| Cross-Country Ramble 31:
Roads and Bridges Date: 3/12/98 8:46:49 AM Eastern Standard
Time
Ken and I head north out of High Island on Texas 124 under blue
sky. The 20-mph gusting westerly winds require all my concentration
to stay on the road. A lapse and I find myself blown off the
six-foot wide shoulder onto the grass. Back onto the road and
looming up ahead is the high bridge across the Intracoastal
Waterway. This will be the second time we have crossed the
Intracoastal Waterway.
The first time was on I-45 going into Galveston. That time I had
worried all day about it. Would there be a shoulder? Would the
trucks get so close their wind would suck us under? As it turned
out, the shoulder was wide. Hundreds of cars and trucks went by as
we climbed the hundred feet to the top. They gave us wide berth but
I was grateful to get off the thing alive.
This time the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge was beginning the day.
There wasn't much time to worry about it. Ken and I started our
climb up the 176 feet. The gusting wind and our slow speed require
all our effort to stay upright. Finally, about 3/4 of the way up, we
just can't stay upright any longer. We get off and walk to the top.
We coast back down to the marshland relishing the speed.
Last year's still-brown marsh grasses do little to shield us from
the wind. However, wild flowers are sprouting out along the
roadside. Pink asters line both sides of the road. Wild purple
verbena and dandelions are occasionally intertwined among them. One
particularly spectacular wildflower I see is a thistle. Its leaves
are wine colored. It is about 12 inches tall and the thistle flower
seems to be about 4 of those inches. In bloom, it is a terrific
lavender.
In the marshlands we see egrets, herons, red-winged black birds,
and ducks. Unfortunately, we also see a lot of roadkill as well,
opossums snakes and turtles, but mostly cats and dogs. I feel sad
when I imagine the owners finding their pet dead on the road. I
wonder why they didn't restrain their pets when they let them out.
Just a little restriction and the pet would still be alive.
Yesterday, to get from Texas to Louisiana, we had to take the
I-10 bridge across the Sabine River. It was a terrifying experience.
The shoulder was two feet wide and littered with automotive
junk--like bolts, metal strips and pieces of tire. Traffic was heavy
and fast. Cars, motor homes, and truck whish past us. Although most
did move over to give us a little space, I hold tightly to the
handle bars and steer as evenly as I can, knowing if I veer much or,
God forbid, fall, I will be joining the other dead animals on the
highway. As we rolled into the Louisiana Welcome Center, I vowed I'd
NEVER do that again.
Carol
Itinerary (days from Ventura, CA, in ( )'s)
- Day 4 (63) High Island, TX
- Day 5 (64) Winnie, TX
- Day 6 (65) Port Arthur, TX
- Day 7 (66) Toomey, LA
- Day 8 (67) DeQuincy, LA
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