Start of day: 40654
End of day: 41216
Day Total: 562 miles
Total Trip: 2945 miles
States: (15) Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina,
Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma
Gas Prices: $1.57 at Murfreesboro, AK. $1.65 at Ardmore, OK
I thought gas would be cheaper in Oklahoma since they grow it there.
Only two pictures today. The weather wasn't much for taking pictures. I drove past several scenic overlooks but
you have never known...
This is what it looked like starting the day.
This is what it looked like just before it got dark. AND EVERY MILE
IN BETWEEN!!!
I was ready with my camera but neither Texas nor Oklahoma had a
"Welcome to Our State" sign.
So you get the narrative version of my day...
I saw my first armadillo just before I left Arkansas. It was dead, belly
up on the side of the road.
I saw a couple birds today. Several miles apart, both of them looked
like turkeys but with white heads and no apparent waddle. They were
standing on the ground near a fence. They could have been vultures
of some type? But the body sure looked like a turkey. Juvenile maybe?
Driving along the highway near Hope, Arkansas I saw a bunch of RV trailers
lined up looking like an RV dealership. But there were thousands of them,
lined up and many, many rows deep, further than I could see in the fog. I
realized then that it wasn't a RV dealership but couldn't figure out what they
were. Until I came to the end of the field and saw a large FEMA sign. I
guess this is where they keep them until they need them.
And somewhere just before night fall, a very large rock was kicked up by
the truck in front of me. It hit the driver's side windshield wiper arm and
bent it at a 45 degree angle then deflected off and hit my windshield
chipping it too. The wiper still works but I'll have to bend it straight tomorrow.
Had the rock hit the windshield without hitting the wiper arm first, I'm sure
it would have smashed it.
When entering these small towns I keep seeing signs that say "No Jake
Brakes." I wondered what that was? Evidently, it a mechanism that truckers
use to brake their rigs using the engine for resistance. Its very noisy.
Check out this
website for details - http://www.jakebrake.com/technology
For the most part, the temperature stayed in the 50's today reaching a
high of 59 degrees. Not bad considering it was foggy all day.
Several times today I saw along the side of the road, temporary memorials
to loved ones lost in vehicles accidents. Most of them had names on little
crosses, and most of them seemed to have the same last names. So I suspect
a whole family was lost at that sight. Rolling down the highway putting
hundreds of miles behind me gives me a lot of time to think. So I said a
word of thanks for my friends and family and for having this opportunity
in my life. Please remember to tell your friends and family that you love
them.
Tomorrow I'll be driving a short distance (only a couple hours) and spending
time with some friends. I may not have Internet access tomorrow, so don't be
surprised if I don't get an updates made. The next day I'm headed for South
Dakota...