Billboard Heaven

We're in "billboard heaven" as we travel through South Dakota. The billboards for Wall Drug began showing up at least 300 miles from their promised destination.  Mount Rushmore, Casey's Cafe's BEST BURGERS, Al's Oasis Restaurant, hotel after hotel, and did I mention Wall Drug, Wall Drug, Wall Drug?  There are Wall Drug billboards as far away as China and an obscure as in The Netherlands and all around the globe. If you lined up all the Wall Drug billboards on I-90 alone they would measure 500 miles according to their website. If you've never read the Wall Drug story it is well worth the time to do so. The story of this family-run business is inspiring and a true example of American creativity and "roll up your sleeves" can-do entrepreneurship that this country was built on (http://www.walldrug.com/t-history.aspx). Which reminds me, if you missed Sarah Palin's speech to the first ever Tea Party convention in Nashville, TN last night, you missed a good one!  Don't believe everything the left-wing media is saying about her. Listen for yourself and make up your own mind. I've added a link in my blog listing to YouTube where you can listen to the speech in full (you have to sit through a commercial before Sarah comes on though, so don't give up). Geraldo Rivera is interviewing her for one hour tonight on the Fox network. She actually had the gall to say that what Anerica needed was leaders who actually admitted that they didn't have all the answers and that they should call upon our Creator for help and guidance. About this time, I nearly jumped out of my seat, but I was driving so thought that wouldn't be a good idea.  I think she is the real deal and if we don't rise up to support her we will live to regret it as a nation - in my humble opinion.

On our way to Charleston, TN, our alternator finally gave up the ghost and we limped "Clifford" into Gallup, NM using battery power only.  Watkins-Shepard paid a hefty $500 to have it replaced, but Shannon had been telling our shops from Dalton to Missoula that something was wrong with the alternator. They kept focusing on the batteries, which needed replacing, too, but the alternator has had a problem for months but because we could never get anyone to test it under load, they kept assuming that the problem remained with the batteries. Anyway, Clifford is back up to running and Shannon and I are very happy that we don't have to "hold our breath" and pray that the truck doesn't quit on us when we get sent to the colder regions of the country.

I've had some interesting experiences since being back behind the wheel over the past week. There was one day when I drove for 8 hours through fog - no kidding! Driving through Oklahoma and all of Tennessee, visibility went from anywhere from 1/4 to a 1/2 mile - ALL DAY LONG.  It was a stressful drive and one I don't want to repeat none too soon. Earlier on the trip, while driving through an ice storm between the borders of Arizona and New Mexico, we passed several semis that had "lost it" and tipped over, spewing their cargo all over the roadside. There was a Fedex double trailer that had split apart and packages were everywhere. As I drove up on yet another accident, I slightly touched the brake to slow down to change lanes and the truck and trailer began sliding. I think I took a good year off of Shannon's life as he sat there helpless to do anything about it except to yell, "Don't use the brake, don't use the brake!" Fortunately, the words of my husband and my instructors at Watkins Shepard sunk in, and with the good Lord's help, I was able to bring the truck and trailer back into alignment and slow down to be able to make my lane change. It was the scariest experience I'd ever had behind the wheel of "Clifford!"  That is until a couple of nights later.

Shannon was laying down trying to get some shut-eye and I was driving.  We were on I-24 in Tennessee so we had two lanes heading west. Everything was normal and I could hear some light trucker chatter in the background but I wasn't really listening. About that time I looked farther up the road and thought, "what am I seeing?"  It was a set of car headlights coming toward me. "No, that can't be, the interstate must turn so it must be an optical illusion." About that time, a voice on the CB radio lit up and the driver was yelling, "Drivers, be aware, there is a 4-wheeler headed east in the hammer lane of the westbound I-24!"  That's right - a car, driven by what I can only imagine was a thoroughly intoxicated person, was traveling the wrong way on the freeway, and he/she was headed right for me. I held my lane and started to slow down as the drunk driver fortunately held his/her lane and passed me on the left.  Just as he/she passed I blew my airhorn trying to awaken the person to the fact that they were in mortal danger, but the driver never reacted, never put on the brake, and headed right for the traffic that was following me. As I watched in my mirrors, I saw the driver slowly move over into the other lane, which was also occupied by another semi, barreling down on the car at freeway speeds. Just before I went over the crest of a hill where I wouldn't be able to see anything more, I saw the driver of the car pull over onto the shoulder, narrowly avoiding the semi, but not once did I ever see the car's brake lights. I have no way of knowing what happened but I do know that I never, ever want to experience that close of an encounter with such an idiot again.  The next day Shannon and I prayed for that person, though, and asked God to send some help for him/her before they killed themselves or a van full of innocent children.  DRINKING AND DRIVING IS INSANE! 

I've added lots of pictures from our hometime and the past week of driving on the slideshow.  I hope you enjoy them!  Talk to you again real soon.