Road Trip!

stever

Our houseguest was at the Hiroshoma Peace Memorial Museum a year or so ago. Kinda full circle for her. For some reason, Trinity doesn't have the same gravitas as, say Dachau, or most any war monument.

imidazol97

stever said:

I like that, my chair!

I've wanted to stop at Oak Ridge and never made the effort due to time and just wanting to get on home.
I read several books about Oak Ridge and would find it interesting to see what's left of the original
secret city that played a great part in the atomic bomb production that ended the war.

We made a short road trip to Pigeon Forge TN two weeks ago. Too early for the flowers this year, but
we hadn't been there for 6-8 years. We're planning to go back as soon as we get through these plumbing leaks and moving the son into his first non-college apartment. It's time to take a few hours and stop at Oak Ridge on the way back.

http://www.ornl.gov/ornl/visiting-ornl

stever

The poor old chair is delimanating fast. And it'll probably be a few years before they reorder that swag.


Never made it to Oak Ridge in my ~7 years in TN. Los Alamos is similar, definitely a company town with who knows what kind of stuff "buried" there. There's some real pretty country up that way, lots of mountains and even (!) trees.

Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg don't do much for me. Even in my Chattanooga years, I'd try to cut over to the Foothills Parkway just to avoid that mess. In another 20 years, the park entrance to Denali may be just as touristy I'm afraid. But I don't care for Vegas either, and we aren't shoppers. Different strokes.

imidazol97

Thirty some years ago Gatinburg had lots of actual craftsmen making and selling things. Then it turned to air-brushed T-shirts and Chinese imports. The craftsmen moved to a "trail" along 11 miles of country road a couple miles east of downtown. They mostly own their separate homes and sell from their buildings there. And there are several groups called malls. Other than that we go through Gatlinburg to see the hoards and drive the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. Very scenic certain times with a hiking trailhead to a falls located along the access loop.

Otherwise we stay in Pigeon Forge. Shopping outlet. href="http://www.thepigeonforgepottery.com/">A Pigeon Forge Pottery has been there a long time throwing clay./ Wife has lots of stuff from them.

stever

Reminds of a great guy here - he keeps building courtyard houses and uses half for a gallery (his wife paints). After a while, they sell and use the money for the next one, and to support the arts. They are on their third or fourth place, and it's going on the market soon.

kyfdx

We started going to Gatlinburg in the early '60s... 1962 is as far back as I can remember.. Went back with my son in 2003, and that was enough for me..

Great hiking in that area, though.

gagrice

Spent about 4 months in trade school in Johnson City TN in 1971. Made many trips to Gatlinburg and Asheville. Love those mountains and small towns. I put 13,000 miles on a new Budget Chevy Vega, hitting all the antique shops in the area. Shipped a lot of antique furniture back to AK. I remember Pigeon Forge Pottery. Not much else there in 1971. Went back in 1981 and they were going crazy building hotels for the World's Fair coming to Knoxville.

imidazol97

This is a page with lists of the various craftsmen who are along the 11-mile loop through the "hills." It's scenic
if you don't care about the crafts.

http://www.gatlinburgcrafts.com/

stever

Did another airport run today. Cut over the Trans Mountain shortcut in El Paso, but the Border Patrol museum was closed.

gagrice

Just finishing another enjoyable trip to Oregon. The more time I spend in Cottage Grove the better I like that little town. We stay at the Village Resort that is surrounded by beautiful gardens. It is owned by Moonstone Properties and they are upgrading it. The Rhodedendrons and trees were just getting a good bloom going.





Returning down the Oregon coast yesterday was perfect weather.

slorenzen

And of course, after you left, the weather is beautiful again!

Glad you made it home safely.

What was your MPG going home?

xwesx

Wow; those photos were nothing short of incredible! I'm glad you had such a nice trip!

gagrice

Not quite home. 381 miles to go tomorrow. Taking 3 days getting home. Not so tiresome. Hoping to get through Los Angeles without too many slow downs. Worst part of travel in CA. Probably average about 29 MPG for the whole trip.

stever

Our kind of guy:

Golf GTI coffee run

jpp75

gagrice said:

Just finishing another enjoyable trip to Oregon. The more time I spend in Cottage Grove the better I like that little town. We stay at the Village Resort that is surrounded by beautiful gardens. It is owned by Moonstone Properties and they are upgrading it. The Rhodedendrons and trees were just getting a good bloom going.





