Since returning to America on August 1st, we've rapidly adjusted our assimilated overseas lifestyles consisting of words such as, but not limited to: Relaxing. Calm. Worry-free and, for the most part, stress free. We're back in America now where relaxing, calm, and worry-free are mythical vocabulary--everything's written in American format now such as, but not limited to: Go0oo!!! Go faster! Fastfuckiner!! Time is money!
In less than seven weeks, we put 10,000 miles on our vehicle--the one we just purchased in Florida last month. The first thousand were collected between Miami, Florida and Nashville, Tennessee. A few more thousand between Nashville and Knoxville were collected while shopping for shelter. But the majority of those miles were just accrued as we toured across 16 states between Tennessee and California and back to Tennessee.
Pura and I just returned from California where we spent two weeks saying hello as well as goodbye but most importantly--we retrieved the few items we couldn't part with when we left the U.S back in 2018.
My friends in California said "you don't wanna come back here, give yourself at least a year." However, Pura and I had sentimental items to retrieve that couldn't wait that long. Friends we met abroad, along with a handful of virtual strangers said "California is on fire! Be careful you two!" To that I responded, 'relax, it's summer time in California, it's always on fire this time of year.' I couldn't have been more mistaken.
Fact--California is always on fire during the summer months but this year, the one titled 2020, nothing's familiar anymore. There's a noticeably red ambience at times as the sun attempts to shine through the heavy layer of falling ashes and debris stemming from a multitude of coastal wild fires. We captured the smoky haze originating along the west coast of the United States and tracked it all the way to the Ohio River in Illinois--2,333 miles of smoke.
Mt. Aire, Utah
All images - iPhone 8+
Hwy 138 - the back way to Los Angeles
There's 5 layers of mountains in the distance but only 1n1/2 were visible - not a cloud in the sky
Sylmar, California - Los Angeles County
On the other side of that tunnel is Agua Dulce RV Resort. I parked there for about a month during an overtime project back in 2014
Agua Dulce RV Resort - Los Angeles County
What's left of it
Interstate 580
En route to San Francisco - not a cloud in the sky
Interstate 680
Mt. Diablo
Mt. Diablo National Forest
What's left of it
Novato, California
San Francisco Bay under smoke
Hwy 1 - the coastal most highway in the Western United States
Not a cloud in the sky
Mt. Shasta National Forest
Two hours south of Oregon and 150 miles inland of the Pacific Ocean - 'east bound'
Lake Tahoe National Forest in Reno, Nevada
350 miles east of the Pacific - not a cloud in the sky
Salt lake beds in Salt Lake City, Utah
860 miles east of the Pacific
Interstate 70. Utah, USA
Fishlake National Forest
Not a cloud in the sky
Moab, Utah
25-50 mph gusts of wind through Moab separated the clouds from the smoke - 1,091 miles east of the Pacific
Arches National Park, Utah
Reservior at Scipio Lake
Scipio, Utah
McInnis Canyons National Conservation in Colorado
1,200 miles east
Rocky Mountains - Vail, Colorado
1,330 miles east
The Rockies in Breckinridge, Colorado
At 13,000 feet above sea level, the wind was so gusty (45-60 mph) you could see a separation between the sky, clouds, and the smoky haze originating nearly 1,400 miles away
Descending into Denver, Colorado
1,500 miles east of the Pacific
Haze, Kansas
Appropriately named, "Haze," is 1,700 miles east of the Pacific - not a cloud in the sky
Topeka, Kansas
1,905 miles east
Kansas City, Missouri
The smoky haze is dissipating roughly 1,990 miles from the Pacific - not a cloud in the sky
Somewhere in Missouri
At 80mph, I couldn't snap this image again with those tire tracks placed directly in front of us if I tried. I didn't notice it until I began putting this article together - "accident"
Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge in St. Louis, Missouri
2,210 miles east of the Pacific - not a cloud in the sky
Separation
Massac County, Illinois
2,333 miles east of the Pacific - blue skies
Before departing Illinois and crossing into Kentucky, we stopped at Thrive in Harrisburg, Illinois. Other than the outrageously priced, naturally flowering plant, in comparison to west coast prices, the strains were typical. What I mean by that is, I meant to take a picture of the storefront and, coincidentally, I forgot to do that.
