Motel decor 08-17-19

I frequently take pictures in motels; the art, the carpet, the strange lamps, and the inadequate bathrooms.  But then I hesitate to post the images with my sometimes caustic remarks.  Sometimes, however, the art is rather nice as in the HIE in Salmon Creek, WA, just north of the Oregon border. 

This might be print of a serigraph, I'm not sure.  But it is downtown Portland and the Willamette River  (will am' it).  And I believe the bridge is called the Steel Bridge, the center span lifts straight up for boats to go through. 

This is a lovely pastel view of Portland by the same artist, but the bridge shown is the St. John's Bridge which is quite a way down river from downtown.  Artist's freedom, I suppose. 

It is always nice to have restful décor in a motel room.  Unlike this one at the HIE in San Luis Obispo in June 2018.  Hard to sleep even in the pitch dark.

#   #   #

Motel Decor 06-12-18

My friend Liz and I spent the last two nights at the Holiday Inn Express (HIE) in San Luis Obispo so that I could give a program about the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection to the members of the San Luis Obispo Quilters.  I find I get too tired to drive for 5-6 hours and then give an evening program.  So, we drove up on Sunday and home today (Tuesday).  I like to stay at HIE because I feel safe at their locations and I LOVE their cinnamon rolls (as do many other travelers).  Currently the San Luis Obispo location is being renovated and I'm not crazy about their new decor.  Here are some pictures from our room.  

Yes, the pictures cover the wall and extend up onto the ceiling. 

The subjects are varied - sports pictures seem to dominate. 

But "Amor"??  On the ceiling? 

These are also on the ceiling.  I found it somewhat disorienting to wake up staring at the ceiling which seemed to be a wall.  Not being used to pictures (or mirrors) on the ceiling I wasn't sure I was laying down or standing up! 

As you can see the pictures on the wall extend down almost to the floor. 

That orange cylinder is a dumb lamp which you have to turn on the bulbs on both sides of the light fixture in order to turn it off; rather annoying if someone is asleep and suddenly the light shines on their face.  

This decor is rather overwhelming when what I want in a motel room is a calm, restful aura to let me calm down before going to bed.  There are not many of these photos I would chose to hang myself, but I find that is general true in any motel/hotel.  They do chose ugly art and frequently disturbing carpeting  

These three hang on the side wall.  We think they are close ups of mechanical equipment. 

Be warned!

#   #   #

Statistics on Maine trip 09-19-16

Part of taking a Road Trip are the statistics, so if you are ho-hum about them skip this post!

From Placentia to Schoodic Institute/Acadia Nat'l Park, Maine  3861 miles
From Schoodic Institute/Acadia Nat'l Park, Maine to Placentia 3556 miles   Why the difference?  Well, I drove around the Park and that part of Maine for about 150 miles.  And I came home a different way that I drove out.  Total miles: 7417
 
Outward I took the 91 Fwy to I-15 to I-70 in Utah then east to Columbus, Ohio.  North on I-71 to Cleveland, and the east on I-90 to Portland, ME, and various small highways to Acadia Nat'l Park.  Schoodic is actually a separate part of the park on a penninsula slightly northeast.
Returning I drove the opposite way on the same roads, did not take a detour to see Ruth McDowell in MA, until I arrived in Limon, CO.  Then SW on US 24 to Colorado Springs to pick up I-25 south to Albuquerque, NM.   From there it is I-40 all the way to Barstow, CA. where I was back on I-15 and thence home.

This was not a sightseeing trip and I only stopped at two quilt shops and the New England Quilt Museum  (for a total expenditure of $214.94 for gifts and fabric)

I ate out twice. First at The Painted Pony in St George, Utah, where I enjoyed a meal on a previous trip and again on this one.  And at the Marriott in Portland, ME, on the advice of AAA and it was good advice - perfectly cooked salmon.  Other than that I ate from my small ice chest which I restocked periodically with stops at grocery stores and gleanings from the "free" breakfast at the motels I stayed at. .

Motel cost:  $2078.69 for 15 nights.  Comes to $138.58/night which is less than the estimated $150.  With the exception of one night at Comfort Inn and one at Fairfield Inn, the nights were all spent at Holiday Inn Express.  

