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That's the back of the house. The other side is the front door and the porch facing the mountains is where we mostly hang out.
They had workers patroling the beach during the day. I was told they are paid $175 a day to walk up and down the beach looking for oil. They spend less than half the day walking, and the other half resting from the heat. Sounds like a good job. With that nice breeze from the gulf, didn't seem hot to me. There was also a couple military people in a ATV driving up and down the beach. Not a bad assignment. :shades:
Alarm clock 7 AM Monday---time to go to the beach!
Alarm clock Tuesday 7 AM---time to go to the beach!
alarm clock Wednesday 7 AM --etc etc.
I suppose if you got drunk by noon it would be okay. :P
Well I have to admit, they did look mighty bored... or highly fatigued. They didn't appear to be in the best of shape, and walking mile after mile in soft mushy sand isn't... what... a walk on the beach. :sick:
We just got back from a rugs to ruins tour - Chaco Canyon, Canyon De Chelly and Monument Valley, and about eight trading posts on or near the Navajo Reservation, including Hubble's and Toadlena to admire the weavings. Lots of dirt roads but I only dinged the oil pan a couple more times. It looks like hamburger when you put the van on the lift. :shades:
Steve, had a torrential downpour on the way home from P.C.B. Traffic on interstate was slowed to about 35 mph due to low visibility due to rain. Our Mazda MPV has ignition coils that are very tempermental in heavy rain. I've had to replace two. Hit a big ole puddle at 35mph, I cringed and crossed fingers. Luckily, they stayed dry.
Saw two really bad accidents on the way home. Someone in south bound lane lost control of their U-haul truck... headed towards our north bound lane, then slammed into the concrete divider at about 50mph. Really freaked out my wife, who almost lost control of our van. I called 911. Hope everyone was okay.
The second accident was when a semi-trailer (carrying new cars) overturned, skidded, and looked like it impaled a midsize SUV on it's front bumper. They both had slid over into the grassy median. We had stopped at McDonalds about 15 minutes before entering the entrance ramp to North I-65. Traffic was at a standstill. Took about an hour and a half to clean that mess up.
So, be safe out there everyone. :shades:
Travelling north the next week, I sat for 3 hours mid-afternoon on I85, again at Buford of all places, while a tractor trailer with 35 tons of steel that had overturned and dumped its load was cleared. It was HOT! Several of us were passing out bottled water to folks in overheated vehicles.
My brother manages recreation for the Pensacola NAS, including their "beaches". Like Gulf Shores, they've had some tar balls and some oil. Gulf Shores beaches were flying red flags each day. He tells me that the beaches were closed to swimming; saw a few cars in the parking lots. Some folks were on the beach, just not getting wet.
There was a huge amount of staging for the clean up efforts--tents, portapotties, etc. at the state park beach parking lot. Saw similar staging areas up and down the shore as we travelled around. Also saw lots of booms and skimmers underway in the bay and inland waterways. Very proactive efforts. Also very sad to see.
As hot and humid as it was, I would not want to be a "beach cleaner". My brother has them on the navy base, and he's had several go down due to the heat. Hence all the "rest time" and hydration requirements he tells me. I played golf one morning with family and it was an effort to stay hydrated. We quit after 9 holes--too hot.
Jimmy Buffett gave a free concert on the west end of Gulf Shores beach on Sunday the 10th. Tickets went mostly to rental agencies as enticement to get folks to come to that area. We stayed in the State Park cabins, and three of my family members won tickets and were part of the estimated 35,000 people in attendance.
Otherwise, it very easy to get around. Traffic was light. Restaurants seemed to be somewhat busy, but we noticed that the food store customers seemed reduced compared to last year. However, the waterparks and such were slammed with business. All in all, a very enjoyable vacation, except for some of my relatives.
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Lots of vacationers on the road yesterday. Moab was hopping as always and there was a big line of cars creeping up the side road to the entrance of Arches National Park. Just missed my brother and his wife by a couple of days - they're in Bryce Canyon today on their 2 month road trip.
We were able to bomb through Salt Lake City at 4 pm, mostly missing the rush crush, and even though there was lots of construction, everyone in the HOV lane was going 75+ mph, so we actually made great time through there.
17 hour roads trips are no longer my forte though. Going to have to train the two cats to camp out next time.
I get to make that trip starting this Saturday. Heading east to Kennewick, WA for the night and then the drive to New Mexico. I'll honk when we pass through Boise.
