Monday dawned in the Blue Ridge Mountains, somewhere just northwest of Roanoke, VA. The sky was beautiful, but the light too low to catch anything much but a blur of pinks and blues from the cab of the moving truck. I did try, but I think I'll spare your eyes from the results of those earliest attempts.
Blue Ridge Mountain Dawn -- Side Window
Blue Ridge Mountain Dawn -- Front Window
The day started out sort of foggy, so even when we stopped at a "vista point" to take in the view from the heavily littered pull-off, we were only able to capture a hazy photo of the valley below.
Hazy View of Valley
While we were doing our standard routine, both of us taking pictures and Joe taking pictures of both of us, a car pulled up, a man jumped out and ran up to us. "My wife told me to help you take a picture of the two of you," he said with a smile. Joe, tired from nearly 24 hours of straight driving, didn't have the energy to explain that he can capture the photo of the two of us with the fish-eye lens. Instead, he handed to helpful Harry his camera, we worked up a couple of tired smiles, he snapped the photo, we thanked him, and he was on his way.
Tired Travelers in Blue Ridge Mountains
AFTER he left, I mentioned that the man, though a stranger, had looked very familiar to me. Joe was surprised because he'd thought the same thing. I'm thinking he might have been one of the musicians we played with during the summer 2009, at a lovely little "all musicians welcome" jam session in the Blue Ridge mountains. I will have to look back at the video I shot that day to see whether he IS on that video.
From there it was another 4-5 hours of driving and we were finally rolling along the familiar roads of Gloucester, VA, making our way home to the old Farmhouse in Mathews. The fall leaves here are offering some decent colors, though the rain, clearly following us, was not far behind and the accompanying gloomy skies did not offer the beautiful backdrop for their colors that the crisp blue fall sky would have.
Fall Colors under Cloudy Skies
More Bad Weather Threatening
Nearing Gloucester, VA... Brief Break in Weather
Road Leading to Our Farmhouse
Back home, the dog and cats were exceedingly happy to see us. Killian, the "talker" of the trio, continued to voice her enthusiasm about our return for the next several hours. The cats, simply looked expectantly at their food bowls in anticipation of a mid-meal "snack." Nothing has changed!
Well, to be honest, the old farmhouse looked rather abandoned when we pulled up. Under the gray skies, the grass needing mowing, the trees losing their leaves, the grass trying to take over the dirt and gravel roads, screamed to us that they have been neglected for more than three weeks and, that if we don't move quickly, they will simply return to their natural state of field and forest.
Home Again
Gray Skies Return...but We're Back Home!
Flowers are Still Trying
3000 Miles Later, Virtually No Shifting of Load
Still, we were exhausted from the last push, so after taking my conference call for work, unloading our luggage, and eating a small snack, we crashed, taking a four hour nap. We were tired when we awoke, but we still had much to complete before we could call it a night. We had to drive to the airport to pick up our car (24 days in the lot there), go to the pond house and verify everything was in order for the open house to be held today, pick up the mail that had been held for more than three weeks, get a LITTLE grocery shopping completed, and unload the pictures from our cameras. We hit the sack at 2:30 AM, having barely completed all of these required tasks.
John Denver said it pretty well in his song,
Hey it's good to be back home again,
Sometimes, this old farm, feels like a long lost friend,
Yes, and hey it's good to be back home again...
Yep... More Work Ahead
Well, I'd better get to work. Nothing changed because I was on vacation... my work is piled high and I must attend to it!
Someone told me long ago,
There's a calm before the storm....
The words to the CCR song just keep running through my brain as I hold the paper towels up against the seam of the truck cab, trying to catch the drops before they can damage valuable electronics. The storms that were predicted, came on with a vengeance as we made our way out of Arkansas and into Tennessee this evening. The lightening show was spectacular, vying with the city lights as we made our way through Memphis.
Our driving day started out quite beautifully, just before 1 PM Central time, as we packed up our gear, gassed up the truck and pulled back out onto Rt. 40 in Van Buren, AR. We didn't get far before the "check engine" light came on. Had Joe not JUST checked the oil when we filled up, he would have been more concerned. As it was, he decided to drive on, keeping an eye on the gauges, until we came to the first rest area. On our way we speculated as to the cause of the check engine light. This truck is a Ford. Could it be the infamous "computer" that periodically demands the engine be checked? Did Joe "touch" anything under the hood, while he was checking the oil, that could have disrupted the intricate balance of the Penske truck's engine? From my own experience, I recalled once taking my car in for servicing because the check engine light came on.... turns out, as the mechanic told me, "you have to put the gas cap back on properly..."