My gas cost was $684.42.  The cheapest gas was $1.959 In Missouri  going both ways.
The most expensive at Cove Fort, Utah (which is, admittedly, out in the middle of nowhere) was $2.599.  Ten cents a gallon more than I paid before leaving Placentia.  And I used 271.41 gallons of fuel. 

Although I had sprinkles here and there, the only real rain was in Lowell, MA, Albuquerque, NM, and Las Vegas, NM.  Seems that almost the entire country is suffering from drought.

When I travel I eat crackers, which I rarely eat at home.  Most commercial crackers are too salty for me, but it is hard to find unsalted crackers.  I tried some gluten free at Schoodic and they were perfect, but I couldn't find any of those at the market.  I bought Blue Diamond Gluten Free Artisan Nut-Thins with Flax seed which were good, if too salty.  Also ate Nabisco Good Thins Potato with White Cheddar which were delicious but even saltier.  And Triscuits with Olive Oil and Rosemary which anyone with a taste for rosemary would love if they can take the salt.  At home I eat Trader Joe's unsalted water crackers which go with anything.  I had a box with me on the outgoing drive and I ate them all.

The most common flower I saw was the sunflower - in all it's multitudinous variety.

,

This one, at least two feet taller than I, was growing in a yard in Corea, Maine.

The flowers were quite lacy and lovely.

 

 

 

This is a more common roadside variety growing in Maine along the roadway.

 

Unfortunately, I saw few live wild animals, only a sad dead porcupine.  There was a dark colored rabbit at Schoodic and some type of chipmunk.   Along the way I saw lots of cattle, horses, milk cows, mules, alpacas, llamas, sheep, goats, and buffalo.

 

It was a good trip and I would do it again given the right time and destination.

#   #   #

Mostly Monotony on a Monday 08-15-16

There is a problem with the Internet connection here and I have typed this post twice before.  Each time it gets a bit shorter and less spontaneous and then it disappears.  This time I am writing at 6:30am Mountain Time.   If this doesn't take I might have to find a Starbuck's along the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Yes, this is the part of the trip which shows the wild and beautiful scenery of the West.  But five hundred miles of it has gotten a bit ho-hum this trip.   There are gorgeous cloud formations that create moving shadows on the land, unbelievable rock-scapes in almost all colors of the rainbow (heavy on beige and brown), and the hardy, sparse plant life of the desert.   Not much traffic and fewer trucks then I expect4ed,  Dozens of FedEx Ground trucks, many hauling three trailers - something that is not allowed in California.   There were  many times that I could not see another moving vehicle in all the vastness around me.  The speed limit was 80mph for many of the miles and my statistics showed I averaged 74mph for the day and the gas mileage clocked in at 25.9mpg.  I love the onboard computer that calculates all this for me.   I've spent the night in Silt, Colorado, because there is a Holiday Inn Express here and many of you know how much I hunger for their hot cinnamon rolls in the morning.   I expect to be somewhere in Kansas tonight.   Here are just 9 photos taken over the miles.

Clouds come and go, I even had a sprinkle or two.  Had to review the settings for my windshield wipers, it has been so long sine I used them.

 

Clouds getting darker - the guy on the right doesn't seem happy.

This was probably the core of something when this was hot rock ions ago.  In Bryce Canyon they call them hoo-doos.

Sometimes the highway goes through impossible slots between the canyons and I wonder how they could build such smooth, easy-to-drive roadways.

Many places that seem flat reveal the road cuts that were necessary to grade the road.

Yes, there was construction along the way.  This is near Yellow Cat, Utah (No Services).  But I took the picture to show the prows of the mountains overlapping on the left.

 Lots of these towering "sand piles" in this light color that looks like sand.

 



But it is solid rock with very thin streaks of sand. 

Here is an "arty" shot with the foreground in shadow and  the sun shining on the background.  Those dark spots in the upper middle are plants growing on a precarious slope.

 

I'm off for Kansas!

