Trip from hell

Smacked my first deer, got a speeding ticket, knocked over a utility pole and could not get home for Thanksgiving. That made this last time out the trip from hell. Having the time to visit with friends in Virginia, hitting a couple of tasty micro-breweries and getting some good miles helped ease the pain.

A brief rundown on this trip as I write this at the West Memphis OC (operating center)in Arkansas. Started this run to the Kansas City area and then through Topeka to Wichita. In Topeka is a micro-brewery/barbecue joint named the Blind Tiger. Good food and very tasty beer! Made that a stop-over so I could eat and drink a few beers.

Back north to the Twin Cities then east, bound for Virginia. It was crossing Ohio in the dark, with a heavy load of paper, on a steep downhill that I exceeded their damned 55 mph speed limit and garnered a ticket. On to VA, then north to PA and back south to VA. Nearly out of hours, I was able to take a 34 hour break in Crozet, VA and spend the time with my good friends, the Ewell family! During that visit my buddy James, some of friends from the area and I went to the Blue Mountain Brewery. A very small micro-brewery started by a former brewer from the Goose Island Brewery. Only ate appetizers (very good) and drank numerous (small) beers. Had a very good time.

From there, east to Norfolk. That's where I took out a wooden utility pole that I failed to see as I entered a poorly-lit drop lot. It held support wires for cable and phone wires, no power. No service was lost, traffic was blocked for a short while but the police didn't take my name or file any sort of report. I did notify my employer. After that incident, I headed north to New Hampshire and Maine.

It was in Maine going north on I-95 near Lewiston that I saw the briefest flash of a deer head as I struck it full speed, right in the bumper. Then the subsequent bumps and rumbles as I ran it over with 9 of my 18 wheels. I ended up with a dented metal bumper and a trashed left-side plastic bumper extension. The next day I passed the scene of the crash and saw nothing but a huge smear of blood that ran about 150" down the road. I absolutely smoked that poor thing.

So now I'm on my way back east, encountering horrible traffic and several crashes causing about 2 hours of delay in CT. Another crash on a 2-lane road in Ohio (I hate Ohio) stopped me dead for an hour and a half. These delays cost me an on-time delivery and to miss the next pickup that was to head me home in time for TG. I chose to stay out, get more miles and take 5 days for my next time at home.

Dead Animals

Dead animals, roadkill, sail rabbits. You see the bodies scattered on the roads you drive every day, the blood stains from fresh hits or the dried, leathery remains of some poor critter run over so many times, it's nothing more than a flat platter of unidentifiable fur. This situation has begun to bother me.

As I rack up thousands of miles each month, I cannot help but notice just how many animals, both wild and domestic, perish beneath the wheels of cars and trucks that ply the roads. My last trip out took me through Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. I saw what must have been hundreds of carcasses! I thought perhaps I should make a count to see if what I was estimating was any where close to the actual number. Each day passed and I neglected to begin a count. This trip out, after the first day, I made my count.

Driving the states of Iowa, Missouri and Kansas for about 450 miles, I tallied 255 dead animals. Bloody deer, bloated raccoons, squashed skunks, and numerous anonymous bits of fur or feathers. There were hawks, dogs, foxes, cats, rabbits and squirrels. I witnessed 2 feral dogs eating a deer carcass in Missouri. Then, not too much further down the road, two dead dogs side by side in the median not ten feet from another deer.

Repeat this scene in every state with regional changes in dead fauna and you can understand what I've been seeing out here on the road. I can almost tell what state I'm in by the species I see. Gators in Louisiana, porcupines in Michigan, armadillos in Texas, well, and also Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, etc, etc.

A few observations about regional differences as I end this. I just cannot believe how many dead dogs I see on the roads of southern states. What the hell is up with that? Are there that many more dogs, do the owners just let their canines run free. I'm sure some are feral but I've seen many with collars and I'm sure there are no feral chihuahuas running around Alabama.

I have no idea how this could or should be addressed but perhaps just an increased awareness of what's happening out there by anyone that reads this. Thanks for reading.