Miss D. and I arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico late on Saturday afternoon, after about 8 hours on the road from home. We interrupted our travels for coffee and breakfast in Chilicothe, TX at the Turquoise Coffee Stop, which has become an institution for more than a few travelers along US 287. They make really good coffee, and their breakfasts are also very much to our taste. Recommended.
We stopped for lunch with Alma Boykin in Amarillo. She and Miss D. commiserated with each other over their current works in progress, both of which started as (or were intended to be) short stories, but have taken on lives of their own and expanded dramatically. I won't be surprised if both end up as novellas or even full-blown novels. It was great to see Alma, as always. She's one of our dearest friends.
The drive west was OK, but truck traffic became very heavy after we left Amarillo. I don't know how traffic patterns work for heavy vehicles, but we were seeing three or four 18-wheelers for every car, SUV or minivan - and some of the heavies were not the world's best drivers, to put it mildly. I have no idea why a truck would try to overtake another with a negligible speed advantage of what felt like about a quarter of a mile per hour, but it led to some epic backups and bad language as the slowpoke passers dragged ever-lengthening trains of aggravated drivers and vehicles in their wake.
It seemed to get dark in New Mexico rather earlier (in terms of the time of day) than we're used to in northern Texas. The time zone changed, of course, from Central to Mountain time, but even so, it was dark by about 5.30 pm. Fortunately, by then we'd reached Albuquerque, so we didn't have to plunge onward in darkness, in unfamiliar territory, surrounded by semis. I would not have enjoyed that.
Tomorrow morning we head for Las Vegas. I guess the drive will be about nine hours from here, including a trip over the wall at Hoover Dam, which I've never seen before. I understand it's pretty empty right now. We'll be tired by the time we roll into Party Town, USA.
Finally, please say a prayer for the souls of those who died in the mid-air collision over Dallas, TX on Saturday. I understand five crew members died aboard the B-17, and a sole pilot in the P-63. It was a disaster for the Commemorative Air Force and its warbird enthusiasts (including Alma Boykin), so please remember them in your prayers, too. They lost comrades yesterday, and they're bound to be feeling it. The accident reminds us that no matter how careful we may be, the fickle finger of fate can reach out and touch us without warning or opportunity to escape, at any time. May their souls rest in peace.
More as and when I have time.
Peter
(P.S. - for those who may not understand this article's headline, let Bugs Bunny enlighten you!)
The truck thing, I'm seeing it in FL too. Florida's Turnpike is an alternate route to the major north-south highways, and is much smaller, usually 2 lanes in each direction. With the glut of refugees from the north and west who escaped to America from the hellscapes of NY and CA, truck drivers have been forced onto the Turnpike, which they used to avoid, because when you drive badly in a place like NY where you can't go faster than 40 mph from congestion, suddenly adjusting to driving 80-90 but tailgating and driving like a D-bag (it's the northeastern way!), and cutting off trucks has fatal consequences daily. So, yeah, the trucks are driving aggressively too now, more often than not blocking the normal flow of traffic.
ReplyDeleteI saw the title and thought of Bugs Bunny, thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteIf you head back on I-40 at some point you'll be around an hour from the Grand Canyon, always worth the trip in my book!
I've stood there at the edge and wondered what the first people to find it thought. Following game or just heading in that direction, come out of the trees and find this great big canyon in front of you... I guess in some ways it's no worse than coming to the top of pass in southern Oregon and seeing countless more ridgelines in front of you.... One foot in front of the other..
Safe travels.
Welcome to Albuquerque, Peter! I’m a long time reader, but not much of a commenter. Thanks for all of your work and for sharing your experiences.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, more and more truckers are acting entitled on the road and way too many just barely passed their license test.
ReplyDeleteI routinely see trucks well below the speed limit take miles to pass another truck going essentially the same speed, and I have to drive VERY carefully through the nearest interstate overpass because trucks routinely ignore both stop signs and oncoming traffic when making turns.
Glad y'all made it safely, and yes, prayers for those who died at Dallas yesterday. Lost situational awareness killed five in the blink of an eye.
ReplyDeleteTime zones are 15 degrees wide, so, in order to get the same time (ignoring the North/South effects) for sunrise/set, you need to go 15 degrees west of where you live. Using my location in the DFW area (I'm public about being in that general area), Dallas is at roughly 96W, and Albuquerque is at roughly 106W. So you haven't gotten far enough west to account for the time change. And notice that you'll only move another 10 degrees to get to Pacific time in Las Vegas, which is at 115W.
ReplyDeleteThose trucks overtaking each other is called "a turtle race' " by other truckers.
ReplyDeleteWhen I do that, I usually try to do it when there's a break in traffic.
And for something different, a friend (yes, I do have one) posted an observation of his from WalMart. He was buying turkey breast for dinner, and a woman asked the stocker "do these turkeys get any bigger?" Stocker answered "No, Ma'm. They're dead." Friend fell out.
ReplyDelete@John in Indy: Snappy answer to stupid question, no? :-)
ReplyDeleteI did, I did toin left at Albaquerque and not one t-shirt shop was to be found.
ReplyDelete