Big fire, heavy snow, ice, wind, cheers, jeers during brief trip

A mid-winter trip from Dallas, Texas, to Lander, Wyoming should be routine. Almost boring.

Well, not so fast.

Nancy and I had been enjoying some warm weather in our old motorhome (called FollowMyNose) at an RV Park in Melissa, Texas. The night before my flight to Denver, we were awakened by a ruckus. In typical wifely fashion, my main squeeze demanded: “Go check it out. I hear something.”

After struggling awake and opening the blinds, the sight in front of me was scary and breathtaking. It was a wall of flame. An RV three spaces away was a huge bonfire. The two spaces between them a...