Some observations from a few weeks spent largely on the road.<\/p>\n
\u2022<\/strong> The United States is freaking huge<\/em>. (Duh!) But you don’t really understand how huge<\/em> this country is until you travel by road.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> 70+ F is definitely preferable to 30 F.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> No part of the country is free of oblivious and\/or idiot drivers. Regardless of region, they do seem much more common in and around cities. But small towns and rural areas have their share too.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> Maybe it\u2019s just me, but a surprising number of truckers seem to have have p!ss-poor road manners these days compared to 20 or so years ago.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> \u201cTake the freeway\u201d isn\u2019t always your best option. The freeways aren\u2019t always better roads, and they\u2019re generally a helluva lot more crowded.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> Some of America\u2019s highways need serious<\/u> attention. Kinda makes you wonder where all that \u201cstimulus\u201d money earmarked to improve America\u2019s infrastructure under the previous Occupant, 1600 Penn Ave, Wash DC, went.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> Don\u2019t forget to take free breakfast \u2013 or lack thereof \u2013 and free WiFi into account when deciding where to stay for the night when you\u2019re on the road. You can easily drop $10 a person on breakfast, and depending on your wireless plan you may pay dearly for Internet connectivity via wireless too.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> A five-hundred mile day behind the wheel isn\u2019t too bad.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> Seven-hundred mile days on the road . . . kinda suck.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> Nine-hundred mile days really<\/u> suck.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> A nearly eleven-hundred mile day behind the wheel sucks the Grand Wazoo. They\u2019re not necessarily the smartest thing one can do, either.\u00a0 But sometime it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>Toll highways suck. Ditto toll bridges.\u00a0 Even so, sometimes paying the toll is worth it.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> Long-distance travel by road beats you up physically far more than you might expect.<\/p>\n And, finally<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> The US Southwest between the Pecos and Colorado Rivers (the big<\/u> Colorado River, not that little one in Texas) has to be one of the most physically beautiful areas on earth. If you\u2019ve never spent any time there, you really should put visiting that area on your \u201cbucket list\u201d.<\/p>\n As much as I enjoy travel, it will be damn good to get off the road.\u00a0 And it looks like that will happen quite soon.\u00a0 One trip yet to go, but it\u2019s a relatively short one.<\/p>\n Take care, all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"