Well, sure enough, at the rest area, it was the gas cap that had not seated right when put back on... check engine light has not been a problem since. However, the stop at that rest area afforded us a nice photo opportunity~
Fall Colors Starting in AR
Joe, capturing the scene
Purely Picturesque
Zoomed into a Lazy Sunday afternoon Cow Gathering
Fall Colors under Fall Sky
Helicopter flies overhead
Baby Snake, enjoying a Fall Day
Our next BIG adventure came when, we literally ended up making an emergency stop at a hospital somewhere in AR.... I walked "briskly" into the emergency room entrance, asked the guard at the door if I could use the restroom.... and he nodded, as I made my way, with or without his permission.... I had to go or I was going to pass out, and then I would REALLY need the emergency room! And then we were back on the road and stopped at the VERY NEXT EXIT.... (the one we THOUGHT we were exiting on when we ended up at the hospital emergency room) where we enjoyed a leisurely fast food lunch.
Once back on the road, the trip was uneventful until we hit the Tennessee border and the torrential rain. Before long we realized, despite our windows being closed, we were getting wet. And so we discovered that in driving rain, the cab of the truck has a failure. We have not located to precise point of that failure, but it seems as long as I hold wads of paper towels up at the seam, behind my head, I can catch the majority of the water. Riding for several hours with my arms extended over and slightly behind my head gets just a wee bit tiring. Still, a small price to pay for not having to DRIVE in this stuff! Thankfully, the rain has let up for the moment.
Arkansas colors under Stormy skies
Rain Approaching as we near the TN border
Somewhere in AR
AR Fall Colors
Political Message
AR Late afternoon sky
We have just passed through Knoxville... I have seen essentially nothing of Tennessee, as it has been dark and raining the entire time we have been traveling through. Next time, we should really travel through during daylight hours. In Arkansas I saw the leaves were starting to turn colors, and I imagine here in TN they are hitting that peak color...but, it's dark, so I really have no idea.
And every time it starts to rain, I grab that paper towel, reach above my head and think of the CCR song.... I wanna know...have you ever seen the rain....comin' down on a sunny day?
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!
Kingman, AZ greeted us this morning with a pretty decent downpour. We took our time waking up from a refreshing sleep in a comfortable bed and found our way to the "full hot breakfast" included in our room price. I wouldn't stay there just for the opportunity to eat the breakfast, but it wasn't bad. After showers, sending a few emails, and addressing a few postcards, we checked out, just after the noon check-out time. Next was fueling up, and then we were on our way for Day 2 of our cross country trek.
Rainy Drive Day AZ
Kingman, AZ Police Car
The rain had subsided to a mere threat by the time we'd been on the road about an hour. For most of the rest of the day we ran parallel to the rain, knowing it was only a matter of time before we'd be in the rain again. A few times Joe had to deal with the drizzle on the windshield with a few slaps of the windshield wipers. It was a fairly quiet, perfectly comfortable ride, in the passenger seat of the 16 foot box truck.
Windshield Wipers Slappin' Time
Near the New Mexico border, my comfortable ride through the drizzle melded with Janis Joplin's voice of yesteryear as the radio offered up her rendition of "Me and Bobby McGee." I looked ahead at the dramatic skyline, the variety of colors and shapes of mountains against clouds and skies.
Dramatic Skies
I looked to my right and watched a train making its way westward along the track running parallel to the Rt. 40 on which we were heading eastward. I looked to my left and saw Joe, eyes on the road, with the dramatic sky behind him causing him to appear silhouettish in my view. And I thought how very comfortable and happy I was at that moment.
Dramatic Sky Silhouette
There were the requisite "crazies" on the road, to be sure. I have certainly seen some interesting maneuvers by semi-truck drivers, and by drivers of little cars who seem oblivious to the world around them.
Truck on Left was seriously "all over the road"
Trucks, Trucks, and More Trucks
I saw an elk that appeared to be sitting comfortably on the shoulder of the highway, but who, in reality, was undoubtedly in excruciating pain. For I also saw the police car, lights a-blazing, speed past us to the site, just beyond the elk, where two cars, hoods dented, rested after their encounter with the elk. And I saw the patrolman, as he walked past the wrecked vehicles to the poor elk... I did not witness the inevitable, but hope the elk was put out of his pain quickly. Despite the fact that Joe and I ALWAYS have our cameras ready for the most mundane action, neither of us managed to capture a shot of ANY of that.
As we neared the New Mexico border, the sun was setting and we were ready to stop for supper. We decided on a truck stop in Gallup, NM.
Sunset, approaching Gallup, NM
We enjoyed a relaxed meal, despite the charming "screaming, spoon pounding" baby who entertained herself as her parents took full advantage of the "all you can eat" offerings....seemingly oblivious to the irritation the child was causing to other patrons. One by one, others gave up and left, probably sooner than they'd have ordinarily. But we managed to outstay the child, as her parents did eventually have their fill and the threesome left. The food was decent and the break from driving a needed one.
We just passed by Albuquerque, NM, rolling through the night toward our eventual destination, back home in VA. We share the road with the semis at night and cannot enjoy the beautiful views of the landscape, but we make reasonable time, even in this heavily laden truck. And, we will get to see the sunrise in another state tomorrow, as we do not plan to make another hotel stop until tomorrow afternoon.
It's been a good day, and has held some exceptionally good moments, when past and present melded together in the perfect setting....with those windshield wipers slappin' time.........
