Counting Our Blessings
Last Friday my newest apprentice, Kevin Hawkins, and I headed out at dawn to transport a mare to Illinois. But before we could make tracks west we first had to go get the lady in question, a mere 220 mile detour.
Once loaded, we headed south to I-64 then west to Kentucky. The price of gas was all over the place from a low of $3.83 in Virginia to an outrageous high of $4.29 in West Virginia. Normally I try to avoid buying gas in West Virginia because it is always higher there but when one is driving a monster truck which gets only about 11 miles per gallon when pulling the trailer, one’s options are severely limited. We had to stop about every 150 miles, half a tank, to top it off.
Kentucky gas was in line with Appomattox gas, but the biggest shock was Indiana, former home of the cheapest gas east of the Mississippi. They were at $4.29 also, a very unpleasant surprise, as I could have topped off in cheap Kentucky gas and made it all the way to Illinois. Oh well, live and learn.
The weather was very iffy too. Thunder showers were everywhere and sometimes violent. We narrowly missed two serious accidents, the first involving an overturned 18-wheeler and several small cars, the second a smash-up of four or five passenger vehicles. As we slowly drove past the wrecks, the emergency vehicle was pulling up behind us to carry off the casualties.
In due course Kevin spotted the famous St. Louis arch on the horizon and we exited onto Rt. 255 to rendezvous with our mare’s eager new owner. The transfer took place with minimum fuss and then we were off to check out the condition of the Great River Road.
Alas, thanks to current flooding conditions, the grain elevators at Alton were sitting in the river and even the Argosy Casino’s parking lot was flooded. It didn’t stop them from still doing a land office business, however. They were ferrying gamblers from upland parking down to the casino in shuttle buses.
Unable to take our favorite route along the Great River Road, we headed north on an inland road that stayed up on the bluffs. Later we found out that Alton was just part of the affected area. Grafton also was underwater and ferries were shut down because no one could get to them. As we were driving east again, reports came across the news that the flood crest had finally reached St. Louis and, barring more rain, the waters should be withdrawing soon.
For their sakes, we hope the rains hold off a bit. But we did leave under a heavy overcast and intermittent showers. It made us happy that flooding is not a big hazard in Appomattox, certainly not on the scale of the Midwest at any rate.
The marathon drive from Winchester, IL back home to Appomattox seemed interminable. It was dark, occasionally rainy, and we could not stop for the night because of the load of horses we now had. Fortunately, both of them were calm and relaxed and tolerated the long trip with equanimity. There was no kicking or fussing to worry about and they were delighted to finally step off the trailer at their new home, The Weyr.
After sleeping for a straight 12 hours I actually began to feel like I might live after all and things are now falling into place again. No matter how many times stuff goes awry here at home, it never seems to be nearly as horrible as in other parts of the country. We don’t get inundated with flood waters just for starters! Our mosquitoes are a bit smaller, too, and far less aggressive.
Our next trip won’t come together until the end of July, barring $6/gallon diesel and $5/gallon gasoline. As things stand right now, we can all just about make it, let’s hope it stays that way!
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