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Epic Cross Country Road Trip

 Cross Country Route ~ the most direct

 

So, on Wednesday morning, Emily and I will pile into her aging over-stuffed Subaru wagon here in Scottsville, Virginia. We’ll point it west and begin driving. After at least four days, over 3000 miles, passing through 14 to 16 US states (depending on where we stop for lunch), we’ll arrive on the west coast. She’s moving to Hood River, Oregon, and I talked her into letting me come along for the ride.

Yes, I know, it’s the middle of winter. Currently, there’s a blizzard sweeping across the Midwest, with temperatures plunging lower than most of the country has seen in 20 years.

We may have to go around. Those figures quoted above? That’s if we take the most direct route, which we’ll call Provisional Route . We could end up taking a tour of the Southwest along the way. Hey, it’s 70 degrees in Arizona right now, while by morning it will be -12 degrees (Fahrenheit) in Nebraska. Hmmm, which one is better . . .

I’ll be posting photos from the road as we go.

There’s a GPS app I use called MotionX for the iPhone. It’s pretty great, and I’ve been using it for years for sailing, hiking, biking and driving. I like it so much I also got the HD version for the iPad. It includes about a dozen different map types, from satellite, to road, topos, and even NOAA charts. The nice thing is you can download the maps ahead of time (for free) so you don’t need cell signal to use it.

 

“Point A”

 

It also let’s me post my position to an online map via the phone, much like a SPOT tracking system does via satellite. You can follow our progress (or lack thereof) on the map below. Just enter channel number 23232 and hit the submit button. We’ll appear as a flag labelled EyeInHand:

 

 

direct link to map page

 

I also plan to shoot a time lapse video of the entire trip, so, if all goes as planned, look for that in a couple of weeks.

And wish us luck.

 

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Foxing

 

video link 

 

Arrived home at dusk one evening to find a young Gray Fox mousing in the yard. Beautiful animal.

A few years ago we gave up the pretense of a suburban lawn. Waaay too much work, and never cared for it anyway. Replanted with a no-mow grass and let it grow, then let the rest go back to wild. Almost immediately the wildlife returned.

Continue reading “Foxing”

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Fenced in Ice

 

 

The drive in to work was a little different this morning. Sleet hissed on the tin roof all night, then rain. Then it all froze.

Nice that the roads stayed clear.

Tonight, dense fog.

More sleet and snow and freezing rain coming by morning. One to three inches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dog Walker

 

direct video link 

 

Snow expected by morning, followed by ice.

Took a walk through the back field in a light mist. Deer hunters are out.

The old dog is almost deaf, and can’t see me if I’m more than twenty feet away; but his nose still works, and he enjoys it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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White Hurricane

the Great Lakes in winter

“White Hurricane” by Lou Blouin of FoundMichigan.org

An excellent story of an epic storm that struck the Great Lakes 100 years ago today.

Modern weather forecasting was in its infancy. At the time, basic weather observations were gathered by hand by people scattered across the country, like human instruments, then wired back to the Weather Bureau in Washington, DC, where it was all compiled, analyzed for patterns and clues, regurgitated, codified, and wired back. These “forecasts” were a half day or more out of date by the time they arrived. Fast changing conditions simply charged through the open cracks. The warnings of a major storm sometimes arrived after the storm did.

That’s what happened in 1913. A fierce arctic gale out of Canada crashed into a warm gulf front pouring over the Appalachians. The collision occurred over the Great Lakes, and caught the whole region by surprise, exploding into a storm never seen before. Two feet of snow fell overnight. Winds went from balmy to hurricane force within the span of a half hour, whipping up waves 35 feet high. Ships and sailors on the notoriously dangerous waters were caught vulnerable and woefully unprepared for what lay in store.

By the time it was done, 12 major ships and over 250 men were lost in this single storm – more than in all the seasons of the decade before combined. Bodies of sailors washed up on the shores for days, as did parts of their ships, often scribbled with their forlorn farewells to loved ones.

A great story well told, well worth a read.

 

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Fall

 

Fall arrive late this year. Couple of weeks late. Been warm.

When the the leaves finally turned, a big wind storm came and blew them all away.

Got a few photos before they were gone.

Continue reading “Fall”