"George Pollard" <george@hiwaay.net> wrote in message
news:BPmdnZrYq9hapS_VnZ2dnUVZ_j-dnZ2d@posted.hiwaay2
> Wakko <wakko dot glenn@verizon.net> wrote:
>> Just rolled into home base from Washington. Many thanks to wonderful
>> hosts Snarl and Jeanne.
>> As uneventful as the outbound trip was, the homeward bound leg was
>> quite exciting. More to come.
>
> That doesn't sound good. Details, please.
Let me tell you about the "Great Golden Spike Fire of 2008", northern Utah.
On the far horizon we can't tell if it's a dust storm or what. As we get
closer it seems a brush fire spanning dozens of acres is headed downwind
straight at the highway, the stiff wind whipping it into a frenzy. I back
off the traffic in front of me by hundred yards or so and check my six to
see if there are any vehicles behind. Nothing for a mile. Nobody else was
stopping. I surely wasn't going to stop.
I turn off the radio to listen for the sounds of a chain reaction crash that
easily could happen. The truck in front of me disappears into the smoke and
I follow him inside.
Fuck! Damn! I can't see 10 feet in front of me. I instinctively braked hard.
5 seconds doesn't sound like a long time but just imagine going down the
highway and closing your eyes for 5 seconds. It's longer than you think.
It clears and thickens again. Then clears a bit...just enough to see the
fire licking at the road. It's like a damn oven. Hot. Maybe too hot! I check
my arm to see if it's singeing hair. Well, my arm looks ok. And nothing else
seems like it's about to erupt into a ball of flame. Thank Utah's wide paved
shoulders.
About 300 yards of the highway was enshrouded by the fire. I call out to the
Mouse, "You ok? You see that? This is friggin intense!", as we continue
rolling through it.
Then like a curtain the smoke lifted. And then things became even more
surreal. This makes perfect sense to me now but I was completely
surprised...all the insects were fleeing the fire as well. Large
grasshoppers and crickets and bugs of all types. All of them. Swarms of all
of them. It was like someone was pelting us with handfulls of insects at a
time. And for every one that hit, a hundred were buzzing and whizzing and
sailing by our heads, near misses. I tried to snake the bike along a path to
avoid the thickest clouds and soon was on the other side of the valley were
we passed by the memorial to the joining of the west and east by rail.
Then we headed up into the Rockies were I discovered that the Mouse (who
isn't really thrilled by heights) was closing her eyes instead of enjoying
the view. How about that?!
--
"Wakko" NTXNS TOMKAT SENS PHS BS#257
Partay, Back from 
Linear Mode
