Seeing beyond the road

[agentsteel53]

I've driven I-94 from the Illinois line to Tomah, and I-90 to the Minnesota border, and it didn't seem any curvier than any other freeway I've driven on with similar terrain features.  However, much of the trip was very scenic, with the picturesque farms with the big red barns and the hills of western Wisconsin.  I went into Wisconsin expecting nothing, and left it thinking it was one of the prettiest states that I've visited.  And I barely got off the interstate.

Wisconsin is well worth getting off the interstate for! 

[1995hoo]

But the speed limit on I-80 is 75 MPH.  I prefer driving fast to slowing down to 25 MPH in town after town.

there is a lot worth slowing down for.  old signs, random businesses, squirrels, etc.

I wouldn't go through the old towns if I were doing the road for the third or fourth time, but once or twice is very much worth it.

Our little pal thanks you for that (seen on our deck yesterday).

[Special K]

"Come at me, bro!"

[1995hoo]

"Come at me, bro!"

He was actually looking for food. I had my phone in my left hand filming video and I was holding a peanut in my right hand. He wanted that peanut.

[Scott5114]

Squirrels are adorable. When I went up to Ann Arbor, my friend that lives up there was showing off how domesticated the ones on the University of Michigan campus had become. There is a particular arm gesture they respond to because they have been trained by the students, Pavlov-style, to think that means you have food. Apparently there is a student-run Squirrel Club that likes to feed them.

[1995hoo]

Someone on another forum I frequent decided to have some fun with my squirrel photo.

[wxfree]

I was just thinking about some things and remembered this topic.  I may be able to address the questions presented.

I'll start with my interests.  My first field of intensive study was meteorology.  I used my first car to go to Half Price Books in Arlington and buy a book on meteorology, written by a professor emeritus for the professional, by far the most difficult-to-read book I have, and most instructive.  For that reason, it's one of the most valuable books I have.

My next field of intensive study was geomorphology, the study of landforms, and their origins and evolutions.  Due to that study, I know the difference between a canyon and a hollow on a steep riverside, and the distinction between a hill and a mountain that has nothing to do with height.

Most things I did not study intensively for years, but studied slowly.  Highways studies is in this group, although finding the Texas MUTCD and other publications online was one of my grand moments.  Most things I've studied gradually, in particular the mind and people's thoughts.  What I now see as my high aspiration is philosophy: it's the field that seems to include everything and tie together all the different fields of knowledge.

My belief is that each person represents a slice of reality; not all of it, but a piece.  If you have strong interests, that seems to show that your purpose is to contribute to those interests.  I'd say that you are missing out on most of life by focusing on an interest, but that the interests you have reflect the portion allotted to you.  A "blurry/slanted/unhealthy view of the world" is what everyone has, varying based on how the view is blurry/slanted/unhealthy.  While I respect the value of breadth, I believe in the importance of depth.  I'd rather know the hell out of a few things than have an unusably shallow knowledge of everything.  At the same time, if you find yourself asking whether there may be more, I'd suggest you spend some time looking.  But if you have a happy and fulfilled life with your current fields of interest, I suggest there isn't much more you could hope for.

[mefailenglish]

I used my first car to go to Half Price Books in Arlington and buy a book on meteorology, written by a professor emeritus for the professional, by far the most difficult-to-read book I have, and most instructive.  For that reason, it's one of the most valuable books I have.

Holton's "An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology" by any chance?  Or perhaps Bluestein's "Synoptic-Dynamic Meteorology in Midlatitudes"?

[Laura]

I'd like to think that being a roadgeek has helped me see the beauty of the road as well as the beauty beyond the road. I feel like most people are primarily focused on their destination and consider the other states as "drive through" places.

About six years ago, one of my close friends was attending her cousin's wedding in Akron, Ohio. I had not been to Ohio yet, and was excited for her. After she got back, I asked her about her trip, which route she took, etc. She said that she took the [PA] turnpike and that is was really boring. The drive was "all trees and hills" and she didn't think Akron was a noteworthy city.

