Everyone I've Ever Loved

 

Photo taken in 2008 at the Little America Hotel & Resort in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Something I read online recently:

I make my ramen the way a friend taught me in eleventh grade.  Every fall, I listen to a playlist made for me by a boy I drove across a border to hook up with.  I eat sushi because a girl who won't talk to me anymore made me try it, and Indian food because my best friend's parents ordered for me before I knew what I liked.  There are movies I love because someone I loved loved them first.  I am a mosaic of everyone I've ever loved, even for a heartbeat.

Although most of these things don't really apply to me, other things do.  And I love the idea of being a mosaic of everyone who has touched my life.

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2023: Sorry, no post on this day.
2022: Sorry, no post on this day.
2021: Sorry, no post on this day.
2020: Sorry, no post on this day.
2019: Sorry, no post on this day.
2018: Electric
2017: I Love You Silvia
2016: Cruel Summer
2015: The Big D
2014: Plug 'Em Up
2013: Following The Sound Of Beating Wings
2012: The Shoe Guy
2011: Sitting In Style In Shipshe
2010: An Artesian Well Of Material
2009: Asparagus Can Never Be Asparagi, But I Can Be Delicious
2008: Tis The Season To Be Lazy
2007: Go Brainiac.com
2006: Flowers And Hand Painted Art
2005: You Don’t Know What It’s Like 

Rest Break In The Equality State

Ed took this photo in Wyoming during one of his rest breaks. The views in our "office" are ever-changing. 
 
And I love it.

Which brings me to this...

I have been included as one of the 100 Best Trucking Blogs and Websites.  I come in at number 33, in the top third section of the list.  Not bad.

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2023: The Makings Of A Feast Under One Beautiful Unique Roof
2022: Taking A Ship To See A Queen
2021: Dignity Of Earth And Sky
2020: When Life Gives You Lemons
2019: Istanbul Cobble
2018: Circulating The Morning Air In The Lonestar State
2017: It's The Real OLD Thing
2016: Stopping In Style
2015: Patiently Waiting
2014: Find Out Where You Can Dine With Giraffes
2013: Sputtering With Excitement
2012: Water May Not Be The Only Liquid Nourishing These Flowers
2011: Nappy Time
2010: Dick. Not A Dick. Which One Are You?
2009: First The Poultry, Now This
2008: California Moon
2007: Ryno And Rob
2006: Living The Dream
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn't start until May 2005!

Little Bitty Lyman

Lyman, Wyoming - populated by approximately 2,067 souls.



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2018: This Little Guy Eats Like A Bird
2017: Vibrant And Vitamin Packed
2016: In The Thicket
2015: Live It
2014: Blizzard To The East, Clear Skies To The West
2013: The Discriminating House Hunter
2012: Oh, Sweet Cream Cheesus
2011: Pit Stop
2010: Sorry, no post for this day.
2009: A Peek Behind The Sacred Pantry Door
2008: Thistle Or Thatle
2007: Big, Rich, And Free
2006: Look, Honey! A Grist Mill.
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Welcoming Wyoming Wind Power

A ridge in Wyoming covered with wind turbines.  From a distance, they look like people standing with outstretched arms welcoming you to their wide open home.  


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2017: Not Really A Loop
2016: Food For The Spirit Inside Of You
2015: These Little Piggies Went To Market
2014: Just Another View From The Road
2013: Polly Needs More Than A Cracker. Polly Needs A Roll Cage.
2012: Hats Off To Tits And Ass
2011: Approaching Chi-Town
2010: Paneful Outlook
2009: Gray County Silhouette
2008: This Little Piggy Went To Market
2007: I’ve Been Everywhere Sunday
2006: The Heat Bog
2005: Five

A Point Of Interest Smack In The Middle Of The Road

I've passed this tree many times and it always catches my eye.  It stands alone in a tiny rest stop in the center of Interstate 80 at mile marker 333, right around Buford, Wyoming.  If you're traveling at night, you'll probably miss it.

Fun fact:  In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt rode from Laramie to Cheyenne on horseback.  He probably passed this very tree.

