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| i think i took this somewhere in Oregon |
Day one of travel; 13 hours and 800 miles later I'm in Utah.
My fear of driving long distances by solo was completely irrational, because after today my 9 hours tomorrow will seem like a breeze. I found out that the first hour or so after taking a break is the easiest, and then after that my eyes start to hurt a little. But thank modern technology for creating cruise control because I am NOT consistent with my gas pedal.
The hours were made bearable with a CD I mixed for myself and a book on CD that was 6 hours long (even though it was a pretty bad book with pretty bad narrations it distracted me from the fact I was driving all day.) I also saw, and realized a few things today...
-tumbleweeds are a very real thing that DO tumble across the road without looking both ways before crossing. I hit 2 today and they basically just explode into smaller tumbleweeds
-i wish i had time to stop at some of the more interesting places like anywhere in the wine regions, at one of the fruit/antique 'malls' (just to see what it is) or at that one place marked GUNS AMMO N PAWN because that seems credible
-signs that say "Frequent Blinding Dust Storms Next 19 Miles"do not amuse me
-nor do ones that say "STAY ALERT, STAY ALIVE"
-there was a lot of roadkill. i saw a full deer, multiple cats/raccoon's/squirrels and at one point i think i saw a beaver....
-also a lot of remnants of tires which had exploded on the road
-interesting observation: highway speed limits in Washington are either 60 or 70 mph, in Oregon 65, Idaho is 65 or 75, and Utah is 80
-also i drove by a sign that said "You are now in Mountain Time Zone" so that was kind of weird like 'oh let me change my entire life by an hour at this specific spot in the middle of Oregon'
-the most common large truck i saw today belonged to UPS, followed by Fed Ex, Alberstons, Walmart and Dot (whatever that is)
It's strange to me that things like road kill and tire remnants are strange to you since I've driven all over with my family/by myself and am so used to see it. DIFFERENT STROKES.
I laughed very hard at your bit about tumbleweeds. I'm glad they didn't damage your car! Sometimes they're small bushes, sometimes they're small trees... I once saw one about half the size of my car, and it was terrifying.
I'm glad everything has gone well so far! Be careful the rest of the way! <3
For someone who doesn't drive a lot, I am very impressed you've managed this trip alone! Your photo reminds me of the stock photo that accompanied the short story "The Highwayman." Did you ever have to read that in language arts/English?
Enjoy your sights!
Oh my gosh, I remember pre-Austin it was like "are tumbleweeds actually a real thing? I kind of don't believe that they are" BUT THEY ARE.
I'm glad that you survived and conquered your cross-country expedition despite Maggie and I distracting you via text.
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