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Thursday, October 16, 2014

Travel cautions and adventures



American highways are weird. We have more distance between states than Europe has between countries. It's a diverse place with a lot of strange stuff going on.

A lot of it is fun and interesting, but some things should be given a wide berth. We've had a few close encounters, but nothing too serious.

On our very first trip south we were caught in a freak storm in central Pennsylvania. We were in a little over loaded Dodge Neon. Plowing through the heavy snow really hurt our gas mileage and we almost ran out. I had to pour our Coleman camping fuel into the car's fuel tank to make it to the next gas station. Fortunately we soon found an open hotel and sat out the rest of the storm.

We've driven between tornadoes. Once a tornado tore up the road right behind us. It was like something out of a bad movie -the ones where the hero is just one step ahead of disaster. We've avoided floods, citywide protests, hurricanes, and gun shots. It sounds bad but for all the months and miles problems like these are not all that common. After all, one could die in one's bed.

Now I'm keep an eye on the whole Ebola hysteria. It doesn't even matter how severe the situation becomes. The response to Ebola could cause enough concerns all by itself. There could be restrictions on travel. Hospitals could be locked down. Huge areas could be quarantined.

I'm taking some common sense precautions. I'm slowly stocking up the van with more food in case we have to sit it out somewhere. Going to the grocery store when people are in a panic is a bad idea.

There will be enough waste veggie fuel on board the van and trailer to take us at least 2000 miles. There are many things that could disrupt diesel supplies.

Our medical kit will get beefed up. No, I don't expect to treat Ebola myself. What I want is enough medical supplies to avoid going to a hospital. Anyone notice that hospitals are one of the places where people are catching diseases?

There's another possibility. Between now and Christmas there could be travel bans in place. We might not be able to go south for the winter. The house will need a few things if we are to spend the winter in comfort.

-Sixbears


12 comments:

  1. good to be prepared as who really knows the future

    for my van, am supplying it with trail bars, peanut butter and crackers, canned boston bread, and spam

    staying warm consumes calories when forced to stay put for any reason...

    maybe better off sailing south?

    Wildflower

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    Replies
    1. It's a tough sail in a small boat from here, but doable. Right now it's much easier to trailer a boat at least as far as VA. With my small boat I could actually travel river systems to the ocean and then go down the coast. Too much dragging it around dams unless I have to do it.

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  2. Travel bans.
    Wow! I suppose you're right!
    In the land of the free.
    There's scary things going on in the world isn't there.
    If terrorism doesn't get you, there's always a disease like Ebola that just might.
    And then there's fear.
    And people die from fear...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fear is the mind killer . . .

      Land of the free is a sad joke these days.

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  3. Big, big changes are coming to our country and none of it is good. The smart ones will prepare for the worst.

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    Replies
    1. Always a good idea to prepare for the worse.

      I'm still hoping for the best.

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  4. You are lucky you don't live where I live (extreme south Texas) The closest U.S. neighboring state is about 8 hours (Louisiana - about 400 miles) where I live. New Mexico is about 400 miles further. Oklahoma - about 600 miles. Some long miles there, especially the New Mexico drive which is mainly uninhabited (that can be a good thing :^)

    Travel bans - definite possibility. Where I live, a huge influx of illegal human traffic goes through, we are probably ripe for Ebola. I'm thinking if the U.S. is so far behind in restricting travel, what do you think the same situation in Latin American countries below us is ? Passengers probably just disembark and walk away.

    Bad - very bad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Mexican brother-in-law advised that I avoid camping in south TX due to all the illegal traffic. Doesn't that say something?

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    2. Your BIL is definitely thinking correctly. We camp out at our ranch, and the rule of thumb is ALWAYS load up once you leave the black top. We've never been confronted - they take off like a scalded cat - but when you see a 'herd' of 20 people going cross country, it definitely makes you think. Desperate people can do desperate things.

      Sleeping outside in the open with groups of individuals like that - a little nerve racking to say the least.

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    3. Certainly takes the fun out of camping, doesn't it?

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  5. Tell me about it ! Believe me with Ebola running rampant, all these visits to Doctors. And hospitals due to my injuries concerns me much...
    Sure glad that it looks like all the Doctors are soon to release me to my own care. I have many side issues from my "lol accident" which still need attended, but perhaps I'll let them wait awhile till this resolves a bit.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe the thing to do is to get everything out of the way right off, before things go sideways.

      Just took my lovely wife to the eye doctor to fix a problem. Modern medicine cleared it up in a couple days. Otherwise it's weeks of pain and a less good outcome. When it works, it works.

      Get well Spud!

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