Some of the interesting sites I’ve seen while making this trip:
- Some Amish folk hooking up a horse team to pull some fallen trees of a farmer’s field.
- An ornate buggy being pulled by a horse
- Turkey vultures lazily circling overhead
- Red Tailed Hawks playing in the thermals
- A ground hog standing on its hind legs beside its ridiculously large hole and an even larger mound of earth
- An iron horse, (see above)
- A detour sign.
I’m not overly fond of detours especially since I have found that they make you get off your route but they don’t always give great directions on how to get back on track. I slowed down and looked for the signs. I didn’t find one sign that said: “Brian, to get back to work go that-a-way!” not one! If you read my previous post about Garmi the Garmin you know I don’t have a great sense of direction. But I’ve traveled this route many times before so I didn’t have Garmi turned on. Garmi was safe in its case in my backpack on the seat beside me and I am way to lazy to pull over and plug Garmi in. So I kept going. I have theory about driving when I am lost. I go straight. There are two reasons for this. 1. If I have to backtrack I don’t have to figure out where I turned. 2. If I go straight long enough I will eventually circle the globe and end up back where I started, and with a little luck by that time the detour will no longer be there and I can continue on as normal.
- A wasp, on the inside of the vehicle!
A few minutes into my journey I realized I was not alone in the van. Crawling down the inside of my window was a wasp. I am somewhat of a jumpy kind of fellow. Even if I know you are about to touch me, I will flinch when you do. Spotting the wasp out of the corner of my eye almost caused me to have a heart attack. It could have been worse, it could have been a spider! Slowly I lowered my window. If you are my employer I was going 55 mph, for the rest of you I was doing about 63mph. I gave the wasp a flick and the wind flung him to the passanger side window where he sat pouting. I closed my window and we sat in silence. I tried to talk to him, but all he did was pout. I called him Ant. Being a wasp I am not sure he liked the name Ant, but he didn’t complain. I looked back over to him but he was gone.
Crap!
“Ant?” No response. I wasn’t happy and he could be anywhere, in the back, under the dash, in my hair. There was just no telling where he had was and we had just met so I couldn’t even guess as to where he would think to hide. Then I saw him, on my arm just below my shoulder. I don’t think it was a coincidence that at this same time I almost drove off the road. But I didn’t, instead Ant and I got into an altercation. I punched him in the face! Ant flew back to the passenger side window and went back to pouting. I felt a little bad about punching him in the face.
“Hey Ant, you okay buddy?” He seemed to be, but he was sulking. I gave him some time alone with his thoughts and he seemed content to stay where he was.
“Listen Ant, we are about to go over Seven Mountains, it is a stressful enough ride when I’m on my own. All I am asking is that you stay on your side of the van.” No response. he still seemed to be pouting. I couldn’t blame him after all I punched him in the face. “I understand you are upset, but look at this way. At least you are not paying for gas!” I think that made him to smile, but it was hard to tell.
We were doing pretty good until I took the exit off the expressway into Lewistown. Perhaps his bladder realized that we were almost at the end of the ride. I know my bladder always does. Anyway, Ant got antsy and starting to fly again. “Hey Ant, your nose feeling better? Don’t make me punch you again” He flew slowly towards me, just kind of hovered over my steering wheel for a moment then back to ther rearview mirror and back to his perch along the passenger side window. Finally we reached our destination and we both went on our way.
I wonder, if And were writing this, what did he see?
PanningForGold 