Wednesday, September 13, 2017

The Road Goes Ever On and On...

It's a dangerous business going out your front door...
~ Tolkien


Tolkien conceived of his Middle Earth as an expansive place with wide open plains, misty mountains and the unexpected around every corner.

He must have been thinking of Montana.

I don’t know why I thought this would be an easy travel day. Maybe it was because we were going to remain all in one state, making the trek from Billings to Missoula. I forgot just how big a place Big Sky Country is.  The DH & I hadn’t driven this part of I-90 since we moved from Seattle to Missouri back in 2003. It’s still just as pretty, but with all the smoke from the fires up near Glacier National Park drifting southward, we were missing the lovely highest peaks.

We climbed for most of the day and I had to hook up to Herkimer (my O2 concentrator) to maintain good oxygen sats even when seated in the truck. The air quality was poor, but having supplemental oxygen and cough drops helped me keep going. I told the DH this was good practice for Mumbai when we're on our world cruise next  year. I've heard the air quality in Mumbai is always poor.


In keeping with the Tolkien theme, doesn't this tumbled down castle of a rock outcropping look like a place where one might encounter ogres?


This pic gives you an idea of how the smoke marred the views. Sort of reminded me of a large scale version of the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina (which are not smoky at all, just perpetually hazy.)  My heart goes out to the brave men and women who are fighting the wild fires throughout the West. Many of them are college students who have arranged to start their fall semester late so they can see the fires under control before they leave the line. Please pray for their safety with me.


This final picture is for my dad. He finished his railroad career as a locomotive engineer for the BN, running from Sheridan, WY to Billings, MT. Whether it was snowing or midnight, he found reasons to enjoy his trips. He's one of those lucky souls who loved his job.

More tomorrow...

6 comments:

  1. A lot of places in Asia have bad air quality ... as we found out earlier this year. The one time we drove through Montana it felt like the road would never end ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Then you understand completely. Don't get me wrong. I love Montana, but it's a very long state from east to west.

      Delete
  2. Been enjoying your blog. Always love a good Tolkien reference.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, Jag. The DH introduced me to Tolkien. He was so excited about the Ring Trilogy I had to read them to find out more about HIM! Sorry to admit I found them to be "trudging" books the first time through and Tolkien's female characters are flat. But the second time I read the books, I settled myself in for a long slog and was captivated by the beauty of language. As long as I decided it didn't matter how meandering the plot or how flimsy the male/female relationships were, I was free to wallow in the joy of Middle Earth.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad you handled the smoke ok. After the eclipse we went to Seattle to meet the newest family member. Driving home south through Oregon was tough, it was very smokey the entire state. My heart goes out to everyone effected by the fires and those who fight them. We know too much about fires. After one of our fires that was way too close for comfort, we had the Hot Shots go up the hill across the street from our house. They go up at night so they can look for the glowing embers that might be blown away and restart the fire. I watched them go up with their helmets with lights, pick axes and shovels. I decided I had worked with children too long once I realized I was waiting for them to start singing, "Hi ho, hi ho, its off to work we go!"...I have since retired... ;)

    Kristy :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have the utmost respect for fire fighters, both urban and forest variety. Our home in Park City, UT was saved by them after we had to evacuate.

      Delete

I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment and let's chat!