#   #   #

 

Road Trip - Indiana - Placentia to Flagstaff, AZ. 07-11-14

I felt much better this morning, so I gassed up the car, took a swing through Starbuck's and hit the road.  I left about 7am and thought I would have traffic, but other than "the usual places" everyone was moving right along.  I stopped just south of Barstow to visit the facilities at Starbuck's.  I didn't need another latte, so I just slip in and out.  The temp was about 90F and everyone seemed to come out with a cold drink rather than a coffee.  I continued on I-15 to the turn off where I-40 begins (and goes all the way to NCarolina).  Very light traffic.  Everything is extremely dried out as there  has not been rain there any more than in SCalifornia.    Next stop was in Arizona where US 95 turns off to Lake Havasu City.  It was 102F, but there was a slight breeze to ease the pain.   I gassed up for 3.69/gal,  twenty cents less than in Placentia earlier.  The picture below were taken at the Pilot station.  

This is the Red Bird Of Paradise, Caesalpinia pulcherrima.  A yellow variety is commonly known as Mexican Bird of Paradise.

 

I  like the flowers and have tried growing bushes in Placentia, but they don't survive.  However, I have seen them growing in SCalifornia.

I have six more pictures taken on the drive, but blogger doesn't want to load them, so they will have to await another day.  Don't know if the problem is the WiFi here at Holiday Inn Express in Flagstaff, or with my laptop, or just blogger up to its tricks.

I had a nap when I checked in here, but it was much of one because the motel is being renovated and they just happened to be painting the exterior wall outside my room.  All the windows were covered with heavy plastic and the painters were up on a lift  to be able to reach at least the 2nd floor.  Odd hearing them talk outside the 2nd floor window!  I had some leftovers along to eat for dinner, so once I was inside I stayed inside.  Showered now and in my nightie I am going to hit the hay.

 

2 am!   I am having a hard time sleeping.  Part of the problem is the high altitude and I am struggling with keeping a nice breathing rhythm.  And, wouldn't you know it, I seem to have left my emergency inhaler at home.  But also, there is a busy RR track practically outside my window, so I am wearing earplugs, which really do help.  At any rate, I thought I would see what blogger was willing to do and, voila, here are the rest of the pictures.

 

In the early part of the day the clouds were ragged and wind whipped.

 

In the afternoon they had turned into fat little sheep.

This road cut is just south of Kingman, AZ.  It is one of my favorites and I made a quilt from my pictures.  I will look up a picture and share it with you.  But not tonight.

Here is another colorful road cut some miles north of Kingman.

 It is on my "some day" list.

 

I don't know why yesterday evening's blog post didn't post - it was just there as a draft when I went in to write this one. 

#   #   #

Road Trip - Metropolis, IL - Joplin, MO 05-30-13

Started out again from HIE in Metropolis, IL., heading for Tulsa, OK.  This is a photo of a standard HIE room with two queen beds.  Not only do I seem to sleep better in a queen, the two queens rooms are slightly cheaper.  That is because most guests prefer rooms with one king.  Odd.


You might notice that my "catch-all" basket  (on the far right) is mended with yellow duct tape.  I actually stepped on the side of the basket (don't ask) and broke the handle.  The duct tape is working well.

I drove through the town of Metropolis (HIE is on the highway) to reach US-60W.  And there were these signs.  I don't know who Noel Neill was, but Superman is another story.
 

See, I DID see Superman!  Compare the people to realize how tall he is.
 

There were a dozen people around, but they suddenly left and gave me this great shot.
 

And around the corner is an entrepreneur ready to supply whatever Super stuff you need.
 

I found the way to US-60, going through many small towns and past a lot of fields and pastures and boarded up small stores and gas stations.  This photo was taken as I drove 30mph through Karmack, MO. The flag on the left is in front of the volunteer fire dept. 

Things begin to look worse as I drove west.  The Weather Channel storm chasers keep talking about the little "hooks" on the leading edge of the clouds - they can become tornadoes.  I saw quite a few "hooks" today.  But no tornadoes.
 

Off to the SW the clouds were fat pillows dragging down close to the ground.
 

Oh, OH!  Those aren't bug splats, they are raindrops from the trailing edge of that black cloud.  But I see blue sky and in the far distance, sunlight on the pavement.

 

Then the road curved and another Oh, OH!  This looked really bad.
 

And I am driving directly for the rain.
 

