How To Tell When You've Been On the Road Too Long

1. When you see the same truck driver several days in a row and he waves when he or you pass the other.
2. When you recognize a Peter-Built Truck Cab from a Volvo Truck Cab.
3. When you begin to fantasize about having a red Volvo Truck Cab some day.
4. When you start talking to the singers in your iPod. I begged John Denver to take me with him on the Jet Plane.  And Eric Clapton just needs to forget about women and find something else to make him happy.  
5. When you press your cruise control to slow down and you're not using cruise control.
6. When you start counting baptist churches.  How does a town of 311 support the Free Will Baptist, the Community Baptist, Unity Baptist and the First Baptist?  And don't get me started on the Assemblies.
7. When you start counting Triple X Adult Stores next to the churches.
8. When it takes you more than 90 seconds to reach an upright position upon stepping out of the car.
9. When you're using cruise control and step on the brake to make your car go faster.  Then wonder what's wrong with your car.
10. When you start driving the speed limit as a social studies experiment.  The result is that regardless of whether the speed limit is 55, 65, 70, or 75, if you drive it you will be the slow car in the right hand lane that everybody passes up.
11. When you continue to slam on your brakes when you see a cop car and you're driving the speed limit.  
12. When you begin to meditate while driving the speed limit.  You feel the connection of the road with the tires.  You feel your connection with the car and the tires and the road.  Of course, that's not exactly the state you want to be in while driving.

I'll stop here.  One more day!  Hooray!  Tonight I'm cocooned in a really lovely Hampton Inn off I-65 in Nashville.  

Confessions of a Crazed Road Tripper

Seven days with only my own thoughts!  2025 miles! 5 Cheap Hotels!  I just want to sell my car and fly the rest of the way.

Just when I was feeling so happy to be out of Arkansas, I found myself negotiating three different I-40 splits in six lanes of traffic with my gas pump light flashing and I had to pee.  Who knew Memphis was such a metropolis!  I took the first exit after I was sure I was on I-40 East.  There was a gas station, but it was a BP.  What to do?  I turned around in their parking lot and went the other direction.  Another BP.  Just when I'm about to give in I spy a SuperLo Station down the street. Hooray!  It's probably BP too but at least I don't know that.  There's only one thing to do after all the trauma.  I stopped at Wendy's and had french fries and a frosty which are still laying heavy on my stomach.

I left the highway in Jackson, TN because I'm delirious.  Luckily a Starbuck's appeared like a beacon of light in the darkness even though it's 3 or 4pm.  I don't know what time zone I'm in.   I'm regrouping here for a bit so I can make it to Nashville tonight. If I make it to Nashville, I know I'll arrive at Aly's tomorrow (Tuesday).

105 Degrees But Who's Counting

This is my view for the two days I'll be in
Clarksville.    From feed and fertilizer to bearings and milling supplies.

I took the "scenic route" to Clarksville according to Rand McNally.  Maybe I'm just spoiled but when I think of a scenic route, I think of narrow, winding roads that actually have scenery along the way.  This was 150 miles of narrow, winding roads cut through a forest.  A solid wall of trees on both sides.  Beautiful trees and perhaps in the fall it's a scenic route but for today... not so much.


Then when I got off the scenic highway and onto a regular road, I found this.

and this.  Yes, I took the photo while driving.

And this!

Tomorrow I'll go to Mt. Magazine Park, the purpose for the stop in Clarksville.

How Hot is Friggin' Hot?

As hot as it is in Ft. Smith, AR.  My car registered 101 degrees and then of course there's humidity.  Luckily my AC worked today.  I'm asking myself, "What is it that I wanted to see, experience in AR in August?"  Just walking a few blocks to dinner from the Comfort Inn made me feel nauseous.

I got tired of the expressway so took Route 9 just southeast of Oklahoma City through Seminole and Choctaw, Wetumpka and Eufaula into Ft. Smith.  Saw lots of llamas and brahmas and horses nestled behind white fences.  There are several beautiful lakes in Eufaula and several more on the way into Ft. Smith.  Oklahoma is very like Kentucky.

Tomorrow should be an easy day into Mt. Magazine State Park in Clarksville.  Of course, I won't want to get out of my car.  Supposed to be even hotter tomorrow.  Hopefully the mountains will be cooler.  One can dream.

My eyes are nuts, my head is dizzy, and my body still feels the road vibrations.  Ah, the joys of road-tripping. Is 7:30 too early to go to bed?

Highway Trivia

This is the spa at Ojo Caliente.  Yesterday, I "took the waters" there.  Not sure why they say it that way.  Means I soaked in the pools and enjoyed it.

And I enjoyed sleeping in one of the red hammocks too.