A year later, I went out to Akron myself for a huge Todd Rundgren concert weekend. I was blown away by the beauty of the drive. I took I-80 there and the PA turnpike back. I was awe-inspired by the mountains, giddy about the tunnels, focused on the ribbons of pavement, dreamed about all of the places on the BGSs and wondered what they were like. When I got to Akron, i was amazed by the (practically deserted) inner loop, stoked by all of the button copy, surprised at how much the city reminded me of my own (Baltimore) in positive ways. I hung out with Todd fans that I knew from various parts of the country. Went along the riverside and checked out all of the dams. Ate at some local dives and people watched.

My friend and I saw different versions of the same thing. She would argue that Ohio and the drive there is boring while I would describe it as an epic crossroads across the Appalachian. Who is right? I'd like to think I experienced it more, and believe that my love of roads allowed me to do so.

[wxfree]

I used my first car to go to Half Price Books in Arlington and buy a book on meteorology, written by a professor emeritus for the professional, by far the most difficult-to-read book I have, and most instructive.  For that reason, it's one of the most valuable books I have.

Holton's "An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology" by any chance?  Or perhaps Bluestein's "Synoptic-Dynamic Meteorology in Midlatitudes"?

No.  Those are both very good books and valued parts of my collection, but my first book was Sverre Petterssen's Weather Analysis and Forecasting.  That book, published in 1940, and Handbook of Meteorology, published in 1945, are the crown jewels of my collection.  They were written before modern analysis and computers, and focused on understanding how the processes work.  Atmospheric Circulation Systems from 1969 rounds out the top three.  I have an affinity for the older books because they use equations to illuminate understanding, while the newer books are more focused on the math, using equations as a different approach to understanding.  The change is entirely valid due to the increased importance of math and the ability to run very large equations in computers, but I like being able to close my eyes and picture how it works more than using equations to calculate the correct outcome.  My approach, while somewhat scientific, is rather romanticized; I have an appreciation for the beauty of the processes, which is distinct from the beauty of the equations.

[UptownRoadGeek]

I don't have a problem doing both. It's not like I'm obsessing over license plates and infrastructure, but I am making detailed observations of them as I do everything else.

[SD Mapman]

A few years ago my family and I went up to Alaska. We were driving around and there were these trumpeter swans in a pond by the junction of AK 1/AK 9. So we get out to get a picture with me and the highway sign. I watch the scenery now and not just the signs (but those are interesting, too).

[Brandon]

Nebraska has some good scenery.  I-80 scenery is quite a bit different from the two-laners.  Lincoln's old town is a cool neighborhood.  The area around Valentine has some good camping and canoeing opportunities.

True, I-80 is nestled down into the Platte River valley so you can see very little of Nebrasaka's scenery on the trip.

I really appreciate that Wisconsin intentionally added extra curves to some of their interstates so that drivers would have sweeping views of their scenery.

Yet, I feel I-80 in Nebraska gets underrated for scenery.  Not all scenery is hills or barns.  The Platte River valley is interesting IMHO from all the plants and wildlife along it.  I-80 follows the south side of the river, the side away from the towns (which are mostly north of the river), thus I-80 goes through a wilder environment than if it were north of the river.

[Beltway]

A Car and Driver article once used the memorable description "miles and miles of universal fart" in referring to that area. I'll concur in that description because on one trip to New York, I rode with my brother and he insisted on keeping the windows down.....and then we got stuck in stopped traffic on the Goethals Bridge. I don't think I've come so close to puking from just a bad smell as I did that afternoon.

Worst smells on a highway? 
In my experience,they are trucks hauling certain noxious-smelling cargoes.  In particular, (1) trucks hauling dead animals to a rendering plant (e.g. Virginia's Valley Proteins); (2) trucks hauling grease from grease traps can be bad (frequently same company that hauls dead animals, though in different vehicles); (3) animal livestock trucks, in particular those carrying hogs; and (4) truck carrying a load of crated chickens to the slaughterhouse.

Baltimore Harbor used to have that "rotten egg smell" due to various industrys' smokestacks, but in the last 20 years or so that seems to have been alleviated.

Northeast Philadelphia along I-95 a few miles north of Center City used to have a particularly unpleasant smell, again industrial related, like a mixture of glue and acid and several other unidentified smells, but in the last 20 years or so that seems to have been eliminated.