Getting home after a 2+ week trip this weekend. I think I’m gonna need to have my spouse check my butt for calluses after I get home. (smile)
While traveling, I saw and/or thought of a few things that made me go, “Hmm?” – or laugh. Or which I otherwise thought were noteworthy enough to share.
So here ya go. Hey, you get bored and/or mentally fatigued while driving over 6,000 miles; at that point, you’re pretty easily amused. I blame what follows on that.
. . .
When going through El Paso going east/west (or west/east), you have two decent choices: I-10 and TX 375 (Purple Heart Freeway and Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive). The former goes through downtown El Paso and by UTEP; the latter bypasses the city, but does go through the Franklin Mountains (and through the Franklin Mountains State Park). Consequently, there’s quite a climb/descent involved if you take TX 375.
At the high point, TX 375 goes through a cut/pass in the mountains called Smuggler’s Pass. There’s an elevation sign at the summit; the elevation is 5,280 feet – exactly one mile.
Which led my boredom/fatigue infused brain to wonder: if a couple were to go parking next to that sign and got amorous (without getting rousted by the police, of course) . . . would they become members of the “Mile High Club/Ground Division”? (smile)
. . .
Road trains (a semi pulling 3 or more trailers) are supposedly common in the Australian outback. But I thought they were illegal in the US.
Apparently, though, they’re not illegal all US locations. Well, either that or there was one bold-ass trucker on one of the highways I traveled this trip – ‘cause he was pulling 3 trailers (looked to be 40-foot trailers, or perhaps a bit shorter).
First one I’d ever seen.
. . .
If you ever get the chance, take US70 between Las Cruces and Roswell, NM. It absolutely has to be one of the most spectacular 3-hour drives in the nation.
Starting in Las Cruces, you begin in deep desert, eventually end up (after several long climbs) in Ponderosa Pine-covered mountains at nearly 8,000 feet, and then descend to open scrub/grassland plains. Gorgeous.
En route, you pass through the US Army’s White Sands Missile Range; pass by a NASA facility; pass by the White Sands National Monument; and pass by the Apache-run Inn of the Mountain Gods. You also pass through Ruidoso and several other smaller towns in New Mexico. Many places along the route are worth a look, and the Inn of the Mountain Gods seems to be a damned nice place for a weekend getaway. Hopefully I’ll be able to do that one year.
Plus, there’s also the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell – if you’re into that kind of kitsch.
. . .
A correction to a couple of previous articles I posted here and here. Turns out there are places to eat reasonably near to the Uranus Fudge Factory besides their Party Bar. However, they’re on the opposite side of I-44 and are only easily visible from one direction. I somehow missed them on my previous trips through that area.
So if you go, you can get something to eat in the vicinity pretty much any time they’re open. You’ll just have to cross over I-44 if it’s before the nearby Party Bar opens and starts serving food.
. . .
Finally, the following tale I heard years ago came to mind.
Three clergymen met at an annual conference. Though of different denominations, they hit it off.
Each year each was able to return to the conference annually. Over time, they became fast friends, though they lived in different areas.
At their final attendance, there was a terrible auto accident. The taxi they were taking to dinner together was hit, and crushed, by an 18-wheeler. They all died instantly.
After the accident, they found themselves on a cobblestone road leading to a Shining City on a Hill. With some trepidation, they approached the gate.
They were met at the gate by Saint Peter. Rather than smiling or frowning – which would have instantly told the three their eternal fate – Saint Peter had a chagrined look on his face.
“Men,” said Saint Peter, “I owe you an apology. You became fast friends on earth because you had the same Guardian Angel. He was new, and we thought assigning him to three clergy would be a good first assignment.
Unfortunately, he misread the Eternal Calendar. The accident sending you here indeed was to have happened – but not until next year. You were supposed to have missed that cab and caught the next one. Consequently, you three are here a bit over a year early.”
Saint Peter cleared his throat. “That means we have a problem. We can’t bring you back to life as humans; God is adamant that Lazarus was the last miracle of that type. But you can’t enter Heaven until you’re scheduled to do so – which is a year and a day from now.
So you have a choice. You can either stay here outside the Eternal City for that time, though I fear you’ll be bored to tears for a year. Or we can send you back to earth as anything but a human, with guaranteed return in one year.”
The three thought about it.
Shortly one of the three spoke up. “I’ve always wanted to fly,” the first said. “Could I go back to earth as an eagle?”
Instantly he vanished.
The second spoke up about a minute later. “I’ve always admired cats, and I love the mountains. Could I go back to earth for my year as a mountain lion in the Rockies?”
He too vanished.
The third spoke up. “Could I go back as a stud?”
The third immediately vanished.
A year later, God and Saint Peter were conversing in the Eternal City. God turned to Saint Peter and said, “It’s about time for those three to come home forever. How are they doing?”
Saint Peter said, “Lord, the first is enjoying his last day on earth soaring over the mountains in northern New Mexico. He seems happy, but I sense he’s ready to come home.”
God then asked: “And the second?”
“Sir, the second is basking in the sun on a rock outcropping in the Colorado Rockies, purring after having eaten his fill. He too is happy, but I sense he’s also ready to come home.”
“And the third?” asked God.
“That one still has me perplexed, Lord,” said Saint Peter. “He’s still holding up that wall in a house in Iowa, as he has been for the past year. And he’s definitely ready to come home.”
Moral of the story: precision and specificity in language are quite important. Or to phrase it another way: “Be careful of precisely what you ask for – you might get it!” (smile)
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That’s all for now. Hope everyone is having a great day.
