From Louisiana to Ohio we go.

The states are in need of money, Mississippi is one of the states that have closed all of their Rest Areas.  There is not one that is open even to park for a few hours rest.  So if you are traveling the Interstate in Mississippi here are the "New" Rest Areas.  They have had to put them in the construction zones, but the back up in the traffic is long enough to do the "job", so to speak.

As you will notice, there are two available along this stretch of Interstate construction zone.  With all the back up, there is enough time to do the "job", so to speak, before the traffic starts to flow again.

The Bass Pro shops are interesting back in this neck of the woods.  They have a large lake (we call them ponds) in front to test drive the boats.  Then adjacent to them there is a fish restaurant.  The whole thing appears to be a small village.  I wonder if you can catch your own fish for dinner at this place?

When there is any road construction in the South, quite a bit of it is bridges.  They have to build them for roadways, for a lot of the land is swamp, marsh, river bed or just plain water logged. The equipment they use to build the bridges is huge.  The weather was starting to build up, and when it starts to storm everything comes to a halt.  Also take note there is another "road side rest area", or should I call it a "can"?  Well, you know what I mean.  At least I hope you do.

It takes a lot of time to build a bridge.  As you can note, there is so much rebar that goes into the frame work.  Each piece is placed one at a time, before the cement is poured.  I hope that they just take their time in constructing the bridge, for when a truck goes across it carrying 80 thousand pounds, it would be helpful to know that it will be still standing.

As we were leaving a storm came in with a vengeance.  I couldn't believe that there were motorcycle riders out in it.  But, then again, it came up so fast that I guess they were caught in it.  We could just  see them ahead of us.

They finaly found an off ramp and headed for cover.  Why I have no clue, for they couldn't get anymore wetter than they already were.  I would take them days to dry out, but then again they could head for Oklahoma and they would be dry in no time.

Neighborhoods are like any other in the cities we pass through.  There is the strip malls and garages, fast food and restaurants all together.

Where the people live are mostly the same in the South.  What I like about many of them are the large yards in the older neighborhoods.  You aren't on top of each other, as you are in the newer developments, now.  I have never seen so many deep blue painted homes as I have this time.  Blue and pink are predominant colors for homes.

The mechanics are always busy, changing tires do to the the lousy roads.  There have been some stretches that would jar your teeth right out of your head.  No wonder there is so much road construction going on.  I guess the DOT finally got tired of hearing all the complaints.

One thing I can say for the South, many of the buildings are colorful.  Some of the buildings appeared as if they were ready to collapse.  You see a lot of the African influence in the artwork on the sides of the buildings

Trucks broken down in construction zones are not happy sights.  It slows down the traffic and can take twice as long to go any  distance.

Speaking of distance.  Since we left Henderson, Nevada, to date, we have traveled 3,200  miles. (one week) 

Tomorrow we will be going through Elvis's hometown, Memphis, TN.  They are proud of him, for you see many buildings, streets and schools are named for him.

So, until then, we will see you On the Other Side.

From Texas to Louisana

We are now going to Hammond, LA, which is close to New Orleans, LA.  Some of the Interstate going to Louisiana is long stretches of bridges that go over swamp land.  Every time we go across them, I look for alligators , but haven't seen one yet.  One day, maybe I will.

 

 Going on the back roads in many of the states are the most scenic and interesting.  You will see so many different things. As we traveled on I- 10 East into Louisiana we left the interstate and went on a US highway 190.  Along this stretch of road I even saw a tractor for sale.  I had to take a picture of it for if it has a phone number on it I can let my friend know about it, for her husband likes to take old tractors and restore them.

 As you can see we have left the drought conditions and hit rain.  Five hundred miles and the difference in weather conditions can go from one extreme to another. The weather forecast said we would be in for rain for the next few days.  As if the people around New Orleans can use more water.  The soil is saturated now from all the flooding.  The water is just pooling along side the road now.