The sign in front of it reads as follows:

This small pine tree that seems to be growing out of solid rock has fascinated travelers since the first train rolled past on the Union Pacific Railroad.  It is said that the builders of the original railroad diverted the tracks to slightly pass by the tree as they laid rails across Sherman Mountain in 1867-69.  It is also said that trains stopped here while locomotive firemen “gave the tree a drink” from their water buckets.  The railroad moved several miles to the south in 1901 and the abandoned grade become a wagon road.

In 1913 the Lincoln Highway Association was formed “To procure the establishment of a continuous improved highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific.”  The Lincoln Highway was an instant success in a nation enamored with the newfangled automobiles and eager for a place to drive them.  The Lincoln passed right by Tree Rock as did U.S. 30 in the 1920s and Interstate 80 in the 1960s. 

At this place, the road was approaching the 8,835-foot Sherman Summit, the highest point on the Lincoln.  The view of the surrounding mountains was like nothing that west-bound easterners had ever seen.  Still, they notice the little tree, which becomes the favored subject of many early postcards and photographs.  It still is.

The tree is a somewhat stunted and twisted limber pine (Pinus Flexilis), a type of tree commonly found in this area where ponderosa and limber pines dominate the landscape.  The age of the tree is unknown, although limber pines can live as long as 2,000 years.  The tree grows out of a crack in a boulder of Precambrian era pink Sherman granite formed more than 1-4 billion years ago.


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2017: Let The Adventure Begin!
2016: The Spawn Of Oklahoma
2015: The Power
2014: The Waiting (And Waiting, And Waiting, And Waiting) Game
2013: I Found A Place To Live In Montreal
2012: The Bronx Is Up And The Battery’s Down
2011: Where You Go When You Need To Buy Flowers For Your Ho
2010: Photo Ops Amid The Goat Poo
2009: Even The Goats Aren’t Up Early Enough To Beat The Buggy Rush
2008: Before The Locusts Come
2007: Venomous
2006: Sixty Percent Lesbian
2005: Sorry, no post for this day.

In The Shadow Of Lincoln

The sculpture of Abraham Lincoln sits high atop Interstate 80 in Laramie, Wyoming.  The bust of Lincoln is 12 1⁄2 feet high and sits on a 30-foot tall granite pedestal.

"The head was built by Wyoming's Parks Commission to honor Lincoln's 150th birthday. It was sculpted by Robert Russin, a University of Wyoming art professor and a Lincoln fan.  When he died in 2007, his ashes were interred in the hollow monument."

"Originally the bust was located at the highest point on the Lincoln Highway from New York to San Francisco. “The grandeur of the landscape recalls the nobility of his soul,” Russin wrote referencing President Abraham Lincoln. The bust was transferred to its present site beside of Interstate 80 after that highway was finished in 1969. An estimated 200,000 travelers view the monumental sculpture annually."


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2017: Best Friends Forever
2016: The Other Patagonia
2015: Oh, Viggo
2014: Art Appreciation
2013: Snip, Shop, Sip
2012: It’s Still Where The Magic Happens
2011: Shopping With Piggly-Wiggly (And Ed)
2010: T.G.I. What Day??
2009: A Cloudy Crescent Moon On An Overcast Day
2008: Show Her A Big One!
2007: Crazy. Yinty. Cool.
2006: Just Bring Chips
2005: Sorry, no post for this day.

Oversized Holiday

I took this picture in Rawlins, Wyoming over the Memorial Day weekend.  The entire rig, from tip to tail, must have been 120 feet long.  There were two trucks and two escorts parked in the back corner of the truck stop lot.