Before reaching our final destination in Tennessee, we drove across two more states, Indiana and Kentucky, totaling a 16-state road trip. I meant to snap a picture of that, too, we even stopped at a rest area with a clear view of the Indiana State sign but Harrisburg was a few states back and, coincidentally, I forgot to do that.
Sure hope we don't get that bad of fires again this year... but it's not looking promising
I'm humbled you mined out something I wrote nine months ago. Very cool @jarvie. Thank you. Where abouts are you? Your profile says Utah... mostly.
so far this year I've probably been in utah about 2 months presently i'm in Oregon.
Gotcha. I spent most of 2009 in Coos Bay. Went to a reunion in Canyonville back in '13, stayed there a week. Love the west coast.
Great pix, the USA is a mess.
Please vote. Trump thinks we all need to rake the forest floor This will prevent fires.
It has nothing to do with climate change just like covid is a hoax, tell that to the families over 200,000
DEAD...
Stay safe my friend
Ooh wee! @farm-mom comin in hot! It's always a pleasure to hear from you young lady! Two big huge smooches from Tennessee.
I'll be releasing an article in the next month or so about that election thing where people vote for a character they've never personally met and then argue amongst strangers, even willing to fight at times, regarding their vote even though they've never personally counted a vote nor witnessed the actual tallying of a vote. 🤔
I don't know anyone sick, thank God, and I still don't know anyone who knows anyone who's sick, thank God! What I do know is Aids is still burning like California fires but I've yet to see anyone running around with their head cut off talkin about "you must wear a condom before entering!"
Thanks for checkin this one out @farm-mom, God bless the whole farm.
Good morning sir
I was in health care when aids blew up in the US. Just horrible, I lost several friends and watched countless others die. It took years to get it under control with millions dying.
Too bad we didn’t know and shout about using condoms early on in that pandemic.
Could have saved lives.
Too bad our government tried to ignore bc it was thought to be only a gay thing.
Science will get us out of this mess not politics.
In the meantime, protect yourself, stay safe be well
I just want you to know that extra weight you felt in your pocket just now was my virtual tip--your response was worth at least 40
bucksdollarsfederal reserve notes. Not sure I ever told you.. my mother was a nurse. 👍🏿I'm having a tough time reacquainting myself with releasing articles. Being absent for so long, I reminded myself how to view the world naturally. Everything looks so different when I'm not mapping out an article in my mind.
Hashtag - Trying to find a balance
What I'm tryin to say is, thanks for keeping an eye on me @farm-mom, your support is never taken for granted.
Mom was a nurse, excellent, love nurses. She must have lived through the aids strike. Even though we know the 1st case in the US was 1960, the real outbreak occurred in 1981 I was frontline at 26 y/o. Left quite an impression, I still remember how afraid I was, since it was unclear how it was passed along. I had 2 little boys at home, scary at first.
Thank God we were able to create "cocktails" to treat and surpress this virus, but we still don't have a cure or vaccine, some 40 years later.
And we still see some 40,000 new cases per year, mostly through IV drug use.
Crazy , I keep my rosary beads near by these days.
Thanks for the tip, looking forward to your next article glad to have ya back.
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We have had hazy skies in Wisconsin from the smoke. 2020 has been a year of heartbreak.
@melinda010100, this is a pleasant surprise, good morning! A year of heartbreak is kinda like the base isn't it? Heartbreak and then everything else we never thought would happen piled up on heartbreak. Weird time to be alive.
I have a feeling I'm responding to a Packer fan. 😉 My little cousin and his family live in the U.P.
We headed west via the southern states and came back through the middle of the country. Nearly three weeks ago now, as we approached Texas, I honestly thought it was the mountain in front of us that was on fire--negative! That was the smoke from the west coast making its way east. Then as we returned, it was much greater in distance than Texas.
