Peace On The Road
Too, Too, Too
January 4, 2005
This last portion of the trip has definitely been too, too, too. It has been too many miles driven, too many hours of driving and too many hours after dark. Of course there has been too much snow, too much cold and too many accidents. It has not all been bad by any means. It again is just a matter of the timing could have been better.
We left Zanesville, OH on the 27th December. As we headed for Columbus we passed through a winter fantasyland. All the trees were covered with ice. The coating made the trees look like they were glass. The sun was shining and reflecting off the trees and it looked silver. All the grass along the road was also covered with the same kind of reflective ice. I wanted to get some pictures, but there was no way that I was willing to pull the big motorhome off on the shoulder of the road and stop. It was just too dangerous to do that. I did manage to stop at a truck stop and get a couple of pictures. I could have walked down the road a few blocks and likely gotten better pictures, but again I was not comfortable walking along the shoulder of a heavily trafficked slick road for a picture that might or might not have been better. If I would have had my Jeep I could have driven somewhere safe. There was another sight I have never seen before. I am sure you all have seen places that ice has frozen and then the water underneath has drained away. At some mountain lakes, that were Denver water supplies, I have seen several levels of ice crust. We passed ditches that had a similar type appearance. The difference was that instead of ice there was a layer of snow, and there had never been anything under it. Somehow the wind had formed a crusty layer as much a foot above the ditch. It was only apparent where the crust had broken and fallen to the bottom of the ditch. There is some force of physics that I don’t understand that allowed this crust to form and span several feet without apparent support.
When we were past Columbia the weather had apparently been different. The beautiful grass and trees disappeared to be replaced by a lot more snow along the road. The only thing that was still spectacular must have been the accidents. We saw one pickup that had completely JUMPED the guardrail and did a nose-dive into the snow along the road. It did not appear that that any of the truck behind the cab was touching the snow or ground. Further along at different places there were also several cars either on their tops or on their sides in the barrow pits or medians. When we got into Kansas several Highway Patrol cars running with flashing lights passed us. A few miles down the road there was a Jeep Renegade that had gone off the road, rolled several times, and stopped in the farmers field. Many places along the road there were signs that cars had left the road and tried, unsuccessfully, to ski the barrow ditch. After we picked up our Jeep in Ft. Collins we wanted to eat in a special place in Berthoud. We barely got into the city limits before the road was blocked with an accident. There was a car in a ditch that was at least three-quarters as deep as the car was long, and it was not much wider than the car was high. Net effect was that the car was on its nose and standing vertical in the ditch. That was the last accident or evidence of accident we have seen. So you can understand why I say there were TOO MANY accidents.
The accident in Loveland almost got me in trouble. I had a choice to turn off the road either to the left or right. As I was turning to the right I saw a big string of cars turning south, the direction I needed to go, just a block away. There were at least ten or twelve cars that turned on the street. So, I drove to that street and turned on it and almost instantly regretted it. It was a very narrow, pot holed, street. I could just see myself getting caught, in the dark, on a street I couldn’t navigate. Erma was able to block some traffic so I back out on the larger street and get myself out of trouble. It must have taken at least ten minutes to get a break in the traffic long enough to reverse my turn and in that time only one car turned the corner like the whole string I had seen. I find it hard to believe that all those people lived at the end of the block. I think they must have been like me, without a clue as to the best way to go and just following somebody else that acted like they knew where they were going. Finally I was able to get to Taft Road and was able to get the restaurant in Berthoud.
Last night we were at home at 92nd and Sheridan in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Today we are sitting in Nolan’s RV getting the Jeep set to tow and repairs and adjustments to the Vectra. They tell me the installation of the tow plate is a 13-hour job, so there are multiple people working on it. The last time I saw of the Jeep, it had the entire front end laying several feet away from the vehicle. Now I hear that all the seats have been taken out. At least a loose wire connection was found in the water heater. On Christmas Eve it decided to quit working. When I was back and saw the Jeep I was also told by the repair tech that the water heater fired properly as soon as he ran some water through one of the faucets. ALL I NEED is an intermittent problem. Does a problem you have once in a while with a car EVER act up when you are at the repair shop? It seldom seems to.
Too, Too, Too
January 4, 2005
This last portion of the trip has definitely been too, too, too. It has been too many miles driven, too many hours of driving and too many hours after dark. Of course there has been too much snow, too much cold and too many accidents. It has not all been bad by any means. It again is just a matter of the timing could have been better.
We left Zanesville, OH on the 27th December. As we headed for Columbus we passed through a winter fantasyland. All the trees were covered with ice. The coating made the trees look like they were glass. The sun was shining and reflecting off the trees and it looked silver. All the grass along the road was also covered with the same kind of reflective ice. I wanted to get some pictures, but there was no way that I was willing to pull the big motorhome off on the shoulder of the road and stop. It was just too dangerous to do that. I did manage to stop at a truck stop and get a couple of pictures. I could have walked down the road a few blocks and likely gotten better pictures, but again I was not comfortable walking along the shoulder of a heavily trafficked slick road for a picture that might or might not have been better. If I would have had my Jeep I could have driven somewhere safe. There was another sight I have never seen before. I am sure you all have seen places that ice has frozen and then the water underneath has drained away. At some mountain lakes, that were Denver water supplies, I have seen several levels of ice crust. We passed ditches that had a similar type appearance. The difference was that instead of ice there was a layer of snow, and there had never been anything under it. Somehow the wind had formed a crusty layer as much a foot above the ditch. It was only apparent where the crust had broken and fallen to the bottom of the ditch. There is some force of physics that I don’t understand that allowed this crust to form and span several feet without apparent support.
