Today, I fell in love…twice.
Traveling west on I-40 through New Mexico, the terrain turned dry and rocky. Hills turned into flat top mounds and short pebbled peaks. I have never been west of Tallahassee before today, so these tiny landforms were very exciting! (Um, mountains to me!) Little did I know…
As we entered the Sandia Wilderness of the Cibola National Forest, just outside Albuquerque, the stubby knolls became a green bush covered range! Mountains! The interstate pulled us through the rolling Sandias and I was in complete awe. We rose and dipped and curved with green speckled hills emerging and melting at every turn. It was beautiful and exhilarating.
We made a short stop in Albuquerque to stretch our legs and hunt for coffee. The mountains we had just sailed through crowned the fancy outdoor shopping center we found there. In the distance, I could see the faint silhouette of the southernmost Rockies.
Back on the road, the earth transformed again before we reached Arizona. This time to layered rocks painted deep orange and red. Railroad tracks paralleled the road and trains flowed along like beaded jewelry. I saw real cowboys roping and riding and wild horses running free in the noon sun.
Somehow after this amazing morning, my heart was stolen again. After a few hours of driving through red Arizona desert, a glittering white peak suddenly smiled on the horizon. Snow. Real snow. I took a few pictures of the too distant range and gazed with curiosity and longing. The summit towered among the clouds! I wanted to feel the kiss of icy mountain air on my cheeks. Then the San Francisco peaks slid out of sight and into memory as the road curved.
We went to a rest stop and I took the wheel. I raced against the setting sun, blinding me as we approached Flagstaff. As I drove up a steady incline, trees began to fill the landscape. Another turn and like a dream, the snowy zeniths swelled into view again. We were heading directly into them! It was magical. The air crisp and cool made my skin tingle. I imagined bears and mountain lions prowling among the trees. We arrived at the hotel - altitude 6,000ft on the mountainside - and the view was filled with forest skirted snowcapped peaks.
Flagstaff is crazy beautiful.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Day 3: Part 1 - Tumbleweeds, Turbines, and Tornadoes
I was shocked out of deep sleep this morning by the shriek of a tornado barreling through Oklahoma City. Its strange song filled the hotel room as I tried desperately to recall the tornado safety drills from childhood. The eerie whistling hum rattled my head like it wanted to erase my brain. We mustered the courage (or stupidity!) to sneak a glance through the window. It was a ghost storm. Within five minutes it was over. There was no damage to the hotel or our car, so we crept back into bed, half dazed and slept.
The alarm clock buzzed its awful buzz at 8 AM. We were ridiculously tired from the night’s scare, but packed and prepared for the long drive ahead – only to realize down the road that the storm had knocked out power and it was actually 6 AM, not 8.
We passed miles and miles of farmland. Mostly cattle. The wind pawed at us like a playful kitten. In the dark navy sky, huge glowing forms appeared one after another. Windmills swinging their massive white arms. Row after row in every direction. The lonely tumbleweeds raced along and welcomed us to the "Land of Enchantment", New Mexico.
Check it out:
Tornadoes skip across Oklahoma
The alarm clock buzzed its awful buzz at 8 AM. We were ridiculously tired from the night’s scare, but packed and prepared for the long drive ahead – only to realize down the road that the storm had knocked out power and it was actually 6 AM, not 8.
We passed miles and miles of farmland. Mostly cattle. The wind pawed at us like a playful kitten. In the dark navy sky, huge glowing forms appeared one after another. Windmills swinging their massive white arms. Row after row in every direction. The lonely tumbleweeds raced along and welcomed us to the "Land of Enchantment", New Mexico.
Check it out:
Tornadoes skip across Oklahoma
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Day 2: Rain and More Rain
Today we drove north through Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma. It rained almost the entire day. Louisiana started to curl into hills as we neared Texas. The squat mounds were purple with flowers and topped with fluffy shrubs every shade of green. They made me hungry for cupcakes. The highway system in Dallas towers and twists above the roads like a roller coaster. We passed into Oklahoma sometime in late afternoon. The sun peeked through the clouds and tiger striped the prairie. The rolling hills were blonde with dry grass. Next month, millions of flowers will color the sprawling land like splattered paint.
We made it to Oklahoma City!
We made it to Oklahoma City!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Day 1: Oh, is it Spring Break?
We are now in lovely (ahem) Walker, LA after 700 miles and 12 hours of driving. A caravan of returning Spring Break party animals caused us some delay this morning. It took 3 ½ hours to reach Gainesville! The rest of the drive was smooth sailing though.