Stay safe, Melinda, I appreciate you checking out this article. It's always a pleasure hearing from you.
Go Pack Go! 💚🟡💚
It was pretty brave of you to make such a long road trip when so many services are closed. I'm glad it all worked out well.
Yeah, that bank of distant mountains. Looking out at Lake Michigan you would think you were seeing the opposite shore.
Man! I've got a familiar looking sun @melinda010100.
There's no enhancement on that, the oddly colored ring around the edges is all natural--gross! I have a feeling this is gonna be a long one..
Some years ago I treated a good friend of mine to a Packer game, we went to Lambeau and watched them play the Chargers. True story--we had breakfast during the morning games and there wasn't any games on tv. I asked the waitress about it and she just nodded "we only watch the Packers." I said "you do realize there like 30 more teams in the league, right?" Eh, she said "I didn't know that." Haha!
What a ghost town on Sunday! Not a soul on the streets nor the road. I really enjoyed myself. The night before the game, while driving across miles and miles of farm fields, outta nowhere pops the stadium all lit up like "woah, wasn't expecting that." So we pulled off the Highway.
I've been to many stadiums, Melinda, and only one time was the field wide open. No security, no nothing, just wide open--Green Bay. We actually got to walk on the field that night. A memory neither me or my buddy will ever forget.
Plus the Pack won with a last minute field goal so it made it that much more special.
Not only is Green Bay a ghost town during a Packer game, the entire State goes silent. I know a few people who are not football fans and they plan their grocery shopping trips during Packer games because the stores are empty. Everyone throughout the state will be wearing green and gold on game days.
Lambeau is a pretty special place. I understand that waitress. I have watched the Packers for 30 years, but it has only been the last couple of years that I became a football fan and began watching other teams play.
Hope you have a good week!
Yay!
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That is so sad... Sometimes we have a lot of fires here, too. But I don't think it was ever that serious. 🙄
The only time I was in the USA was in California... in San Francisco and Santa Cruz. I liked it a lot... but back then America was not as crazy as it is now.
Hey what's up @trincowski? Thanks for checkin this one out sir.
Pura is from San Francisco actually, born and raised. I spent a good deal of time there myself prior to meeting her when I was working in the area. Santa Cruz--I have dozens of great memories there! I hope you enjoyed yourself while touring both. Great food, right? 👍🏿
Yeah man, the fires right now are unlike any of the others. But that's just what's on the surface. I'm actually in the middle of an article right now where I talk all kinda shit on California (my state!!) because it's my state dammit and when they're being assholes, I earned the right to call'em out on it.
Thanks for stopping by @trincowski.
Hmmmm... I didn't get to taste the local food very much. It was so expensive on the fast food places already. We didn't check out the higher class restaurants. 😝
Nothing's 'affordable' here and I didn't get a full grasp of that until we left.
You can get a 6-pack of apples in England, Italy, even the Middle East for $1. 6 apples = $1. Here, in America, regardless what store you go to, the same apples are $2.99 each. And that's just apples!!
Yep. We went to buy a burger in a supermarket... and the damn thing costed over $10. For $10 we'd buy over 1 kg of meat over here! 😁
That's a classic scene! "What's a yute?!" Before I even clicked it, I love that scene.
Thanks for keeping an eye on me @angryman, it's always a pleasure to hear from you, sir. By the way, I didn't wanna say anything but uh.... you might wanna get in some extra dead lifts next week--just sayin. 😉
I'm anticipating the worse, over the next month, leading up to National Elections AND beyond…!!! A COLD, HARD winter...??? Yet, hopeful for the best possible scenario...
Stay well, my friend.
Yes... a classic scene. I think I chose to include the 'clip' for 'others' who may stumble across our little dialog and 'not' understand the wee bit of humor.
'My Cousin Vinny' was a movie I thoroughly enjoyed and when I wasn't laughing...it had me smiling all the way through. Pesce and Tome reminded me of many people I've known during NYC life....
I can't think of a Pesce movie I didn't like. Goodfellas and Casino are definitely amongst the top.
