Twilight

The other night I traveled home from town during twilight--that magical hour between the time light fades and darkness descends. It's somewhat dangerous in my neck of the woods. My drive home is into the mountains. This means that at twilight, noctural wildlife is venturing across the highway to find dinner. It's also the time when the car's headlights don't quite work as well as they will come full dark.

I also have a lengthy construction zone to contend with. A two-lane stretch about three miles long has become a speed-reduced zone while preparations go forward for making this segment a divided highway. The preparations have included logging (with the resultant large trucks bearing logs pulling into the roadway), grading, earth-moving, and hauling of various materials.

An additional four miles of divided highway are marked for reduced speed, either as a run-up to the two-lane section, or further on, where a bridge repair has necessitated using only one side of the divided highway for two-way traffic. Fun!

Not that heavy vehicles have been scarce before. This state route bears traffic from I-40 south to Mesa, Arizona. Not only do 18-wheelers abound, but it is the route of choice for winter visitors driving large motor homes, as they come to and go from Arizona.

Road wear has run rampant in the original two-lane area, both because of the addition of all the heavy trucks hauling logs and materials, and due to winter weather. This wear is spelled g-i-a-n-t p-o-t-h-o-l-e-s.

Back to my trip home. Not only did I have to keep one eye peeled for small scurrying creatures darting out in front of me, but for larger quadrupeds of the elk and deer persuasion. The other eye had to view the road ahead to help me in trying to avoid the large chuckholes in the pavement. You can imagine how fun that was. Conjure the image of me with white-knuckles on the steering wheel.

I eventually arrived home, very glad to be safe and sound. Although I hit a fair amount of potholes--some of them are just plain invisible at twilight--I did avoid making contact with elk, raccoons, and skunks. Whew!

Now it's time for my every-six-months alignment.