Saturday, June 26, 2010

March 22, 2012

10:45 AM. I got up and got right to it this morning, leaving around 6:30. As I suspected, the highway has been a mess. At one point I had to turn around and back track several miles to find a way around an overpass that was completely jammed.

The side streets aren't much better. More than once I've bulldozed through a fence and gone across someone's yard to get through. At one house I picked up a couple spare tires for the trailer, since I discarded the flat tire from a while ago. It felt strange, just taking the wheels off of someone's camper and leaving it there on blocks.

The smoke is pretty high up, but definitely getting thicker. There is a gray haze around the sun, and everything just looks.... dim. I need to keep moving.

3:00 PM. Very slow going. I stopped to siphon fuel from a furniture truck. Been burning a lot and not getting anywhere fast. Been trying to parallel the interstate as best as I can, mostly because it makes navigation much easier, and because there's plenty of diesel sitting in the 18 wheelers along the road. However, I am debating whether I want to attempt crossing the long bridge over the swamp in Louisiana. Perhaps diverting to the north is a better plan. Yes, I've convinced myself. Northward it is.

9:30 PM. What a long day. Had to drop the trailer and break out the chains to clear some cars off a bridge over the Sabine River. I'm beginning to think a Caterpillar might be a better mode of travel. It would have to be an old one though, I know the newer ones are loaded with electronics. Fried electronics...

I got excited when I was crossing the river because I saw a boat coming downstream. For just a minute, I held out hope there might be someone alive on board. Didn't take too long to realize it was just adrift on the current though.

Today has been exhausting. I'm going to eat a can of something and go to sleep.

10 comments:

  1. Nice Mayberry you have a winner....

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  2. Great story so far, Mayberry. Can't wait till to see what happens next.

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  3. Wow - just found this story tonight, and gave it a quick read. Fabulous! I'm looking forward to more!

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  4. Good story Mayberry, I have been visiting your blog for about 6 months now. I always find what you've written very interesting. Please give us more of this story! Also, I listened to 1 of your podcasts last night. Good stuff there as well!

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  5. Thanks y'all! For some reason I'm not getting email notifications for comments here. Have to go look at my settings...

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  6. Good story.....But ya can't cross the Red River from Beaumont. Heading east from Beaumont (on either Interstate 10 or US Hwy 90) would be the Neches (the city to the east is Rose city/Vidor) then you'd cross the Sabine (at Orange TX, when u cross over, you're in LA).

    The Red River starts in the Panhandle of TX and dumps into the Mississippi River east of Alexandria.

    I grew up just north of Beaumont. My kinfolk are from Louisiana.

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  7. OOPS! Been a long time since I was up that way, and I didn't consult a map. Thanks for pointing that out...

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  8. Just re-read your story. For those who grew up around that area (Golden Triangle - Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange), you hit a gem with the fuel from a furniture truck. Its been 35 years since I was there but there used to be a BIG furniture store (can't seem to remember the name but NOT a box store) at 7th Ave and I-10 (this would be no more than 2 miles from the Downtown exit and the Neches River bridge).

    The store even had its own exit (7th Ave) since rail tracks went under the bridge and you couldn't get across except by I-10. A real pain as a Beaumont Firefighter (man, THAT was a long time ago!)

    I REALLY enjoy reading stories where I've been and can picture EXACTLY the area you're writing about.

    Nice job

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