Sunday, October 24, 2010

Rain Rain Go Away

It's Sunday morning as I sit here in the motel room in Van Buren, AR. While Friday we managed to outrun the majority of the rain, we were not so lucky Saturday.  The drive through New Mexico and Texas was made in the dark of night, without rain, which was a blessing, considering the last time me made this journey, in January 2009, we drove through the night with icy rain making the journey particularly treacherous.  See those pictures in my post from January 6, 2009. http://judyscornerstore.blogspot.com/2009/01/no-it-wasnt-what-id-expected-jcarolek_14.html


This time, we did not have to deal with the rain until the daylight hours, and not until we approached Oklahoma City, OK. We saw the sun come up at an OK rest area, though, to be honest, it was threatening rain and the moon was still full....not a spectacular sunrise, but it was a much needed leg-stretch, nonetheless.  And we tried to catch a little nap in the cab of the truck...
Rest Stop OK at dawn

Saturday Sunrise?  Ummm... the MOON is still out!

OK Dawn
Napping in the Cab


By late morning, the rain was pouring and photography took on a new challenge. It was interesting to witness some of the vehicles on the road, as it seems Saturday is the day of choice for moving odd large objects, in precarious ways.  There was the large freezer in the bed of the white pickup truck...no tailgate, no tie-down for the freezer ... driver maneuvering in and out of lanes in the pouring rain in what could only be characterized as a "reckless manner."  There was the GIGANTIC, "we don't know what you are" piece of machinery that was being hauled eastward, with a "Oversized Load" sign which was redundant... I mean, this thing was HUGE and dwarfed the sign!

Name That Load

And then there was another GIGANTIC "we also don't know what YOU are" "thing" being hauled.  For the latter, however, there was a "pilot" vehicle which seemed to have forgotten he was leading the way for the monstrosity behind.  For the pilot vehicle was WAY ahead of his cargo truck, and was fast approaching the "left lane closed ahead" area where the remaining right lane and shoulder would prove too narrow for the wide load to pass....

Oversized Load 2

Thankfully, we were ahead of these vehicles by the time we reached the narrow passage, and moved through without issue......  it did not escape us that we had NOBODY behind us for quite some time thereafter, and we speculate there may have been a "little" traffic tie-up when that oversized load reached that construction zone.

The skies, by this time, had completely opened up and were dumping rain and hail without mercy.  We knew it was time to get off the road and find a hideout for the night.  We passed a vehicle whose driver had decided to try to wait out the storm under a bridge...perhaps a drier location, but VERY dangerous in the reduced visibility and standing water conditions.  We thought a motel stop would be a better choice and found just what we needed shortly after crossing the border into Arkansas.  Within a few minutes, we'd checked into the motel, where, we were informed, the rooms had all been flooded in a storm a few weeks ago and in which new carpet had JUST been laid throughout. In fact, the carpet layer was there, completing the work in the office area behind the main lobby.  He and Joe got into a little "carpet laying" conversation and it turned out he had recently relocated to this area, after living in an area very near Yosemite for the past ten years... interesting, small world.

Micheal, the carpet layer, recommended the Italian restaurant next door when asked where we could get a good meal.  So, after getting our necessary gear unloaded from the back of the truck, we walked through the drizzle (the downpour let up for a little while) to Frank's, where we enjoyed a very good, well priced meal.  Then it was back to the room and SLEEP!

OK Farm
I dunno....looked interesting
Oh, NO!  Don't let the rain come down!!!
Rainy OK
A Warm, WET AK Welcome!
Checking into Motel as More Bad Weather Threatens
Well, it FEELS like we are driving a big truck!

Today we will begin, what should be the final push home.  We have (according to the Mapquest and Garmin predictors) about 1200 miles yet to travel.  We are shooting to pull into the old farmhouse by early morning Tuesday.... we shall see.  One thing is for certain, we have enjoyed EATING along the way!!!

Eating at the Truck Stop
Eating at Frank's
Leaving with Doggie Bag

And then, this morning's breakfast... included in the price of the room.  But who would've predicted we'd have such a colorful breakfast "companion."  YEESHHHHH.... apparently this establishment is not restrictive to those wearing shirts and shoes... or perhaps they just didn't want to challenge this one!  (Though it is not captured in the photo...he WAS barefoot!)

Ummm.... Overalls take on an entirely new image for me!




12 comments:

Sharon said...

I hope you are dragging the rain behind you, rather than with you! We could use some!
er... such a lovely companion t- share your breakfast meal with - NOT! Sheesh!
You guys have a safe trip now and watch out for over sized loads!

Anonymous said...

You are more than welcome to send some of that rain my way. We need all the rain we can get in Southern California :-)

~Ron

Judy's Corner said...

Hey Sharon!

The rain is coming with us, a head of us, or behind us... trust me, it isn't far away!!!

I wish you could have seen the REAL picture of this character in the overalls... using the fisheye lens actually diminishes the appearance in this tiny little breakfast area! It was QUITE the eye opener!

Judy's Corner said...

OG,
Now, let's see, a couple of weeks ago we were in San Diego where it drizzled and rained almost the whole first week! Then, when we moved up to the LA area, so too came the clouds and drizzle.... I think there is something about US!

Nekkid Chicken said...

Oh Man, That rain looks like heaven to me. The moon shot is lovely, I watched our own Harvest Moon rise last night. So peaceful after being downtown San Antonio with a night of no stars -- unless you count street lights. LOL

I too wish you are pushing the rain about with you. :O) Mal

Niels said...

yeah, overalls are not always equal to what should I say, having no words for this, but talking about overalls in a completely different way and perhaps more attractive, see here the post from my overalls friend in France (she is american from the outset!)http://soardreamfrance.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/10/mission-fancy-schmancy-overalls.html
hope you soon get some sunshine ! niels in snowy north

mixednut555 said...

LOL at the overalls guy! Thanks for the beautiful post and pictures. Stay safe the rest of the way on your trip!

WV:destro

V.L. Locey said...

Boy I hope that rain stays with you. We are getting pretty soggy here of late!

Judy's Corner said...

Mal,

I am certainly appreciative of rain (though we have seemed to have more than our fair share in 2009 and 2010)...however, I am even MORE appreciative of the DRY driving conditions! Today has been pretty good so far though we are getting the emergency warnings about tornadoes on the radio as we pass through Arkansas!

Judy's Corner said...

Niels,

Now that dusk has fallen, and my picture taking brought to a close for the day, I will take the time to peruse the blogs and will catch that link to the overalls post.

You are entirely correct...overalls are great... BUT.... well, they are better when complimented with other clothing in certain situations!

LOL,

Stay WARM!

Judy's Corner said...

Kat,

I wish, wish you could have seen how hard it was for me not to bust out laughing! And Joe was "Mr. Slick" with his camera with the fisheye lens.. makes it look like his is taking a picture of me while in reality he is capturing a "wider view" so to speak!

We are having a fun journey...that's the bottom line!

Judy's Corner said...

FF,

Yes, we have the same problem in our part of VA...I want the wet weather to stay behind...at least until we get this load unpacked!