On another note, I took my daughter and a friend to visit a couple of Montana colleges last week. We stayed with my sister in Lewiston, ID and drove highway 12 along the Clearwater river to Missoula. Beautiful drive... and fun too. Light traffic and lots of twisties. :shades: Not exactly close to you but it is the same state.
There is a bypass around Salt Lake but I don't think it's much better unless you get caught by a wreck or the construction gets worse. You may save some time by taking it, but I think the scenery is prettier closer near town, since you get to admire the skyline and the mountains behind.
I'm around this weekend so post or email if you get stuck. Or if you just want to meet and load up on caffeine:)
My freak show can beat up your freak show. Headed to Lost Wages for the first time in September. I've been all over the place, but oddly enough, have never visited this popular tourist site. I'm hoping to nab photos of some really bad Elvis impersonators at the very least.
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The good news is that I found a tire place that is also in Washington state so I'll be set when I get home.
I'm amazed at how green everything has been in Idaho, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. I guess everyone has had lots of rain in the west. On to Colorado Springs tomorrow.
Hmm, I'm guessing Discount or Big O. I'm not too impressed with the Big O stores here; one of them left a weight inside a tire on my Subie. Enjoy the road!
Schwab wants $10 to install their batteries while Wallymart does that for free.
The next November I had another flat on the same car but had to use the space saver tire. So I just dropped the wheel off at the same shop and ran over to Ace to get some stuff. Came back in 15 minutes and it was fixed and there was no charge. Les fixed a riding mower tire for free a few years back but I managed to find the tech that time and tip him $5.
Hmm, I'm overdue for another flat. And it's almost Labor Day - time for another road trip maybe?
Going back through Boise tomorrow. Let's hope the tires hold up.
I was amazed at how green everything was. Seems like there was lots of rain in the desert this year. New Mexico was particularly "unbrown". My wife is from Silver City so we spent a few days there. Then it was up to Sante Fe (big arts fair going on in the plaza last weekend). We spent several days in Colorado Springs and just didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted to do. Great area but we had some rain.
The Cog railway up Pike's Peak was spectacular, even though it ended up being pretty cloudy on top. Someday I'll take my car up... $10 per person or $40 max. I was surprised to see that it was paved near the top... I thought it was a dirt road.
We came back through Wyoming, then Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. It's nice to be back at sea level.
The place we stayed at near Taos had 42" of water in the cisterns when we got there. It went down two inches, and then went up to 50" the last week were there. The elevation does take some getting used to (we're at 2800' at my house, but that didn't help much when we went to 7,000 for our vacation.
Sometimes heavy rainfall is tricky to be optimistic about---we might get heavier rainfalls but a shorter rainy season, or heavier snowfall but for fewer months.
Bay Area is experiencing near-record cool temperatures. Don't plan on California sunshine near the coast.
Nice route - we drive an hour down the Garden State Parkway and catch the 80 minute ride Cape May Ferry which takes us down do southern Delaware. A couple of hours or so to the bridge-tunnel and then, unfortunately, hit Virginia Beach. From there it's only a couple of hours.
Of course we're traveling with 8 year olds so time is relative.
Hitting the road is so much fun, we don't plan to even return to Boise. :shades:
)
Now,where would a car guy go if he tired of the high desert?
Is this a Where's
WaldoSteve_ contest??If there is snow, the high mountains would be next. Not sure that is where a "car guy" would go though. I suppose there is always the low desert.
I just got back from Hawaii. If you want perfect weather day after day, go there. I went snorkeling in Hanauma Bay which used to be a volcanic crater, which was flooded when the sea-level rose. Some day that will be gone, and humans will be snorkeling where the active volcanoes now are.
Anyway, learn to enjoy what you have, as the people, geology, and climate all change; some more slowly and some quicker. Enjoy the Present, and stop lamenting this isn't the Past, or that things will change in the Future.
We learned that only too well when Mt. St. Helens blew and destroyed 500 Summer/weekend cabins, several resorts, & Spirit Lake recreation area.
you're probably right.....I need a beer.....
All the more reason to take more vacations! :surprise:
I hope there's not too many people who have reeservations this weekend along the East Coast. The unpredictable weather there makes my sure-bet-weather trip to Hawaii worth it.
I suppose the Gulf should be relieved that Earl isn't heading its way. They don't need another disaster. Unfortunately, hurricane season isn't done yet. :surprise: