Suzuki Sufferings

We're back from Louisville. On the way home, we heard some funny sounds that seemed to be coming from the right front wheel of the car. It sounds much like a rainstick -- like some beads running around in a tube. It happens when I turn left and a bit when I accelerate from a stopped position. Everything seems to be running fine, however. Then, when we went to get out, we discovered that the floor in the front passenger seat was soaked. Upon further investigation, we found that there was water almost literally running down under the glove compartment and under the dashboard behind the gear shift. The fact that it is water only and that we can't see anything obviously wrong with the tires, the wheels, or what we can see in the engine makes me hope that it's not too serious.

I found out that there is a Suzuki dealership in Somerset, so I phoned and made an appointment for tomorrow morning. Just after I made the appointment, the phone rang and when I answered, who should be on the line but Haydn! He was phoning about having to cancel a work experience session he has with some of the MEI kids, not realizing I was out of town. When I told him about the water, he said it was probably the air conditioning hose that was blocked. I was relieved about that. He was in a big rush and so I didn't keep him on the line long enought to ask about the noise, so I'm still hoping that it's a minor thing.

We actually drove back from Louisville via a different route, so we didn't go through the horse country. We did, however, see countryside that is typical of much of the state. I was able to quickly pull over to the side of the road and snap two quick shots -- both of which are marred by wires. I was also past the spot for the best view, but, anyway, this is what it looks like. As you can see, it wasn't the brightest of days.

In fact, I think Kentucky and Vancouver have switched places weather-wise. The days have been a bit grey -- so unlike the bright blue sky and not-too-warm sunshine of the autumn that is common in September and October. They have had a real drought around McCreary County and, although we've had spits of rain and cloudy days, there has been no rain of any significance. The trees are changing colour more each day. I expect that, by the time we leave, we should have a great show as we travel west and north. I am looking forward to it.

We went to the high school tonight to watch Amy play volleyball. She is on the varsity team and she played well. She made some very good sets. They were beaten by a better team. Amy thought it would be a tall order to beat this team, but apparently, this is the only team they have not beaten. She looked so cute with her blond hair pulled away back and her pink skin and excited eyes. She is such a special young lady -- so easy to love.

When we arrived at the high school, the parking lots and roadways were absolutely packed with cars. I couldn't imagine a girls' high school volleyball game drawing such crowds! Well, would you believe that in the auditorium there was some kind of beauty pageant for little wee girls? We saw some coming out to have their pictures taken with their trophies, and really, some of them didn't look any older than Anjeleigh -- all made up and dressed to the hilt. What an awful thing to do to a little girl.

Other than my trip to Somerset Suzuki Dealer tomorrow, we don't have much planned. On Thursday, when Mary Ann goes to college, I will probably shop around Somerset. I saw a camera I might look at some more. I think I'll buy a little camera because I can't remember if I bought the extended warranty for my one that's on the blink. If I did, I don't really need another one with a large zoom.

We're planning to meet Chaundra (Dawna's daughter, Heather's niece) in Chattanooga on Friday before we pick up Nita at the Knoxville Airport. Chaundra lives in Atlanta, and it's been too long since I saw her last. She is planning to drive as far as Chattanooga, which is roughly half way between here and Atlanta. I hope it all works out.

Till the next post . . .

Here are the photos

Back to Louisville

We're back in Louisville to take Sue to catch her plane back home to the West. We decided to drive up after Mary Ann finished her tutoring job (it runs in the family) and stay overnight rather than worrying about getting here on time in the morning. We are at the Best Western (with unbelievably slow wirelss access) and I was able to pick up my extra car key fob that Brian left for me. I forgot to get it before I left Louisville, but we arranged for me to pick it up tonight. It's good that I have it because I would hate to start back across the country with only one way in and out of my car!

Yesterday was another great family day. After church, we went to Dee's house for taco salad and sour cream cheesecake -- yum! Christopher came for lunch as well and graciously granted our request for a song. He sings so beautifully and with such feeling. What a treat.

Last night, Dee and Amy brought corn on the cob and we ate "corn and 'maters" (that's the way you have to say it around here.)

We also helped Amy with her "egg drop" experiment. I probably should say we interfered with the experiment in order to get pictures! She was successful, and as you can see, the egg did not break!

Sue and Mary Ann and I did a quick run past Slavans -- the "homestead farm" where the Bybees lived until Mary Ann bought her present house after Euel died. The road to Slavans isn't a great road to drive, but it goes through some of the most beautiful scenery in South Central Kentucky IMO. Here, you find rocky outcroppings, rugged, tree-covered ridges and deep valleys. The road winds around and through these hills and "hollers". In fact, we even took a detour via Clark Holler -- a tiny, winding road some 8 miles long, along which are found numerous homes hiding in little glens and along ridges. Most of the homes are small and poor-looking. Some are very carefully tended and others are veritable junk heaps. It is hard to imagine that a 65 passenger school bus can navigate the sharp hairpin turns as the road climbs and dips at very steep angles. As usual, pictures do not do justice to the beauty we see, but Sue took a few pictures that might give at least a flavour of the countryside.

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We passed some of the better-known scenery on the way to Louisville -- lovely fenced fields looking more like golf courses than pastures; freshly painted wood fences and barns. This is more of the "Bluegrass" Kentucky. Maybe I can get some pictures on the way home tomorrow. We have Mary Ann's camera. Mine still doesn't work and I'm work and I'm pretty much confused about what to replace it with.

All right -- that's it. I've tried to upload pictures for about 40 minutes with no luck. This connection is pathetic. I'll upload them tomorrow when we get home.

Near and Dear in Pine Knot

This has been a day of sitting around the table. We talked, and laughed, and reminisced. We drank the coffee pot dry, cleared away the dishes, and started a meal and a new pot of coffee! It has been a perfect family day.

Mary Ann, Sue and I went for a morning stroll around Mary Ann's pond. The picture above was taken along her road. You can see that the trees are just beginning to change colour.

Here's a photo that shows a bit of the pond. The water is very low, and the pond is not quite as glassy and pretty as usual.

After our two laps around the pond, Mary Ann set out brunch. Sandra arrived from Knoxville. Jordan and Christopher drove down from Somerset. Dee and Amy came from "down the road". Later, Tom Chitwood (Dee's Tom) and Tom Hall (Sandra's Tom) came as well. We ate a wonderful brunch and talked and talked. People ran off to do errands in the afternoon, and Sue and Mary Ann and I ambled around the pond once more. Mary Ann is really adept at using her alpine walking sticks now. She walks six mornings a week and has made good "strides" in recuperating from her broken hip.

I've been fussing with this camera -- I can sometimes get two or three shots before it goes "wonkey" and I have to then leave it alone for an hour or two before I can get another two or three shots. We may take a trip up to Somerset on Monday morning so I can have a look at other cameras. Anyway, I took this photo from the pond road as well. It may give you a sense of the countryside around Mary Ann's house.

We'll go to church in the morning. Unfortunately, Christopher sang last Sunday -- Mary Ann said that she doesn't know if she's ever heard him sing more beautifully. Chris and Jordan's grandpa (in these parts, grandparents are called "ma-maw" and "pa-paw") is the worship leader, so we're hoping that we can use our family ties and have another song from Chris next Sunday.

After church tomorrow, we are going to Dee's for taco salad. Glenn wasn't able to come today, so maybe he can come from Somerset tomorrow. I gave Sandra the VSO schedule in hopes of attracting her to Vancouver soon. One problem is that the artist she would dearly love to hear is performing in January -- not the best time to visit the Lower Mainland!

I'll see if I can get some more local colour photos tomorrow.

"My Old Kentucky Home"

Well, actually, it's my sister's NEW Kentucky home! Once I left Brian at a hotel near the airport, I set my GPS for Dee Head Road in New Haven, Kentucky. After a short ride down I-65, I took to the small roads of rural Kentucky. Susan was consistent, and directed me via several roads with 4-digit numbers (those are the least important "highways"), around curves and through tiny villages until I reached New Haven, a little town southeast of Louisville. I was able to again follow Susan's verbal coaching right to a lovely old home, and there, standing in the driveway waving to me was the real live Sue! I had a quick cup of coffee with Sue and her friend Lynn (who has been at this retreat centre for several weeks writing and preparing for a lecture tour) and then Sue and I joined Susan for another ride through rural Kentucky. Even Susan got mixed up once or twice when we were blocked from going through a town because of a street fesitval. In any case, we enjoyed the scenery and the conversation as we drove along. The surroundings changed from the more open grassy fields with neat little rounded hills to (in my opinion) the more beautiful rugged terrain of south central Kentucky. The hills are rocky and edgy with more dense forests of dark green evergreens with numerous deciduous trees just starting to turn -- light yellow and a bit of orange.

It is so good to be here. Mary Ann's house is lovely and it smelled of apples and cinnamon. We unpacked the car and had a cup of tea before Dee and Amy arrived for supper and good fun. Later on, Tom (Dee's friend) joined us and it became such a good time of laughter and conversation. Mary Ann has had a bad cold, and Sue is just getting a cold, so I'm thinking I should stay away from those two! I thought I was bringing Cold FX, but it turns out I brought Cold FX Daily Defense instead. In any case Sue and Mary Ann are taking regular doses in hopes of avoiding any more sickness.

The rest of the family is coming for brunch and supper tomorrow. I will be so glad to see them all -- they are the reason I drove all those miles! I'll try to add some pictures tomorrow. I guess my camera has had it. Tom, who is a professional photographer, gave me some advice -- "pitch it and get a new one". No one fixes cameras any more apparently.

I wish we had Heather and Mike and the girls here too. Amy would love to see them again. By the way, Amy received a "distinguished" designation on the state grade wide tests and earned the highest score in the entire school! We are, of course, very proud of her.

Good night all.

Truckin' Down I-74

Today's drive was not too long -- only about 600 km, but it was a difficult drive. I-74 runs basically in a west-east direction, but this portion of the Interstate really runs north-south. From Galesburg, past Bloomington,, through Champaign-Urbana to Indianapolis, the terrain is much more urban and thus much busier. There really isn't much to see, since the interstate by-passes downtown areas and the terrain is what I would call "boring". It's not flat, but it's certainly not mountainous -- not even hilly! The trees are fairly small and insignificant.


The ring road around Indianapolis is unbelievably torn up. Everywhere we looked, we saw gigantic machinery moving mountains and building overpasses. The lanes were shifted from one side to another and progress was slow. Once we left the ring road and connected with I-65, the road conditions improved, but the truck traffic amazed us. We have never seen so many trucks, and just to prove that we are not exaggerating, we took data. Over two intervals, we counted the large trucks heading north as we drove south. The average number of trucks we counted was 1 truck every 3 seconds. Honest!



As we neared Louisville, we faced rush hour traffic. I won't complain about the Port Mann slow downs again. It was brutal, but, with our trusty Susan and her pal Tom-Tom, we got through the central part of the city and even managed to fox trot our way across lanes in order to take the correct exit ramp leading to the motel that we had selected. Whew!





Tomorrow, we break up this travelling team. Brian will head out to see the sights of Louisville before he leaves early Saturday morning for a much faster trip home. I think he plans to visit the Louisville Slugger factory and to have a look at the home of the Kentucky Derby. I will head south and east to meet Sue in New Haven (I think it's about 40 minutes from here), and then on to family in Pine Knot.

Corn Corn Corn!

We spent much of today driving through Iowa -- Heartland Country. For the most part, we saw corn. Fields of tall and short corn stretched from horizon to horizon in neat fields. Actually, we drove for a bit through southern Minnesota and then dropped down into Iowa. The northern part of Iowa was flat (with corn fields everywhere) and gradually, the terrain became more rolling -- but the corn fields continued! As we neared Illinois, there were a few more cities, most notably Cedar Rapids. I had pictured Cedar Rapids as a very pretty, green riverfront town. Wrong. I didn't see the river, and the town is clearly heavily industrialized. There was evidence of factories and warehouses everywhere -- not all that beautiful! We carried on and soon approached the Quad Cities. We clipped the corner of Davenport before heading in a southeast direction toward Peoria.
We are now in Illinois -- in Galesburg. We aren't very impressed with the Super 8 Motel. It's expensive and it smells like smoke, even though a sign informs us that it became smoke free in January 2008. There isn't much around here, so we walked to McDonald's and ordered McRib sandwiches. Supper for both of us cost about $5.50 -- one extra dollar over and above the combo price bought a second sandwich, so we shared the chips and had plenty for two. I suppose it is also fair to say that we bought sundaes for dessert. One thing this motel does have is reasonably good coffee available in the rooms, so I had coffee with my ice cream.

We've made pretty good time today. I forgot to reset the trip odometer, so I can't tell exactly how far we've traveled. However, I estimate that it was about 800 km. Tomorrow, we expect to be in Louisville in good time since it is only about 600 km. I'd like to find a shop that can give me a hand with my camera. Something is wrong with the power. Most times when I turn it on, the lens moves out and then immediately moves back in and the camera shuts off. It's almost as if the batteries are dead, but I have tried putting new ones in several times. I have a sneaking suspicion that something is "on" regardless of what I do. Anyway, that's the reason for no pictures -- my camera doesn't work. Here's our route for tomorrow though.

Badlands and Glitz

I hope you enjoy seeing pictures of the Badlands. There's one there that is included especially for Nita and Donna Bybee. They will recognize which one that is!

Although I have been to the Badlands before, I was once again awed by the magnificent scenes. It is quite amazing to see these formations rise from the grasslands and to realize that wind and water created all these shapes. Both before and after the 20-30 miles of Badlands, the terrain is gentle and rolling with yellow grasses blowing and bending in the breeze. We took time to "smell the roses" -- ie detour through the Badlands and to Wall, SD, home of the drugstore made famous by roadside signs throughout virtually all of the USA. We're in Sioux Falls tonight -- right near the eastern border of South Dakota.

As magnificent as Badlands are, Wall Drug Store is equally glitzy and touristy. It bows and scrapes at the feet of consumerism and tourists wanting to "buy something" -- and buy something we did! I found some prizes, among them, a baseball sized jaw breaker. No doubt some little boy or girl will think it is worth 3 or 4 tickets! Brian bought a couple of wooden nickels for 38 cents each (does that compute??) and we both selected some gifts to take home with us. We also totally enjoyed eating the junky candy that Brian bought!

Our lady in the GPS (her name is Susan) is quite patient with us when we disobey her directions. I tried to explain to her that sometimes we have to get off the Interstate to buy gas. She complains a bit, but then graciously directs us back onto the I-90 once she sees that we weren't ignoring her all together! We like Susan's company a lot.

It seemed to take forever to drive the 627 km we covered today. We lollygagged at getting started, and then stopped at several places along the way. I think we're still okay for meeting Sue in Louisville however.

We treated ourselves to Arby's for supper. We talked about going to an Outback, but decided it wasn't worth the bother since it is quite a way from the motel. We're going to look at the map and perhaps change the route for tomorrow. In any case, we will be in either Minnesota maybe, and Iowa for sure, tomorrow

The satellite radio is great when it works. Since it is connected through fm frequencies, we have to find and set appropriate frequencies as we go. It's easy enough to set them on the car radio, but it's a pain to reset them on the Sirius radio. I can't do it without stopping and working at it! I will definitely do something about the set up when I get home. It will probably mean replacing the car radio, but I'm in this whole thing too deeply now to give it up! We got hooked on listening to Elvis today -- believe it or not, there is an entire station devoted to Elvis music only!

Big Sky -- Big Everything

Montana is huge. Not only does it seem to take forever to drive from west to east, everything -- valleys, mountains, and sky -- is massive. Once we left the slightly forested area around Missoula, we saw more Okanagan-like yellow hills with huge bulky mountains cropping up in the distance in virtually every direction. Those high Rocky Mountains were blue and purple, which make a distinct contrast to the wide valleys.

As we neared Wyoming, the terrain changed slightly, becoming gradually uneven, showing more interesting land formations and even more sagebrush. Somewhere near Gillette, we saw Hershey Kisses-shaped hills rising from the sagebrush. They showed red soil or rock, especially near the top. In one place, there was a row of about 6 or 7 such hills, and close by was a sign “Red Hill Road”.

This is cowboy and Indian country for sure. It was the scene of major wars, including Custer’s last stand and the conflicts between cattlemen and farmers. Livestock is still a mainstay of the area, but there is also plenty of evidence of coal and oil. The speed limit throughout the area is 75, and the interstates are easy to drive with very little construction and virtually no hold ups so far. Gas ranges from $3.40 to about $3.75 a gallon.

I’m actually typing this on my laptop while Brian drives. It’s fine until my battery runs down! We tried to get on the internet outside a motel in Gillette when we stopped for gas, but the signal strength was too low to do anything.

We plan to stop earlier tonight since I have some work to do – I’ve written goals for three subjects along the road, but I still have a number to do. Lila will be waiting to get them for the IEP’s.

I forgot to mention a wonderful sight that met us as we rounded a bend on I-90 somewhere near the Wyoming-South Dakota state line. Most of the fields are basically yellow or grey. However, down in a little valley out to the south was a small area that apparently had a source of water – I think it was a creek bed. There were tiny clumps of trees along the creek bed and out into the valley. These trees, unlike any others in the entire area, were brightly adorned in light orange and bright yellow next some dark green foliage and black dead branches. It was a stunning sight in an otherwise somewhat boring landscape.

We’re in Rapid City, South Dakota tonight after what seemed to be a much easier drive – just under 1000 km’s – seemed a lot less than yesterday somehow. We stopped quite early and had supper at the local Denny’s.

One L-O-N-G Day

After getting off to a 5:00 am start, we were able to put an enormous number of miles (or kilometres) on this little SX4 today -- almost 1200 km. It was dark when we started, and it was kind of fun to try out the new GPS right from home. I am sold on this little gadget. Our friendly voice, Susan, guided us every step along the way. And what a way it was!

We stopped just past Bellvue to get gas. Of course, we chose the most expensive gas we could find. Back on the road, and up Snoqualmie Pass . . . big mountains, big roads, big rain. I finally realized that the 12 volt splitter that was supposed to be providing power to both the GPS and the fridge was not working. We took turns plugging in each unit until we got to Ellensburg where we found a Fred Meyer's store and spent $3.99 on a new one. The useless splitter I bought at Canadian Tire cost $10.00. That little detour made us late for our lunch meeting with Laurie, Brandon, and Tyler in Spokane, and in my rush to get going, I forgot to fill up again with gas. "No worry," thought I. Well, big worry! The gas light came on and we seemed to be miles from anywhere. Susan, and the GPS to the rescue. We coughed our way into a little service station and found gas at about the best price we had seen.

We finally got to Spokane and had a nice visit with Laurie and the boys -- back on the road again after an hour or so. Lake Coeur d'Alene is one of the prettiest lakes around, but the rain and clouds prevented us from seeing all the beautiful views along the way. We entered the mining area of Idaho -- Kellogg and Wallace especially. The mountains here are big -- massive rather than craggy -- covered with dark green trees and lots of rounded grey rock. The little towns show their history. The buildings are old, but there is plenty of evidence of a downtown that obviously served a larger population than the four to six thousand who now live in this part of Idaho. Apparently there are still producing mines in the area -- mostly silver. In any case, it seems like an honest, blue collar area -- even the scenery is no nonsense, honest, and solid.

Fourth of July Pass and Lookout Pass brought us into Montana where we snaked through a narrow valley with the Clark Fork river winding along, first on one side of the highway and then on the other. We must have crossed about a dozen bridges over that river.

The valley opens up a bit at Missoula, and then narrows again along the road to Butte. I remember this part of Montana, but we couldn't see much because darkness has settled in. We are now in Mountain Time, so we were even later by the clock than we had planned.

Tomorrow will see us getting into the Big Sky Country of eastern Montana and then along to a bit of Wyoming and into South Dakota. It is amazing how the miles and miles take us gradually from the lush greenery of the coast, to the dry desert of Moses Lake, to the wide valley east of Spokane and on into the rocks, mountains, rivers and trees of Idaho and Western Montana and finally back into flat, dry land.

Whew! That's all tonight.

On the way

It's 5:03 am and we're off on an adventure. Brian decided to drive with me to Louisville -- it will be great to have company. I will drop him at the airport in Louisville and then drive another 40 minutes or so to pick up Sue. The car is full of such things as Roger's Golden Syrup, and the border should not be busy, so it's a great day! More tonight.

Getting close!

Well, I'm not quite ready for the Kentucky trip, because first, I have to take a quick little trip to Trail. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, along with two school chums, to drive the 7+ hour trip to my home in the West Kootenays. I always get just a bit excited once we pass Osoyoos because by that time it begins to look and smell like home. I've been away for decades, but I still feel more and more nostalgic the closer I get. Now, is Christina Lake a jewel in God's creation or what!
Back on Friday . . . leave again on Sunday.

Eight days to launch.

The road trip to see my family in Kentucky is set to launch on Sunday, September 21, early in the morning. You are welcome to view what may well be a blog that is mundane rather than magnificent, and personal rather than profound. I'll be really happy to read your comments along the way.

The trip from Port Coquitlam to Pine Knot is some 4260 km (or 2650 mi), so it involves a fair bit of driving in my little Suzuki SX4