With all the moisture in the air and the high temperatures it brings humidity.  It is a little disconcerting to be able to see the air that you breath.  Not only does the humidity make feel as if you are in a sauna, but to look out over the landscape it gives you an eerie feeling.  The moss that hangs down from the trees and the wind blowing towards evening, you would think a ghost or two would be popping out at you.  The only thing I saw was a dead armadillo and smelled a skunk

 Every few miles I would see the sign for this restaurant.  When I looked down the road to where the place was suppose to be, I didn't see much of anything.  I have found, though, that some of the best food can be found in small little places that look like nothing on the outside, but on the inside there is a lot of character and good food.  That is one of the draw backs of being in an 18 wheeler, you can't go and check out the places you see very easily.  

 In the same building you can find two different types of food.  One you can just go in and buy crawfish and take it out and eat it on the go.  No matter where you go in Louisiana you will always find signs for crawfish and Cajun food.

This place I found so interesting.  These are cement statues of dolphins and various other things.  I wonder who would buy these.  The town was in such an out of the way place.  But, then again there is the Internet and I suppose they would be able to reach many people that way.

 The homes we saw were very basic.  Most of them are on pylon's and you have to be careful of snakes and other animals that like to live under the house.  I guess the saying, "Be careful where you step" would apply here, for sure.

 The bridges that cross the Mississippi are beautiful and in some cases steep.  Up and over you go, is what I feel like at times.

  Here in Baton Rouge, this is the tallest building, as you can see.  I would imagine that the view from the top of the building would be breath taking.  You probably could see all of Louisiana. Well, maybe a lot of it.

And as you travel along the interstate in many areas you can look down into the neighborhoods and see how they live and what the communities look like.   Some are very well maintained and others are just forgotten, or just plain don't care.  It is sad to see those areas.  It seems as if the residents of those neighborhoods just gave up on life.

 Once again we are crossing the Mississippi River.  The river at times is so low you could walk across it, but today it was flowing  high and fast.

 The barge traffic on the Mississippi hasn't changed much over the decades, with the exception of the barges having motors instead of paddles or steam engines.  Goods are still transported from market to market this way.  Sometimes I see them full of bales of cotton going to market.  Take a step back in time when you see that

I had to make  this picture a little bit bigger than the rest, so you could read the sign in  it.  Now I would like to know just what Louisiana Mud Painting is.  I would be afraid to even venture a guess , for when you are in the South, you never know what could be.

Well we will soon be to our customer and find out where our next adventure will take us.  So until then..see you On the Other Side.

.   . 

From Colorado to Texas we go.

We left the beauty of Colorado to go to Texas.  In our journey there we have to go through the state Oklahoma, which is as flat as you can imagine.  The state is in a severe drought and there is high fire warnings. For as far as you could see, there was just dry dirt and dust, where there was once fields of hay or cotton plants.

 This lone tree, caught my eye as we were passing for it is the only green that you can see for miles.

The fields are ready to plant, but the water is not there for the crops to grow.  Dry farming is something that is very chancy, for you are at the mercy of the weather. Too much rain and your crops can't grow.  Too little rain and your crops will not grow either.  Drilling wells, will not help either, for the water table is so low due to the drought.

Even the homes look tired and dry in the afternoon sun.  There is no relief in sight for the heat and drought. If there are thunder storms that brings lighting, which in turn can cause fires that will burn thousand of acres of land.

When we were going down the road we could see for miles and miles.  There was no mountains to break up the landscape whatsoever. In a way that is good, for you can see what is up ahead of you and plan accordingly as to where you would like to stop.  But, for me, flat is flat and I am not a fan of it.  Give me the beauty of the mountains any day.  In all fairness, if you are born and raised in this type of area, then it would be beautiful to you and the mountains might give you a closed in feeling.  It is all what we are accustomed to, I would say.

In the distance I could see this ?building?.  As we came closer to it I was distracted and was not able  to take another picture of it to find out what it was.  The next time we go this way I will be sure to find out what it is.  To me from this distance it appears to be something from a science fiction movie set. It is truly amazing as to what I see out here as I travel the United States.

