Blog draft may 18 26

Miles

We drove nearly 3000 miles on our recent trip to New Mexico. We had planned about 4500 if Arizona was included. But that was not to be.

Lots of miles. Some tolls, although most were in Oklahoma at $10.50 a pop, at least three times, maybe four. At least those tolls were charged to the license plate. I expect some bills to be received in a week or two.

Gas stops were frequent although my car is a hybrid and gets great mileage. At 70 to 85 miles per house, however, the mpg’s drop significantly. I get 42 mpg around town but 32 or so on the highway. Our trip averaged 29.6 mpg. Not shabby. Gas prices rose during the trip mirroring the Strait of Hormuz storyline. Still, the most costly gas was in Illinois at $4.70 per gallon as we got close to home.

Traffic congestion was very thick in St. Louis. Again in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The latter was often five lanes of congestion. Also, truck traffic was heavy throughout the trip. You know what they say about truck traffic? When it is heavy the economy is hard at work and not in recession. That has been noticeable throughout my travel life. This trip told us the economy is humming along nicely.

Left lane dwellers do not live only in Ohio and Wisconsin. They seem to be everywhere on long-distance trips. The left lane is for passing, the right lane is for cruising. Why is that so hard to learn?

Charging cords were everywhere in the car as well as hotel rooms. However, in the car we had endless music through the phone and blue tooth links with the sound system. The Google Maps applications were wonderful and told us everywhere to turn and go. Absolutely terrific for long trips and complicated urban areas.

Miles by road renewed my belief that this is the only way to travel if you truly want to get the feel of place. The smells, sights and textures come alive by car. I have often wondered what foreign visitors miss by flying everywhere while in the USA. Great open expanses are sight unto themselves and often not available to foreigners in their homelands. Here openness of the western states is very much a story of America.

At the least, miles traveled are very good. They are not a burden. Time to cover? Yes. But also time to ponder so much of the trip. I enjoyed every one of the hours even though my daughter and son-in-law did all the driving home.

May 18, 2026

Remember the Epstein Files

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more