So you're driving along on this nice highway, and you see something like this, where the pavement is gone and this section just turns to dirt...
OK, not too bad, just have to slow down a little. Then there's areas like this -- again not too bad, except that a year ago it was a pretty nice highway.
And then you have these hidden gems. Barely any sign of a problem, except that half your lane is covered in weeds, and as you drive by you can see there's simply no road there any more.
Other areas are a bit more obvious. You see the edges crumbling away, and suddenly the entire lane is gone...
Same with this area. The culverts show how far the lane and embankment used to extend out.
We seem to be missing some dirt here...
This is right in front of those trees. The water is only 8-10 feet wide. The whole thing is less than 18" deep.
It's not deep, but it moves fast because of the slope. As long as you test your footing for slick rocks, you can walk right across.
Of course there are some areas where you shouldn't even try to cross...
There are a lot of areas where the damage was more impressive, but there's simply no place to pull off the road so I could take pics. In a few spots, if there is an oncoming car you have to get over right to the edge, and all you can see is the drop-off where the pavements has already fallen away and it doesn't look like anything is holding up the edge you are diving on. Then you get back to a section where the highway is completely untouched, you get back up to 55, come around a corner and suddenly slam on the brakes because there's no road again. All of the speed limit signs have either washed away or been covered over. There simply is no 'safe' speed to be posted.
This isn't really an "off-road" area, but it was a really nice drive. The truck is handling great on the hills with the new gears, and coming back down again, when I downshift it actually coasts at suitable speeds rather than "too fast" or "too slow". There is still a surprising amount of traffic in this area, and the damn bicyclists are making it more dangerous when they insist on riding in the center of the lane and forcing people around them in repaired areas. But this is a beautiful time of year -- the leaves are about to start turning, the air is crisp without being cold, and we've had rain this week so the ground isn't bone-dry. I took my 15-year-old dog with me (dalmation/terrier mix). She's just too old to jump in and out of the truck any longer, but she still enjoys running around down by the water. She looks like she's worn out from today's trip though