But that was yesterday.  Today was a day filled with new learnngs. For instance,

Did you know that if you go to breakfast at 9:05 at the Comfort Inn, you've missed it.

Do you know what happens when you miss breakfast at the Comfort Inn?  You get lost in Santa Fe trying to find someplace to eat.




Did you know that I-40 is the old Route 66?  I stopped for kicks in Tucumcari, NM just because Tucumcari is fun to say.  The kicks I found turned out to be gas (for the car) and a bottle of "Hot and Spicy V-8 Juice.

Did you know that I-40 East is more interesting than I-70 East?  Well, I think so anyway.  Eastern NM is John Wayne western movie land.  Lots of red, amber and green striated mesas.  There are even hills and bends to maneuver on the highway.

Do you know what happens when you cross the border from NM to Texas?  It gets humid.

Do you know what happens when the AC in your car goes out in Texas?  You sweat a lot.

Do you know what happens when you pass up the hotels and restaurants in Amarillo?  You drive another 80 miles to Shamrock, TX, pay extra for the Holiday Inn Express next to the feed and fertilizer store because the only other choice is Sleep Inn and it's scary.  This is the view from my window.  At least I can keep an eye on my car.


Do you know what you get to have for dinner in Shamrock, TX?  A chicken sandwich with pickles at DQ's.

Do you know what happens when you eat an ice cream bar while driving?  You check into the hotel with chocolate on your left boob.

Do you know what happens when you look in the mirror in your hotel room and see the chocolate on your left boob?  You fall on the bed laughing.

I can't wait to find out what tomorrow brings.

Mineral Pools, Massage, Hammocks

Good for the body and the soul. I feel very well rested this morning and ready now to face the next leg of the 1600 mile drive. Once I actually get out of bed and get dressed that is. South to Santa Fe and then East on I-40.

On the Road Again

OMG!  Poetry in motion.  My packing skills, Jay and Matt's moving and storage expertise.  I mean to tell you....  we ROCKED yesterday.  No problems getting anything out.  Nothing wedged in the stairway.  All finished by 11:30 am.  Dee and I were drinking wine and celebrating by 5:30 pm.  Thank you, Dee, so much for my birthday celebration, a bed to sleep in last night and company this morning before heading out.

What I've learned from today's drive is that 378 miles is 78 miles too far to drive the day after moving.  Luckily Eric Clapton joined me the last hour.  He whined a lot and told me 'he's leavin cause I done him wrong' but he kept me awake and I'm happily cocooned right now in the Comfort Inn in Espinola, NM.

New Mexico is unbelievably lush.  Looks like someone covered the ground with a downy quilt of sage, mustard, dill and lavender.  Beautiful!  One really weird thing did happen along the drive.  An elk crossed the road at the cattle crossing sign and the elk crossing was only ten feet down the road.  I'm delirious.  Need to sleep.

Tomorrow... spa day at Ojo Caliente.   Aaaaahhhhh!

Moving Day

It's 8:07 am. I'm dancing in my kitchen to "Sailing in a Strange Boat" by the Waterboys. Just waiting for Pete Berg Small Movers (they're giant in my eyes) to arrive at 9:00am. I think I'm so prepared. We'll see when they arrive how well I've done.

I feel great. I slept all night. A god sign. I started to fix the typo and then decided it wasn't a typo afterall.

A presto. (until later)

Sivan Garr Presents - I Love You

Goodbye Lily Lake

Yellow Fever Shot.  Check
Tetanus.  Check
Hepatitis A&B.  Check
Polio Vaccine.  Check
Malaria.  Check
Typhoid.  Check    I am battered and bruised but no side effects, thank goodness.  This shot experience may make me reconsider to where I travel in the future.

Today I needed a break from details - change of address (to where?), register my car early since it's due to be registered in September, cancel gas and electric, take pictures off walls - all boring details.... so I did what needed to be done... I escaped.  The first of many excursions I'm sure in the next three weeks to bid adieu to the Rockies for the time being anyway.

My intention was to hike to Lake Isabella - one of my favorite hikes - but when I arrived at Indian Peaks, it was way too windy and only 49 degrees up there.  You'd think by now I would know that's how it works and go prepared.  Even though I brought a jacket it wasn't warm enough and I didn't have a hat, so I did an about face and headed downhill to another favorite spot that was a bit warmer - Lily Lake, on Peak to Peak Highway near Estes Park.

While hiking the ridge trail, a couple sitting on a rock invited me to join them.  That's never happened to me before here in Colorado.  As we talked, I found out they're putting all their things in storage at the end of August and traveling to Israel for several months.  I guess I had kindred spirit written on my forehead.

I should have taken their picture but instead I asked them to take mine.







Goodbye Lily Lake!  Until we meet again!