 Billboards are of interest to me.  Some are just the run of the mill and then there are those that catch the eye. (No pun intended)  Usually when you see an Irish name it is associated with a pub, but this one is all about Catfish.  I just wonder if the fish is dipped in beer batter that is made with Guinness? 

 Oklahoma is known for the horses they raise and rodeos.  What ever town you go through, you will see at least one or two statues of horses.  The Oklahomans are proud of their horsing ability. 

We are now in Texas and  from  here you can look off into the distance and see another community, far far away.  As they say, "Everything is big in Texas.  Even the vast area of blue sky.

They say that Texans are tough.  This motorcycle rider is proof.  The temperature outside was 109 degrees and here is this guy heading down the road in a black tee shirt.  I do hope that he had sunblock on his bald head.  One would think that he would have sense enough to at least have some type of helmet on to protect him in case of an accident.  But then again, it was so hot out there that it might have been a slow cooker and baked what brains he does have. 

Here we are coming into the Dallas area and soon will be at the "customer" as they call it in the trucking industry.  This is where we will be delivering the load that we brought from Aurora, CO.

As soon as we deliver this load we will find out where we will be going next on our adventure.  Until the we will see you ...On the other side.

We are now in Colorado

But, before I get to the pictures of Colorado, I have to post these last few pictures taken in Utah.  I will let them speak for themselves.

All these pictures were taken from the truck going between 50 to 62 miles an hour.  Why 62 miles an hour, because that is as fast as my husband's truck will go, unless we are going downhill and then we can go a bit faster.

This sign was a surprise to us.  We didn't recall ever seeing this, until a few months ago when we came this way.  I didn't have my camera out at the time, but said that the next time we came this way I would take a picture of it.  As you can see there are "No Services" in Yellowcat, so it makes me wonder, just what is Yellocat?  This is something that will have to be investigated in a car, for taking an 18 wheeler on a "seek and find" adventure is just not advisable.

The Colorado River is running high this year.  This is a dam that is on the lower part of the river, in Colorado.

There are parts of the river that flow slowly through the towns and is quite peaceful.  I see fishermen along the banks casting their rods.  The fish that come out of the river would be tasty, since the water is so cold.

As we move further north the river becomes a little bit more turbulent.  Rapids are more prevalent as we travel.  Soon we will come upon the river rafters. You see them from early spring to late fall.  I don't recall seeing them in the winter months, but there may be a few that are crazy enough to try rafting in the winter.

Now this is something that I haven't seen before.  It looked like these guys were using surf boards and one appeared to have a pole in the center, so maybe they were "wind" surfing on the river.  I think I would rather be in a boat, myself.  But, then again it takes all kinds to enjoy the wilds of nature.

We came upon the river rafters just a little ways up the road from the ones with the surf boards.  There were quite a few groups rafting on the river this day.  There were usually groups of 5 or 6 rafts and they all appeared to be having fun.

We came upon this group and as we were going by they could see that I was taking pictures of them.  Taking your hands off to wave at a passing truck is just plain brave, in my opinion.

As you can see the water was running rapid in the Colorado River.  The rafters had a time of it in certain aread of the river.

The beauty of the Colorado River is something to behold.  There is just something majestic about it.  I have been to the beginning of the river and where it enters the country of Mexico.  The best part of the river is in Colorado and the Grand Canyon.

This is one of the areas that the rafters put in, to go down the river.  Now I am not too sure about the name and if I would want to take a rest there.  You are in the wilds of Colorado, after all.

The roads are steep, as you can see.  There is one area that the grade is 7 per cent for seven miles.  There is a few areas in the road that it levels off for a bit, but not for long and then away we go again.

Here it is July and as you can see over the roof tops of the condos there is a patch of snow.  It is almost eleven thousand feet at this point.

The beauty of the Rocky Mountains is something that I never get tired of seeing.  I much prefer the summer months verses the winter.  The roads in the winter time can be very dangerous and at times they close the roads down due to weather conditions.

Well this is it for Colorado, for now.  Soon we will be in Denver and I will see you on the Other Side.