hot water heaters. It seemed WAY sunnier "than Germany", for about 6 weeks of biking - straight.
As you approach Austin it turns green again, and you can absolutely see and feel the humidity comin' off the Gulf (of Meh he Co). Thunderstorms, rain.
East Texas ends up bein' like Wisconsin, but hotter - and more "oily".
Louisiana is hot, humid and swampy.

The Mississippi River basin is overflowing with water. The river is at flood stage. There are alligators in the river, pushed out of their habitual backwaters in Louisiana/Mississippi. The farmers in Illinois are a month behind in planting because their fields are still so wet.

So, the weather: 11 year drought for the entire Southwest; floods for the Mississippi River basin.
That's it for weather tonight.