Three and a half days to cover eleven states.
Bought the Da Vinci Code on CD almost immediately upon leaving the city. We departed around noon and made it as far
as Hackensack where we knew to stop at some mall to find the unabridged version for 16 hours of listening
entertainment. We figured that with two drivers, one who may sleep through a CD or two, we could eek out an
additional four or five hours to cover the whole distance listening to the book.
What was a four day drive to NYC turned into a drive-a-thon to return to Boise. It took three and a half.
For some strange reason, the driving schedule both to and from The Big Apple had left me in the driver's seat through
Wyoming, and in the dark. I do not have a good relationship with the darkened highway through the state of WY. A few
years back I was at the wheel of my father's brand new Audi - his retirement car. We were trying to make Minneapolis
to Idaho in 24 hours and were right on track for that schedule. It was nearing eleven o'clock and we were close to the
border. Once we crossed into Idaho we knew it would be only a quick six hour jaunt to Boise and then we'd sleep. So,
here I was, flying at 90mph in the left lane, avoiding the frost heaves on the bumpy right lane. Up ahead there was a deer
carcass lying across my lane and so I moved the car into the right hand lane. My lane changes were slow so as not to
wake my brother sleeping next to me and my father snoozing in the backseat. Up ahead there appeared to be snowballs
in the right lane, I envisioned plowing through them at this speed with the snow flying about. But there was no snow
anywhere else and for some reason, my sleepy mind did not compute this until I was nearly upon the three or so masses.
It wasn't snow and quickly I tried to swerve the car into the left lane.
The highway was "missing." The "snowballs" were actually chunks of concrete and the Audi missed them by
millimeters. What I did not miss, however, was the eight inch drop into the crevasse that once was highway. That, and
the eight inch climb back out. Literally a section of missing highway engulfed the passenger side of the car, the tires
blowing and the heavy rims shredding. I managed to keep control over everything and glide the Audi to a stop but the
damage was done.
In the end, my father forgave me, my brother proved the usefulness of a cell phone and the State of Wyoming paid all
the damages. AND the Audi was completely fine - with the exception of the tires and rims, the underbody and chassis
and all that is important were unaffected. Amazing.
So, when I drive, especially through Wyoming, I am a Watcher Of Potholes - Forever Worried About Repeating That
Experience.
And I am passing on my wisdom.