Looks like it is moving NE while I am going SW and I'll miss it.
 

WRONG.  Here comes more rain.
 

And then a stretch of sunshine and dry pavement.
 

And then more rain.
 

Around a curve and there are wildflowers and cattle basking in the sun.
From then on things got seriously bad and I decided I needed to get off the highway since I couldn't see much of anything.  Some cars were running with their emergency flashers on and I realized how much better I could see them - I turned mine on also. It was pretty wild, probably the worst storm I have driven in - a deluge of rain, high velocity crosswinds, lightning and thunder (I could hear it over the rain and the road noise), and there was a dense "up splash" from the trucks still going 65 - 70 mph.  I couldn't take it and when the next off ramp came in sight I took it.  It was only a county road, no services, but there was a non-functioning gas station with nobody around but a couple of 18-wheelers.  I pulled under the canopy that covers the defunct gas pumps - I could feel my stress level drop as the noise from the rain on the car roof stopped and I peeled my hands from the steering wheel.  Right after me came three more cars who pulled up next to the "non" pumps under the canopy.  We sat there about twenty minutes until the storm lessened.   I could not take any pictures as all my attention needed to be on just driving - what could be seen anyway?  It was just a white screen of water.   I decided I had had enough and exited the highway at Joplin, MO, booked a room at the Courtyard Suites (same hotel group as HIE, but no cinnamon rolls),  and ate at Starbuck's - a bacon breakfast sandwich and a latte.  When I checked into my room I did a few exercises and some relaxation movements, which helped, but I am still tense.  Guess I should go to bed.  The weather projection for I-40 is bad, so I don't know where I will be tomorrow night.  Maybe still here!
 

US-60 is not an Interstate and has only slightly restricted access.  It goes through a lot of little communities and there are many driveways/country roads that enter on both sides.  In the towns they have "Signal Ahead" signs that light up.  In the grey rectangle it says RED in red when the light is red.  I've not seen this anywhere but in Missouri.  But then , I have been everywhere!

Running away from home Part 1 (of 3) 11-01-12

Every year I think I will drive up to Bishop, CA., to enjoy the aspen trees when they don their golden leaves and every year something gets in the way.  Or I leave it until too late and winter sets in, stripping the trees and closing the passes over the Sierra.  Last month I decided to just go.  I thought I might drive over the mountains and pick up I-5 south, but the passes were all closed and I didn't feel I could drive up to I-80,  down to Sacramento and then all the way home - adding at least three days to my drive (since there is now a limit to how far I can drive in a day).  So, I was only gone for one night and retraced my route home. 


US 395 is a lonesome road that goes up the east side of the Sierra and is the main route from SCalifornia to the Mammoth ski area and Reno.  It is very much a lonesome road in the middle of the week in October.  The road sign is the turnoff to Randsburg - population 69, elevation 3500feet.   I wonder what people do for a living out here?  

More high desert road.  The yellow bushes on the right are rabbit brush which grows in the high desert between about 3000 to 8000 feet.  They bloom in the fall, adding to the yellow-gold color of autumn in the Sierra.  

The highest mountain in the contiguous states is Mt. Whitney (14,505 ft) located in the Sierra near the town of Lone Pine.  It may be somewhere in this picture!   84.6 miles west-southwest is the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park at 282 ft below sea level.

The Owens Valley runs between the Sierra on the west and several mountain ranges on the east.  On the right are the White Mountains, home of the Bristlecone pines which are the oldest growing things on Earth.

Sunset in Bishop the night I was there - this is taken looking west from the motel. The mountains are in the lower left.

 
I frequently stay at Holiday Inn Express because I feel safer (reason unknown) and I love the cinnamon rolls they serve hot as part of the breakfast-included (not really "free", huh?).  I have not stayed at the one in Bishop before and will not again unless they can give me a room on the first floor.  There is an elevator, but it is located at one end of the building.  One must walk from the lobby near the west end to the east end of the building, go up the elevator and then walk the hall to one's room.  I took this picture from in front of my door looking back at the elevator at the end of the hall.   I may need the exercise, but I'd like to choose when I want to do it!  This carpet is not bad for a motel carpet - less jarring than most. 

To be continued.

#   #   #