Thoughts for the day . . . I am getting used to driving through places I do not know and trust me when I say that this is an adventure! I try to start each morning looking first at a road map. I understand that some of you may not know what a road map is since you are young and live and breathe by what you can access on your “smart” phones. A “road map” is a visual representation of a section of the country, usually presented on paper, sometimes on a laminated stock to protect the surface from coffee dribbles and/or sugar doughnut powder (yep . . . that’s me!!) They are initially neatly folded and once unfolded will never be refolded the way they started (unless you are someone like a highly trained aeronautical engineer, or possibly a brain surgeon!) . . . it’s a universal problem with road maps!! The “road map” I am using is supposed to have all of the roads and highway, cities, town hamlets, burbs, etc., clearly and concisely depicted on it. (The manufacturers LIE!) The idea is that an intelligent human can use the road map to help determine a relatively safe and direct route from Point “A” to Point “B” without getting lost in the backwoods of nowhere! My use of them only leads to finding all of the dead ends of the world. So now I am relegated to use of the road map as a basic reference in conjunction with . . . YES . . . my phone app called MAPQUEST. The road map help me determine the names of towns and cities well off my intended route so I can more easily determine when I have freaking wandered far, far, astray.
For those of you who have ever used MAPQUEST, it is an amazing and powerful tool . . . except when it isn’t!!
Imagine this for a moment . . . it is a glorious, sunny day, the moon roof on the Subaru is open, the wind is rushing by and you are jamming to the 60’s on the radio (my blog . . . my music!!), all while watching the smart phone in your lap as MAPQUEST gives you directions on where and when to turn so you can easily, and most directly, get from Point “A” to Point “B”. Good so far right?? Yah . . . not so much!
What you do not notice is the screen flash on the phone . . . you have just “Lost Reception” (which happens in the mountains, in tunnels, in heavy weather, or sometimes when the app just wants to screw with you!!) You do not realize this issue is an issue until MILES down the road when you find yourself in Fleatown, America, and something just doesn’t seem right! (Yes, there really is a town named Fleatown . . . I mistakenly drove through Fleatown in one of my wayward, well off the beaten track wanderings.) In doing so, you have now entered . . . dun, dun, duh!! . . . the Outer Limits! A place where all the McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Doughnuts and Starbuck’s are on the opposite side of the road, and on your side are only Ford repair centers, drive-thru Psychics and WAWA Gasoline & Convenience Stores. Thank you MAPQUEST!!
Yet today was a better day, MAPQUEST and I were of almost like minds. I say almost because for some inexplicable reason the app was running about an eighth of a mile behind where I actually was at the time on the highway. I can only assume, since I did not look back, that this issue was probably quite harrowing for a few folks driving behind me when I convulsively made a drastic right turn when MAPQUEST casually announced “Turn HERE!” Luckily the roads were wet from the rain, so there was no real skidding involved . . . I was simply “drifting” (as my youngest son would call it) . . . as I tried to explain to the nice State Trooper that chased me down!!
I am now at Camp Taylor, in the Pocono Mountains of New Jersey, which is collocated with the Lakota Wolf Preserve. I still thought I was in Pennsylvania, but at some point, I (unannounced) had slipped south back across the NJ state line. Again, thank you MAPQUEST!!
The Nor’easter that has been a threat for the past three days has finally materialized and caught up to me. It is now going to rain the remainder of today, tomorrow and into Sunday morning. I have rescheduled my photo shot with the wolves to 7:30 AM on Sunday morning and am hoping that this weather will have moved off by then. I am excited to be here to photograph the wolves again, especially the one I sponsor. Along with the rain tonight, the temperature is going to be a high of 54 degrees and drop down to about 40 degrees tonight. I wish I could get excited about the weather, but I just can’t find it in me!!
And finally, words of wisdom! As I was zooming down the road (I can only do 66 max because of the rooftop tent so that is about all the zooming I get!) I had to keep scanning for a decent radio station. I lost my all 60’s Beach music (Bummer!!) and settled in for a Country/Western station. Now I am not a huge Country fan, but I do have some favorite artists I follow. However, there was a new artist I had not heard of playing a new song that had some truly honest and thought provoking lyrics. The artist is Cody Johnson and the song is entitled “Til you can’t”. If you listen to it, you will understand why I felt the lyrics were talking to and about me, about dreams and wanting to do and say things in your life . . . until you can’t. In my world, we should all strive to not have regrets as we move through this time of relative short existence. Words like “Thank You” and “I Love You” do not mean much, or carry much weight, if we never say them, never say them enough, or never say them with conviction! So far on this journey, if I have learned anything, it is that it is not hard to look someone in the eyes and say “Thank you”, like park volunteers or gas station cashiers, when they least expect it. The smiles you get back go miles! Try it today . . . see what happens! Let me know if it makes you smile as well.
It is dark, a large tree just crashed down somewhere close by, and I am knackered and going to sleep. Have a nice and uneventful night . . . like don’t get crushed by a falling tree! LOL
What the Walrus said . . . 