Road noise

And the prodigal returns.

I realize that nothing, not even US highways, are forever — consider the bloody dismemberment of Route 66 in favor of a fistful of Interstates — but how many signs can you slap on one road? There's a stretch of I-35 through southern Johnson County, Kansas that's also signed US 50, US 56 and US 169. And they wonder why they needed those extra lanes.

They call it the Bedlam Series, the annual meetings between the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, and no matter what the sport — for all I know, they might compete in intercollegiate saxophone-polishing — the turnout is high. How high? I was southbound on I-35 at Oklahoma 51, the major route to Stillwater, and northbound traffic trying to exit onto 51 was backed up approximately 10.3 miles (figure 12:46 for "Black Cow", skipping "Aja", then "Deacon Blues", divided by 74 mph).

Speaking of 74 mph, turnpike service areas are your friend. Yes, they charge a few cents extra per gallon. On the other hand, when states like Kansas which are now putting entry time to the exact second on toll tickets figure out that they can compute your average speed when you turn in that ticket, a few minutes' layover at Phillips 66 may be just the thing that keeps your average speed below the speed limit. Of course, you can crawl along at 62 mph, but this irritates everyone else.

So much for tales of the turnpike. Regular bloggage resumes whenever.

Posted at 4:36 PM to Driver's Seat