Florida bade me farewell with glowing fuchsia flowers twinkling along the highway and cotton ball clouds bouncing against a turquoise sky.
Alabama was much like Florida with large stretches of swampland. Traveling west on a bridge through Mobile, the city turned smoky with a fog of rain. Commercial fishing vessels and massive battle ships loomed in the murky bog. It was almost unreal. Like driving through a dream. Suddenly, a bright yellow light broke the gloom as we passed through the George Wallace Tunnel. (see video below – skip to 1:30).
The bridge connecting Mississippi to Louisiana is steep enough to allow an amazing view of the Pearl River; a flooded jungle thick with trees for miles and miles and miles in every direction. Louisiana is soggy and lush. The grass is blanketed with tiny white blossoms, like frosty, glistening snow. Purple flowers drip from the fences and trees.
Okay. Time for sleep now. We drive to Oklahoma City in the morning!
Strangest thing we saw on the road:
One man holding a rope leash tied around the neck of another man, thumbs out, trying to hitch a ride. No joke. He was flailing his arms around (maybe dancing?) and the other dude was playing along. Very bizarre strategy. Aren’t people already leery of picking up hitchhikers? Should that make other people question their sanity less? Yikes!
Florida bade me farewell with glowing fuchsia flowers twinkling along the highway and cotton ball clouds bouncing against a turquoise sky.
Alabama was much like Florida with large stretches of swampland. Traveling west on a bridge through Mobile, the city turned smoky with a fog of rain. Commercial fishing vessels and massive battle ships loomed in the murky bog. It was almost unreal. Like driving through a dream. Suddenly, a bright yellow light broke the gloom as we passed through the George Wallace Tunnel. (see video below – skip to 1:30).
The bridge connecting Mississippi to Louisiana is steep enough to allow an amazing view of the Pearl River; a flooded jungle thick with trees for miles and miles and miles in every direction. Louisiana is soggy and lush. The grass is blanketed with tiny white blossoms, like frosty, glistening snow. Purple flowers drip from the fences and trees.
Okay. Time for sleep now. We drive to Oklahoma City in the morning!
Strangest thing we saw on the road:
One man holding a rope leash tied around the neck of another man, thumbs out, trying to hitch a ride. No joke. He was flailing his arms around (maybe dancing?) and the other dude was playing along. Very bizarre strategy. Aren’t people already leery of picking up hitchhikers? Should that make other people question their sanity less? Yikes!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
on the trail...
3/29 - Tampa to Baton Rouge
3/30 - Baton Rouge to Oklahoma City
3/31 - Oklahoma City to Flagstaff
4/01 - Flagstaff to Sacramento
4/02 - Sacramento to Eugene
Highs and Lows
Monthly Temperatures and Rain
Eugene, OR
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norm High °F | 46.5 | 50.7 | 55.9 | 60.6 | 66.8 | 73.3 | 81.5 | 81.9 | 76.6 | 64.6 | 52.1 | 45.7 |
| Norm Low °F | 33 | 34.9 | 36.7 | 38.9 | 42.7 | 47 | 50.8 | 50.8 | 46.7 | 40.5 | 37.2 | 33.3 |
| Precip (in) | 7.65 | 6.35 | 5.8 | 3.66 | 2.66 | 1.53 | 0.64 | 0.99 | 1.54 | 3.35 | 8.44 | 8.29 |
________________________________________________________
Tampa, FL
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high °F (°C) | 70 (21) | 72 (22) | 76 (24) | 82 (27) | 87 (30) | 90 (32) | 90 (32) | 90 (32) | 89 (31) | 84 (28) | 78 (25) | 72 (22) | 82 (27) |
| Avg low temperature °F (°C) | 50 (10) | 52 (11) | 56 (13) | 61 (16) | 67 (19) | 73 (22) | 74 (23) | 74 (23) | 73 (22) | 66 (18) | 57 (13) | 52 (11) | 63 (17) |
| Rainfall in. (cm) | 2.1 (5) | 2.9 (6) | 3.2 (8) | 2.0 (4) | 2.7 (7) | 6.6 (14) | 7.4 (18) | 7.9 (20) | 6.3 (16) | 2.3 (5) | 1.8 (4) | 2.0 (5) | 46.3 (128 |
I bought these super warm waterproof boots. They should keep me toasty and dry in the rain or snow.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)