Idaho Roolz! Oregon Droolz!
It occurred to me about an hour or so ago that I have a digital camera with me, I should take a picture of the incredibly nasty, ice, snow and slush covered roads... because the freeway? Not looking so much like freeway. Then I remembered that the camera was actually in my bag in the back of the car, not easy to reach, so I figured I'd wait until I stopped for lunch in Boise and I'd pull it out then. However, it doesn't look like you're going to get treated to pictures of nasty icky roads, after all.
I cannot begin to describe the difference in the roads between Oregon and Idaho. I didn't think it was possible... yucky, rough, ice/snow/slush covered roads gave way instantaneously to damp and completely clear freeway... at the same moment the speed limit went from that sucky 65mph to the liberating 75mph. Woohoo!!!! Um, not that I was even going 65mph on my drive through Oregon, but there was no problem going 75 once I hit the border.
I'm currently grabbing lunch at the Flying J in Nampa, ID (or is this Caldwell? the two sort of blend together in my brain). If you're out majorly hitting the roads in the western US, I highly recommend Flying J... the food at the restaurants is generally quite good and reasonably priced. They always have all the info you could want on the road conditions, and nearly all the Flying J truck stops have Wi-Fi.
And I forgot to do this in my last entry, but thank heavens LJ is back up!!! And I'm also really glad I was on the road for at least part of it... before I headed out, I was going stir crazy. I kept checking the site... not because I was wanting to see if it was back up again or not, but simply because it was habit. Sit down at computer, open browser, check flist, check email, check news, check flist, play Incadia, check flist... you see a pattern? I didn't even know I checked the site that much! Wow.
dionneshea had a great point on her LJ, making me realize that there are so many of my online friends that I keep in touch with solely through LiveJournal... might be worth finding alternate methods in case this ever happens again (please no!).
I'll probably swing into the Flying J in Twin Falls for one last mail check... since it's the last one along the route to Idaho Falls, and after that it's dialup at my grandmother's house.
I cannot begin to describe the difference in the roads between Oregon and Idaho. I didn't think it was possible... yucky, rough, ice/snow/slush covered roads gave way instantaneously to damp and completely clear freeway... at the same moment the speed limit went from that sucky 65mph to the liberating 75mph. Woohoo!!!! Um, not that I was even going 65mph on my drive through Oregon, but there was no problem going 75 once I hit the border.
I'm currently grabbing lunch at the Flying J in Nampa, ID (or is this Caldwell? the two sort of blend together in my brain). If you're out majorly hitting the roads in the western US, I highly recommend Flying J... the food at the restaurants is generally quite good and reasonably priced. They always have all the info you could want on the road conditions, and nearly all the Flying J truck stops have Wi-Fi.
And I forgot to do this in my last entry, but thank heavens LJ is back up!!! And I'm also really glad I was on the road for at least part of it... before I headed out, I was going stir crazy. I kept checking the site... not because I was wanting to see if it was back up again or not, but simply because it was habit. Sit down at computer, open browser, check flist, check email, check news, check flist, play Incadia, check flist... you see a pattern? I didn't even know I checked the site that much! Wow.
I'll probably swing into the Flying J in Twin Falls for one last mail check... since it's the last one along the route to Idaho Falls, and after that it's dialup at my grandmother's house.
no subject
I have no experience with Oregon or Idaho roads, but similar experience with Indiana and Michigan.
Specifically, when driving up I-69 to... uh, whatever goes east-west across the southern part of Michigan, to visit a friend in Ann Arbor several years ago.
Apparently, Indiana's road maintenance is significantly better in uncivilized areas than Michigan's. Crossing the border going north was like rolling off a racetrack onto a Martian landscape. The road was almost more patch lines than actual asphault (you know the wavy lines of tar they roll out to seal cracks in the asphault between actual repavings?) and bumps and potholes and rugged roughness. It got better when we got to an actual city, but the difference was remarkable, surprising, and disconcerting. Luckily it was still late summer.