On the Road..

The road was calling us, and we were late. Originally, our plans were to leave at 6 in the morning and arrive around 7pm – due to the one hour ahead time difference. So it would actually be around 6pm, California time. We got up around 7, in a panic rush we packed up the car, and left the house. However, our efforts to get on the road as early as possible went to waste. The car was out of gas, so we had to scramble around and find a gas station. Once that was done, we were stuck in LA traffic for about two hours. All in all, we had officially left LA around 9 am. Which would mean that we would get to Boise at about 9 or 10 pm. Not really safe to be driving in the dark where deers roam. We were on the road again, the scenery changed from bustling cities to more scarce small towns, and it became drier as we drove on. California, Nevada, Oregon would be states we would have to cross to get into Idaho. A long drive was ahead of us, unsure of what would happen. After a travel hiatus, I was anxious to get on the road again. In some ways, I am a nomad in the sense that I have to keep traveling or I won’t be happy. But, I was happy. Hours after Hours of dry dessert gets a bit boring after a while. It’s hard for me to understand, how is it that there are so much land and no city to occupy it? I support natural preservation. However, when you see about 8 hours of dry, barren land with the occasional run down gas station. A gas station with rust, broken junkyard pieces in the yard. Why isn’t there another metropolitan city? Los Angeles is over crowded, why not make the pilgrimage to Nevada? It is the same temperament as California. Brilliant sunshine, beautiful scenery, and it is warm. There are big cities, that is known in the United States. Such as, Seattle, LA, Chicago, New York, and so on. Although, I must say Boise is on its way to joining the ranks. This thought occupied my mind for a while now, it was 6 hours into the trip. I was a bit weary, looking for some sign of city life. Thank goodness, in the Summer the days are longer. If it hadn’t been for that it would have made the trip much more difficult. Dusk was approaching and we were still in Nevada. The GPS system said that we would be approaching Oregon soon, it also had said that we would arrive in Boise around 10pm. Not too bad, We had lost several hours but 10pm was still making good time. But that would soon change, as we had come up to a roadblock. The police had blocked off the road, and told everyone to pull over into the Gas Station on the right. We had done so, it turns out a car had caught fire and caused fire to run amok in the desert. But the good news was, that they should be nearly done. It wasn’t until a hour later we were told that we could finally go ahead. Finally, we were all escorted through the highway by the Sheriff. It was amazing, our car was the third car behind the Cop car. It was lucky, because behind us was literally two miles of cars backed up bumper to bumper waiting to pass. The land was black, scorched, little flames of embers on the ground in the dessert as the firemen tried to put them out. It was odd to think that a hour ago this was all aflame. Made me think about home, how many times my hometown has suffered evacuation from forest fires. Just thinking about it made me uneasy. I was remembered of the ash and the smoke several years back, as the fire made its way up the mountain. We had finally passed, and were able to get back on the road again and make up for lost time. The next town we encountered didn’t help at all. The GPS kept taking us to every roadblock, every construction site. One street after the other, we would be stopped and told to take the detour until we finally found the highway. That was another half hour lost, and we were no nearer to Idaho. Dusk had come and gone, and the moon was stunning, and surprisingly orange. No, it wasn’t the Harvest moon as I had originally thought it was. But, it was a strange little phenomenon and I was so glad to have witnessed it. Perhaps, all this detours, all this lost time was a way for me to see this rare beauty. As time wore on, the darkness made it harder. It was as if we were in another world. It is strange, how the night makes everything different,in a way scarier. We kept our eyes out for the deers, animals that would run across the road in a panic frenzy. Dangerous to be driving in the dessert at night, where deers run amok. We were in Oregon, making our way to Idaho. It was the last leg of the trip, and it was almost over. 1am had approached, we had finally arrived. A whole day of driving can wear on you easily, it is safe to say I slept like a baby that night. Our adventure had begun, and I was excited to face the coming week. What would happen, I would not know but it made it all the more fun.