The weather is foggy and cool out on 60 north and I'm in heaven and definitely in the zone. The fog forms a tunnel and my "eye of God" driving lights are leading the way. They stay on since I don't see a car for 26 miles.
On the XM radio the Chambers Brothers are playing the long version of Time Has Come Today. These guys were clearly medicated when the song was recorded and their primal screaming fits the road and weather perfectly. Even though it's dark I've been down this road enough to picture the scenery in my minds eye as I glide by.
A few miles up the road Swan, GA passes by. You've probably haven't been by here, and if you have, you probably don't remember it. Let me describe it for you. It a looka lika town. I'm sorry if you don't know the reference.
My next turn is on Hwy. 64 in Tennessee. This parallels the site of the Olympic kayak event. I have a love/hate relationship with this road. The views and curves are wonderful. The traffic is horrible. I'm always stuck behind someone which means I can't enjoy the view. This morning is different as no one is on the road. As I pass by the reservoir the pre-dawn light makes for a fantasy of water, mist and mountains.
I hope to get through Chattanooga with no accidents blocking the road, no rain, no construction and no problems. Wow, it's sunny, the construction is finished and traffic is light. This is great. As if to remind me that things can change at any time, I look across the street from where I'm gassing up and see a familiar motel. This is where I stayed when the RT died in the rain. The GS seems to be snickering. Maybe it won't get any oats tonight.
In the mid-west a storm front has been pounding away for several days and it isn't pretty. On I-57 it looks bad and I elect to get suited up for the weather. Another driver tells me that it's sunny 15 miles up the road. I fall for this and 15 wet miles later I'm pulling on my rain gear over wet clothes. I hope he got a good laugh.
I-57 is one of those roads that wasn't thought through thoroughly when it was designed. The freeway is 2 lanes in each direction and the northbound lanes feed St. Louis, Louisville and Chicago. Why do they call it a freeway? It costs me my time, patience, sanity and well-being. It's far from free. It's pouring, there's construction and everyone's on their way home from vacation. Of course they're all the in left lane, so passing is on the right.
I was going to stay here for the night, but feel good and push through to Columbia, MO. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and this should shorten it by about 100 miles. I luck into a brand new motel at a great rate.
