Driving Dave Do-NUTS
Dave finds himself behind the wheel of his F-350 in a
variety of situations. He does an incredible job handling all types of weather,
traffic, and navigation errors (even spousal errors!). Here are a few:
Driving in the Rain
In Oklahoma we hit a dangerous rainstorm that pounded the windshield so loudly we couldn’t listen to music or an audio book. Water was pouring down cement spillways on hills, giving the appearance of waterfalls. There was so much standing water in fields it resembled shallow lakes (or swamps if we had been in Florida). Water was rushing through culverts and ditches alongside the road like rivers. Having been raised in Florida, Dave has the usual summer afternoon thunderstorms as practice for this deluge, but for a moment I thought I saw Noah waving from the ark. By the way, the cows standing in the fields took no notice. They just kept on grazing.
We also saw this curvy-road sign quite a bit, which we dubbed "Watch For Free-Range Cars."
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| Watch for Free-Range Cars |
Driving in the Snow
This was new experience for my Florida Man. We were given several pieces of advice:
- Turn into a skid or icy slide.
- Make no sudden moves – steering, braking, or accelerating.
- Slow down.
- Black ice is treacherous.
Dave took all the recommendations to heart, and we had no problem leaving Oklahoma City in a snowstorm. By the way, what is black ice?
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| We saw this sign a lot. |
Driving in the Desert
The primary concern for desert driving was preparation for survival if vehicle problems left us stranded. 4 gallons of water seemed enough for a the 3 of us for a 200-mile trip. Looking back on it, we probably should have at least doubled that. I’m sure there is some rule of thumb about how much water is enough per person in the desert, but we did not factor in replacing water in the radiator if it boiled over (it did not). Cell service was sketchy, so calling AAA would not be an option. The good news is we had no problem driving through the arid area near Vegas and on up to Valley of Fire, or near Joshua Tree. The only issue was the flat tire in Death Valley, but that was a quick fix. Thanks, God, for watching over us! By the way, the good news is the flat didn’t happen in August.
Driving in LA Traffic
Kyle, who has been braving LA traffic for several years, had only one piece of advice for Dave: “Don’t use your blinker before changing lanes. Other drivers will use it against you.” Huh? Turns out, if you put on your blinker, the drivers behind you think there is a slow poke, a lane ending, or other problem in front of you that you want to avoid by changing lanes. So, they change lanes first, blocking you from your original plan.
It also doesn’t help if you are driving on the freeway near Dodger Stadium when the afternoon ballgame lets out. Got gridlock? After somehow managing to move forward in that standstill, Kyle gave Dave the ultimate compliment, “Now you’re an LA driver!” Gee, thanks. Just what Dave wanted…
When we left LA we had the camper, of course, and were stuck on the 405 for about 20 minutes. After the Dodger fans’ gridlock conditioned Dave earlier in the week, the 405 was no big deal. By the way, the blinker still works just fine.
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| Not a fan... |
Driving in the Central Valley
Name that crop! That was the theme of our drive through California's Central Valley, one of the most important food-growing areas in the US. We saw nut trees (almonds, pistachios); fruit trees (cherry, plum); olive trees; and alfalfa hay for cattle and horses. Two of the biggest crops are grapes (for as-is consumption, raisins, and wine) and citrus. The orange trees were blooming, and we turned off the A/C and put down the windows to breathe in the glorious scent of the blossoms. How many of you remember driving to Orlando in March, years ago, when the hills on 441 and the turnpike were fragrant with the heavenly orange blossom fragrance? Our campsite was next to an orange grove, and we enjoyed this home-state feeling with every breath.
To get to the Central Valley from LA we went up and up over a mountain range. As we hit the top of the ridge, laid out before us was flat land as far as we could see. The Valley tends to be quite a bit warmer than LA or the mountains, and we watched the afternoon temp rise as we descended. By the way, the F-350 made the climb without a rise in its engine or oil temps.
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| The Central Valley is visible on a satellite map. It is actually 2 valleys - the Sacramento in the north and the San Joaquin in the south. |
Driving in the Mountains
I have been using an app called TruckMap to help us find
truck-and-trailer accessible routes for our travels. On the way to Yosemite,
the TruckMap showed a 3-hour longer drive than Google Maps. No way. I added
points of interest and small towns that showed in Google Maps to the TruckMap
route. No problem. Truck Maps mirrored Google Maps. Great! Ready to roll. Or
not.
Apparently TruckMap changed the route on me, but I was looking at Google Maps and didn’t notice. Suddenly the truck and camper were on a 2-lane road following the edge of a mountain range. Switchbacks, 10 mph hairpin turns, no guardrails (on MY side of the truck), about 100 S-curves, and 8% grades, all caused a bit of stress as Dave navigated these little back roads. But the views were amazing!
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| Twisty road from Sequoia NP to Yosemite NP |
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Dave even pulled of on Golden Chain's narrow shoulder to allow me to take a photo of a purple wildflower called Hairy Vetch. Sounds like something the cat would cough up. But the flowers were, well, as pretty as a picture.
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| Hairy Vetch |
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| The view from the Golden Chain Highway. |
Overall, it's been a super trip with an amazing variety of plant life as we travel east-west and up-down.
Happy Trails!
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