With oversized load transportation, there are often travel restrictions that include times of travel, days of travel, and even speed of travel.  Wyoming doesn't allow travel of oversized loads on holidays, as stated, in part, in their Oversize/Overweight Permit Manual:

"Oversize movements requiring escorts shall not be permitted to travel on legal holidays or during local celebrations when heavy local traffic is anticipated. Legal holidays when travel shall be restricted are the following:


New Year's Day - January 1
Memorial Day - The last Monday in May
Independence Day -July 4
Labor Day - The first Monday in September
Thanksgiving Day - The fourth Thursday in November, restricted on Thanksgiving Day only
Christmas Day - December 25


Moves requiring escorts shall not be permitted to travel from one-half hour after sunset the evening before a holiday until one-half hour before sunrise the day after the holiday. When a holiday is combined with a weekend for a 3 day weekend, these restrictions shall be in force from one-half hour after sunset the day proceeding the holiday weekend until one-half hour before sunrise the day following the holiday weekend. 

When a holiday falls on a Saturday, no move requiring escorts shall be permitted from one-half hour after sunset Thursday until one-half hour before sunrise Monday. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, no move requiring escorts shall be permitted from one-half hour after sunset Friday until one-half hour before sunrise Tuesday. Permits requiring escorts during holiday weekends or as determined by the Overweight Loads Office may exceed four days."

We've never hauled anything that would put us at 120-feet in length, but we've hauled several over-width loads and when doing so, were required to obtain permits in each state of travel and abide by their hours of travel.

Which is how we got stuck for an entire weekend at a rest area in Nowheresville,  Pennsylvania that didn't have a lick of internet. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2017: Back In The Saddle Again
2016: Wild Kingdom
2015: Cuteness Overload Alert
2014: The World Of Water And Wind And Stone And Wood
2013: Hours Of Excitement
2012: Earl Is The Only Grey In My Life
2011: I Gave The Tattooed Behive A Chance And I Liked It!
2010: A Diet Coke With A Squeeze Of iPod, Please
2009: Eddie In The Creepy Sailor Mask Friday
2008: No Wonder Sailors Came Up With A Special Knot
2007: Bridge To The Gate Of Heaven
2006: Summer Staples 
2005: Sorry, no post for this day.

Towing Enforced

We were in Rawlins, Wyoming taking a break when Ed decided to take a look at our satellite TV that has been on the fritz. 

While Ed fiddled with the TV, I took a walk since the weather was just as I like it -  56 degrees and overcast - and came across these old parking barriers in the back corner of the truck stop parking lot.


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2017: Killer Bikes
2016: Insta Addicted
2015: I Solemnly Swear
2014: From Little Acorns Mighty Oaks Do Grow
2013: No Stack Security
2012: My New Obsession
2011: FANtastic
2010: You Won’t See These Giant Feet In A Museum
2009: Semantically Speaking
2008: He Fought The Ed And The Ed Won
2007: Electric Fence
2006: You’re Such A Pansy!!
2005: Sorry, no post for this day.

I Think I Saw A Nimbostratus

In Crow Agency, Montana, where Interstate 90 meets U.S. Route 212, you'll find the Little Bighorn Battlefield.  You can see a portion of it in the photo above.

We turned off here and took U.S. Route 212 East through Montana, across the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations, through towns named Lame Deer and Epsie.

We went through Custer National Forest before crossing the very northeast corner of Wyoming and dropping into South Dakota.  We passed through Belle Fourche, stopping to get Chinese take-out for dinner (don't expect anything spectacular...it's South Dakota), then headed through Sturgis before stopping in Rapid City for the night.

The landscape in this area is arresting.  Green hills spreading for miles.  Herds of horses running playfully, nudging each other with their noses, bumping their large bodies together as they frolicked.  Droves of cows huddling together near ponds and in pastures.  Calves suckling their mothers, larger cows lounging in the grass or scratching against posts.  And clouds everywhere.  It really helps to know your cloud formations in this part of the nation.

We really loved this route.  It shortened our drive by 55 miles.  Well worth getting off the interstate and taking a different, beautiful route.  We don't come up to this part of the country too often, but when we do we usually do the east-west routes across the southern portion of each state.