When we were past Columbia the weather had apparently been different. The beautiful grass and trees disappeared to be replaced by a lot more snow along the road. The only thing that was still spectacular must have been the accidents. We saw one pickup that had completely JUMPED the guardrail and did a nose-dive into the snow along the road. It did not appear that that any of the truck behind the cab was touching the snow or ground. Further along at different places there were also several cars either on their tops or on their sides in the barrow pits or medians. When we got into Kansas several Highway Patrol cars running with flashing lights passed us. A few miles down the road there was a Jeep Renegade that had gone off the road, rolled several times, and stopped in the farmers field. Many places along the road there were signs that cars had left the road and tried, unsuccessfully, to ski the barrow ditch. After we picked up our Jeep in Ft. Collins we wanted to eat in a special place in Berthoud. We barely got into the city limits before the road was blocked with an accident. There was a car in a ditch that was at least three-quarters as deep as the car was long, and it was not much wider than the car was high. Net effect was that the car was on its nose and standing vertical in the ditch. That was the last accident or evidence of accident we have seen. So you can understand why I say there were TOO MANY accidents.
The accident in Loveland almost got me in trouble. I had a choice to turn off the road either to the left or right. As I was turning to the right I saw a big string of cars turning south, the direction I needed to go, just a block away. There were at least ten or twelve cars that turned on the street. So, I drove to that street and turned on it and almost instantly regretted it. It was a very narrow, pot holed, street. I could just see myself getting caught, in the dark, on a street I couldn’t navigate. Erma was able to block some traffic so I back out on the larger street and get myself out of trouble. It must have taken at least ten minutes to get a break in the traffic long enough to reverse my turn and in that time only one car turned the corner like the whole string I had seen. I find it hard to believe that all those people lived at the end of the block. I think they must have been like me, without a clue as to the best way to go and just following somebody else that acted like they knew where they were going. Finally I was able to get to Taft Road and was able to get the restaurant in Berthoud.
Last night we were at home at 92nd and Sheridan in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Today we are sitting in Nolan’s RV getting the Jeep set to tow and repairs and adjustments to the Vectra. They tell me the installation of the tow plate is a 13-hour job, so there are multiple people working on it. The last time I saw of the Jeep, it had the entire front end laying several feet away from the vehicle. Now I hear that all the seats have been taken out. At least a loose wire connection was found in the water heater. On Christmas Eve it decided to quit working. When I was back and saw the Jeep I was also told by the repair tech that the water heater fired properly as soon as he ran some water through one of the faucets. ALL I NEED is an intermittent problem. Does a problem you have once in a while with a car EVER act up when you are at the repair shop? It seldom seems to.
THE JEEP GETTING A TOW PLATE AT NOLAN’S RV
I have an Anthony tale for you. Some of you may not know what an Anthony tale is. I worked with Anthony at Newmont. One day we were talking about the fact that I was going to send out PEACE ON THE ROAD, and he said something to the effect of, “Don’t just write about the good stuff. Tell us about the things that go wrong and the stupid thing you do.” This qualifies as one of the stupid things I think.
When I got the Jeep at Nolans RV, I was given instructions about how to attach it for towing. There is a plastic pin that goes into a socket on the front of the Jeep. Attached to the pin is a cable that attaches to the Vectra. If for any reason the pin is pulled out during towing the brakes of the Jeep will be applied. If the hitch fails and the Jeep breaks away the brakes will stop the Jeep. When the Jeep is not being towed there is another pin that is installed to turn the emergency system off. While we getting the bikes and running other errands the small pin was installed of course. When I hooked the Jeep on to tow I swapped the two pins. The pin with the cable caught my finger and I could not get it loose. The cable fastened to it was in a position that I couldn’t pull, so I had a heck of a time getting my finger loose. The only reason I did not end up with a big blood blister is due to there being very little blood in the part of the finger callus that got caught.
Friday, December 24th. The TOO continues today. We are back on the road, having gotten the Jeep yesterday. We got the salt of the east washed off the Vectra and I got my bicycles picked up from a friend that was kind enough to store them for me. About noon or so we left Denver and made it Colorado City for New Years Eve. Since I cannot wish you anything but a belated HNY I will just have you pretend that you heard me write,
HAPPY NEW YEAR.
It is now January 4, 2005. We are in Truth or Consequences on top of a hill overlooking the city. We are about to leave and head for Arizona. The sun is shining and it looks like a beautiful day. ------------- (about 9 hours later) We are in a very simple but nice camp in Bowie, AZ. This place has a WIFI setup. A weak signal, but we are a ways away from the office, and I am sure the antenna is there. We have run into off and on rain most of the day, AND NO SNOW. It is so nice to say that. It is much too warm for snow. There are a few palm trees around, giant yucca, and some very nice century plants. There are cacti that look like they will bloom soon, and other plants that are starting their spring show. I was not aware that anything would start to bloom this early in the year.
Tomorrow we mosey on towards Casa Grande, AZ. When we get in that area our plans are to spend several weeks. There is a fairly steady flow of RVs heading in either direction. We will not be alone.
This is enough for this chapter of P.O.T.R.
Till Later This Is Doug Of
PEACE ON THE ROAD
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