Given all the photos you remembered to take, I don't think anyone's going to gripe at you for the forgotten pair. Although this being 2020 and all, I suppose anything's possible...
I'm glad you and Pura managed to make it there and back again without catastrophe (at least, I'm assuming that's the case) and I'm hoping your beloved belongings are now safely in your care.
I totally get why you went too - hubby, the kids, and I spent over a year in a camper (although ironically parked for most of that time, which is not what we planned when we bought a home on wheels) and once we ditched it for four walls and a roof, we couldn't wait to get the relatively small amount of stuff we had in a storage locker. Something about having those things back made our new rental a home.
Sending lots of witchy good vibes to you and the missus, and I hope she's feeling a bit better these days. Happy to see you in my feed again, dear sir!
You're a sweetheart @traciyork.
It's a slow return. I appreciate your kind words, it's gonna be slow for me, though. I'll be as active as I can but the break I took from here really allowed me see things differently. Everything looks so different when you're not mapping out an article and just appreciating the face value of what you're looking at instead. But I enjoy these engagements and I enjoy sharing content with you guys, so I'm trying to find a balance.
Ma'am... If you got any hocus pocus for that balance shmalance stuff, cast-cast away-way (danget, I can't remember what I was gonna say about those images I forgot to take). 🤔
Those few items--you know how it is. She had a couple of her father's things she can't be separated from and I had my grandfathers flag, the one they presented to grandma when he was buried. We just couldn't trust those things in the mailman's hand. Not that there's ever been an issue with the mailman, we just couldn't take that risk. Plus Pura's mother was holding my guns and the items of Pura's fathers consisted of a few knives and another gun and, well.... could you imagine trying to get that stuff on a plane right now??
Thank you for continuing to support my content @traciyork, your kindness is refreshing. Happy Friday!
Holy shite, that's more miles than I've put on my car in a year! Well, not like this year is one to compare it to. Though thank goodness we'll get a few extra ones when our escape from the ATL happens in just a short time here now.
I've seen pics from friends in both San Fran and Portland with the fires out there. Hard to believe even looking at the photos and reading first hand accounts. Even crazier to see how far into the heart of the country that smoke can be seen.
Glad you guys were able to make it out to grab your things. Is it time to start looking at puppies yet? I'm ready for some doggy pics to lighten this damn year up. ;)
Has anyone told you how cool you are today? I didn't think so
You sure are cool.... today. 😉 and in the spirit of things - 😷
Wassup @plantstoplanks? Thanks for checkin this one out--thanks for keeping an eye on us. Yeah, crazy right?? 10,212 miles actually, definitely a record for me too. 'Runs like a champ!'
Puppy is still on hold, I've been planning this step since 2013 so a little longer wait is just another chess move--piece 0 cake. With the way things are right now and the housing market being so unpredictable, we decided to stop house hunting for a minute and got ourselves into a 6 month lease. So hopefully around the beginning of the year we'll house shop again and you can bet your money-maker I'll be ordering that pup the day I know the closing date. Sure is cool of you to show interest... Wait'll you see these dogs!
I never type long-winded responses by the way, in case you were wondering.
Escape from Atlanta? Do tell, I'm all eyes.
Much ❤️ from Knoxville, Plants!
Wow, the fire coverage has kinda gone in the UK news (BBC) so had no idea the extent to which the fires and destruction/impact reached. Stay safe mate
Hey what's up @nickeyhavey?! Happy Sunday man. Yeah I couldn't have been more mistaken categorizing this years fires in comparison to previous years. Believe it or not, masks are actually appropriate due to air quality.
Thanks a lot for checking this one out, I didn't intend to document the smoky haze but was so struck by the destruction I decided to document the return trip.
Always a pleasure to hear from you, Nicky. Enjoy the remainder of your non-tax paying hours--Monday is just around the
Cornwallcorner.PS--I call it noose.
Yeah seems masks are the order of the dandays in more ways than one!
Oh I'll still get taxed, one of the privileges of being an employee 😃