The road was excellent, the traffic was non-existent, and the scenery was varied and interesting.  My kind of shortcut, and something we'll definitely do again.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2013: Ed Breaking Bad In The Lap Pool
2012: View From The Bridge
2011: Small Place, Big Flavor
2010: La Vita è Bella
2009: He Looks Much Better Here Than On The Penny
2008: One Of The Few Places In Iowa NOT Under Water
2007: We Need A Manager On Register Three Please!
2006: Mobile Misses
2005: Idaho?? YOU Da Ho!!

Wyoming In June

Can you believe this is snow, in the middle of June, in Wyoming??  Of course you can, it's Wyoming.

It was a beautiful sight, with air as crisp as if it were the middle of winter.

And we didn't have to drive through any of it.


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2013: I Will Not Be Decaffeinated
2012: Sweeeeeeet
2011: Summer On The Farm
2010: This Should Be The Next “New Parent” Handbook
2009: Would You Like A Little Screech To Go With Your Whine?
2008: Jane’s Anatomy
2007: Plus People Are Here To Stay
2006: Baiting The Hook
2005: Purgatory

Spring In Wyoming

Spring hasn't quite reached this part of the country either.


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2013:  Texas For Immigration
2012: Mys-Understanding
2011: Zumba In My Dreams
2010: Eddie Peep Show Friday
2009: Some Like It Hot
2008: The Desert Blooms With Irritants
2007: Squeeze Me?
2006: Relationship Deal Breakers
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

It's The Weekend. Kick Back And Relax.

Somewhere in Wyoming.


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2012: With Pleasure
2011: It’s Exhausting Imagining You In These Pants
2010: Florentine Youth
2009: What’s In A Name?
2008: Farming The Wind
2007: Eddie In The Big Little City Friday
2006: Photograph It If You Think You May Never See It Again
2005: Why???

Ominously Beautiful

Heading west in Wyoming, we encountered the setting sun with streaks of rain coming down along different sections of horizon.

It was ominously beautiful.


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2012: Signs Of Fall
2011: Life Explained…By Graphs
2010: An Amazon Sized Beverage Supply
2009: He Wasn’t Hiding His Face Once The Camera Started Rolling
2008: Waiting To Be Served
2007: The Men In Mexico Are Snappy Dressers
2006: A Mystically Beautiful Day
2005: Rock It!!

Stormy Wyoming

Not much going on but driving, so I bring you a Wyoming storm at sunset.  It started as this...a fiery orange flame on the horizon.

And ended, just as the sun dropped below the horizon, as this...soft pink fluffiness.

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2012: Entertaining The Masses
2011: A Very Expensive Day Of Laze
2010: A Little River On A Big Lake In The Middle Of A Floating Stage
2009: Eddie The Cicada Whisperer Friday
2008: Maybe We Should Sell Our Truck And Buy An Airboat
2007: Me And My Man
2006: If You’re Going To Rescue Me, Bring Sandwiches
2005: Hurricane Equality

Doubling The Gold In Wyoming

We seemed to be following the storm in Wyoming.  First hail in Fort Bridger, then this.  Right in the center of the interstate, a rainbow.  The Super Vivid setting on my camera came in handy, intensifying the colors in the stormy sky.  We were driving right into the end of the rainbow.

Then, as if by magic, it multiplied.  At the other end.

And isn't that where they say the gold is?


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2012: Down Louisiana Way, Where The Blue Dog Resides
2011: Crossing The Park To 5th Avenue
2010: All Work, All Play
2009: Was My Mother Hot, Or What???
2008: The Fiddleheads Of Maine
2007: Fifteen Dollar. We Make Nail Nice. No Probrem.
2006: Road Testing The Girl
2005: Ed Time

Pinged

As we sat on the fuel island in Fort Bridger, Wyoming, the truck was being gently pinged by hail during a brief hailstorm.

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2012: Adventure To Adventure
2011: The Mixing Of The Bitter And The Sweet
2010: A Great Start To A Weekend In New York
2009: Sing Sing Singin’ The Incarceration Blues
2008: Flame Sandwich
2007: Contradiction
2006: Every Eight To Twelve Seconds
2005: Sorry, no post for this day.