Returning down the Oregon coast yesterday was perfect weather.

I love the Oregon coast, my favorite place in the country by far. Great pictures, thanks for sharing!

Michaell

Road trip planned for us to Sedona, AZ in early June.

790 miles via I-25 and I-40, or 716 miles via US 160 and US 89. Am hoping to convince the wife to take the back roads this time, if only for some different scenery.

jpp75

Michaell said:

Road trip planned for us to Sedona, AZ in early June.

790 miles via I-25 and I-40, or 716 miles via US 160 and US 89. Am hoping to convince the wife to take the back roads this time, if only for some different scenery.

I always prefer the back roads, even if it takes a little longer.

xwesx

jpp5862 said:

I always prefer the back roads, even if it takes a little longer.

Agreed, though I don't always do it (depending on how far I have to go and the time available in which to do it!). I will say that I definitely appreciated taking back roads as we neared Seattle back in 2013. The freeway was a barely rolling parking lot (and we were still two hours south... if traffic was moving at the SL), my patience was wearing thin, and the day was wearing long. But, we quickly found out that there aren't many roads that take a N/S direction in that area. Most go E/W only, so it made for an interesting and very round-about day of driving.

It was beautiful scenery and far more relaxing, though, so was worth it in the end.

stever

It's funny to hit some Arizona freeways and see signs about watching for bicylists. That's when you know there really aren't any back roads. Paved ones anyway.

Michaell

We've done the drive to Sedona twice before; each time we break the trip up into two parts and stay overnight in either Santa Fe or Albuquerque. If we go the back roads, I think Durango would be the overnight stop.

Google maps tells me that although the back roads are 70+ miles shorter, the elapsed time is over an hour longer. But, most of the US highways here in the West have a 65MPH speed limit.

gagrice

Made it home at noon. Drove right down I5 through Los Angeles. A few slow downs. 371 miles in 5 hours 43 minutes including a stop for diesel and potty break. Last 331 miles without a stop. Averaged about 68 MPH. Have to go fill up to get final tally on Mileage.

gagrice

Made it home at noon. Drove right down I5 through Los Angeles. A few slow downs. 371 miles in 5 hours 43 minutes including a stop for diesel and potty break. Last 331 miles without a stop. Averaged about 68 MPH. Have to go fill up to get final tally on Mileage.

stever

Hm, same post yet they are three hours apart.

Road fatique?

gagrice

Have not figured out how to cancel.

gagrice

Why we drive and no longer fly. No surprises here. A worthless agency among many.

The recent story of two Transportation Security Administration screeners at Denver International Airport manipulating full-body scanners in order to grope men’s crotches is disturbing, but it came as no surprise to me.

What most people don’t realize is that the full-body scanners the two agents used to assault those passengers — the scanners that millions of people pass through each day — are practically useless. The TSA, in its rush to replace the controversial “nude” radiation scanners that they phased out in 2013, swapped out one poorly functioning line of machines for another. The current millimeter wave scanners, with their outrageous false-positive rates, regularly cause unnecessary pat-downs: The agent running his or her hands over you after you pass through the scanner is almost never doing it for a good reason.

http://time.com/3822487/tsa-sexual-assault-denver/

stever

Just had "fish" visitors from the UP. Fish, because they only stayed three days (and thus didn't smell and overstay their welcome), but most enjoyable company although we overate and imbibed too much. Invited us to drive back up to the UP with them but we begged off. Went for a walk just now to get some exercise and saw our first rattler of the season, a small young buck.

gagrice

stever said:

Just had "fish" visitors from the UP. Fish, because they only stayed three days (and thus didn't smell and overstay their welcome), but most enjoyable company although we overate and imbibed too much. Invited us to drive back up to the UP with them but we begged off. Went for a walk just now to get some exercise and saw our first rattler of the season, a small young buck.

Be careful the young ones are the most dangerous. This small one got hung up in the chicken wire. Made it easy to kill him.

slorenzen

AND, they taste like chicken...

fezo

Or is it chicken that tastes like rattlesnake? I always get that confused...

gagrice, is that you? You look nicer in person......

gagrice

That was about 8 years ago. I am older now you know.
Then, Now...

stever

You're aging well. Good thing you changed shirts though.