A Little Bit Of Wyoming

A quick shot of Wyoming through the windshield.  Not much to see, but I love the snow fences and the setting sun was gently illuminating one of them as we drove by.  We're rarely up there to see any snow collecting on them, but maybe this winter we'll get back up there and see the drifts of snow piling up against the fences. 


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2011: A Franchophile’s Paradise
2010: 10 Things I Learned On My Vacation In Italy
2009: A Beautiful Deep Fried Pocket Of Cornmeal Dough. Or, My Mom.
2008: A Foxy Furry Little Friend
2007: The One That Got Away
2006: Don’t We All?
2005: Miss Singular

Waiting For Summer

There are still some snow drifts in Wyoming, resting comfortably against snow fences, resisting the warmth of spring. But the bright green grasses of the open land haven't shown their colors yet.

What we have right now are ochre and wheat colored grasses, blanketing the hills beneath the wide open sky.

Waiting.


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1 YEAR AGO: It Should Have Been Titled Boringpants
2 YEARS AGO: Ed Blows A 750
3 YEARS AGO: Another Reason I Love The Great Indoors
4 YEARS AGO: We Think The Only Thing Worth Stealing From The House Would Have Been The Fresh Baked Apple Pie
5 YEARS AGO: Not Nearly As Appealing As Gnocchi
6 YEARS AGO: Working The Yard

The Road To Laramie

Yesterday in the wee hours of the morning, as we were heading through Wyoming, we came across signs on the interstate telling us the road was closed at Laramie. It had been slow going for a while, with the slick spots and blowing snow, and it was only a matter of time before a road closure was in our future. We decided to stop ten miles east of Laramie, in Buford, because there's always the chance there will be no truck parking at the actual stopping place.

We pulled into the Lincoln Rest Area atop the I-80 summit, a place I've been wanting to go for years. We've passed here many times but have never had the time to stop. It's just a regular rest area, but I love that it has this giant monument with Abraham Lincoln's head on it, which is perched just above the interstate - you can see it when traveling in both directions, and at night it's illuminated.

RoadsideAmerica.com says Lincoln's head was built by Wyoming's Parks Commission to honor Lincoln's 150th birthday. The bronze head weighs over two tons and is 13.5 feet tall. It's perched atop a 30-foot granite pedestal. It was sculpted by Robert Russin, a University of Wyoming art professor and a Lincoln fan. In fact, when he died in 2007, his ashes were interred in the hollow monument. I don't know if that's cool, or creepy.

I took these photos the morning after. I love when the fresh snow covers absolutely everything. For instance - look at this bush, the fence, and the blades of grass in front of it - all powdercoated to perfection. Look at this close up - each individual snow covered branch, untouched by anything but nature.

And this picture - it's so "Wyoming" to me, a snow covered, rickety wood fence.

The road was beautiful once they opened it back up. There didn't seem to be that much snowfall, as indicated by the amount that was plowed to each side, so the closure must have been primarily due to blowing snow. There are areas along the route that were said to have had zero visibility because of it.

It was smooth sailing the rest of the way with pretty scenery, clear skies and open road. We should be in Sacramento by morning.


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1 YEAR AGO: Muscling Christ Back Into Christmas
2 YEARS AGO: Holiday Gift Suggestions
3 YEARS AGO: Weighing In
4 YEARS AGO: When You Need Maternity Clothes And You’re Not Pregnant, You Know It’s Time For A Diet
5 YEARS AGO: It’s The Real Thing!
6 YEARS AGO: Spiraling Out Of Control

From Blue Grass To Wine Country

The load we're under started out in snowy Kentucky. Along the way, among other places, we hit:

Omaha, Nebraska...

I-80 across Wyoming...Utah...

And finally, vineyards in Central California...

Next stop, Southern California...and the trip is done!


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1 YEAR AGO: Plump With Fat Quarters
2 YEARS AGO: Eddie Out With The Old, In With The New Friday
3 YEARS AGO: You Can Get Them At Home Depot??
4 YEARS AGO: There Are Never Enough Hours In The Day To Do Anything When You Have A Baby
5 YEARS AGO: Tequila Sunrise