I get to do a road trip this afternoon. Meeting our Taos friends at Columbus to camp and do the border town bit tomorrow (one friend is hitting the dentist there). Haven't slept on the ground for months now....

slorenzen

stever said:

You're aging well. Good thing you changed shirts though.

I get to do a road trip this afternoon. Meeting our Taos friends at Columbus to camp and do the border town bit tomorrow (one friend is hitting the dentist there). Haven't slept on the ground for months now....

Dental work in Mexico?

stever

She's going to have a cleaning done first and if that goes well.... The DDS she's going to gets good reviews from gringos. Lots of people hit Juarez for affordable medical care.

fezo

Looking good, Gary. Closet full of Hawaiian shirts? I'd do that if our climate justified it.

kyfdx

Those pictures are 8 years apart? You aren't aging!

fezo

No, but check he portrait in his house,

gagrice

78 Hawaiian shirts last count. Most are made in Hawaii. Those are the only ones I buy usually in thrift shops. Most are Kahala and Tori Richards my favorites.

stever

Got a pair of shorts in Deming at the thrift a few minutes ago - forgot to grab one of my two pair. I'm up to about ten shirts since the move now.

Beautiful 69° day cruising past the pistachio orchards.

kyfdx

fezo said:

No, but check he portrait in his house,

Yeah... that's what I was thinking...

explorerx4

Another road trip on the horizon, this time for Mothers Day.
Last one was trip to PA to pick up my mom and the choice was Escape or Fusion.
Seeing that my mom and I would be riding back together, it was determined to be a 'Fusion' trip rather than 'Escape' trip.
Unfortunately, the Fusion part was a BMW creasing my left front fender.
My car was parked at the time.
Next trip is to the Cleveland area dropping my mom off in PA and the choices are the same.
The Fusion has Nav and the Escape doesn't, but my wife is pretty good with Google maps.

gagrice

fezo said:

No, but check he portrait in his house,

That was not the most recent. That was out to dinner in Coronado 7/2013. This was taken last Christmas.

stever

Road trips are always educational - here's the US Army's very first field grease rack.



We'll have to plan a return trip next year for the 100th Anniversary.

fezo

Gary, on the odd chance that I outlive you why don't you leave me some of them in your will? I'll just forget that based on your pictures that anything that fits wouldn't fit me....

Great collection.

gagrice

Thank you, I am sure I have some that would fit you. I have them from M-XL. I would have to get down about 40 lbs in the 175 range to wear the M shirts. Even within the same brand they are not the same size. I only buy Mediums if it is a great pattern. Who knows if I was in a rest home withering away to nothing, they may fit. I started wearing them in the early 1980s and have gotten used to the comfort.

fezo

Oh, you could send a few of the mediums over. Those would fit, almost no matter their definition of medium.

When I go out playing with my alleged band I always wear a Hawaiian shirt.

elias

gagrice, you and Mrs G look marvelous! thanks for the photos. for photos of what I look like, google Dave Attell.

i'm looking planning multiple roadtrips for this summer, including: Orlando. DC. Chicago.
Still haven't found the right time/situation to make the cross-country roadtrip to California again, but I'm trying to plan that too.

kyfdx

elias said:

gagrice, you and Mrs G look marvelous! thanks for the photos. for photos of what I look like, google Dave Attell.

i'm looking planning multiple roadtrips for this summer, including: Orlando. DC. Chicago.
Still haven't found the right time/situation to make the cross-country roadtrip to California again, but I'm trying to plan that too.

for photos of what I look like, google Dave Attell.

Before or after he has been "Up all night"?

stever

Ah, what do you look like - while our friends got their teeth cleaned in Palomas the other day, I walked to a nearby barber. I should have stuck to "un poquito" but the guy grew up in New Mexico and spoke English so I told him "top of the ears" and asked him to even up my beard.

Coming back, the customs guy looked at the passport photo and asked me where my passport was.

Michaell

stever said:

Ah, what do you look like - while our friends got their teeth cleaned in Palomas the other day, I walked to a nearby barber. I should have stuck to "un poquito" but the guy grew up in New Mexico and spoke English so I told him "top of the ears" and asked him to even up my beard.

Coming back, the customs guy looked at the passport photo and asked me where my passport was.

OK, that's funny.

stever

It's 86° today and much cooler "upstairs" at least.