The Road Home
☆ July 9, 2010
Incredible hospitality and loveliness notwithstanding, I was so excited to be heading home! I was like a barn-spoiled horse, lunging forward, straining at the bit, coiled and ready to be back just as soon as I could possibly get there.
I had been in the habit of filling my tank with gas first thing in the morning before setting out on each leg of my trip, but on the day I was returning home, I couldn’t stand the detour ~ I had half a tank as it was, and I knew I’d be stopping in Billings, Montana for an errand just two hours into my day’s journey, and that I could just as easily fill up there.
Famous last words.
The road to Billings was smooth and quick but I got a bit lost while in Billings, and was so focused on finding my way out of town (and on the road home), I forgot all about getting gas.
Now, there is but one road from Billings to the Wyoming border where I must cross it, and it is a dislikeable road. I first rode this road on my Vespa in 2005 and I disliked it then, and it has not improved. It’s two lanes, one in each direction, straight, flat, interminable, and there is always traffic. Lots of annoying speeding cars and lots of slow RV’s and lots of big rigs just doin’ what they do.
I am not a reckless driver. It’s just not worth it. It irritates me when people act like cars are toys. So, even though I was achingly anxious to get home, when I ended up behind a semi that was driving rightright behind another semi, I gritted my teeth and hung out where I was.
There were opportunities when I could have passed the semi directly in front of me, but there was no room for me to fit between him and the semi in front of him and no way for me to pass them both at once. So there I was and there I stayed, drafting a semi that was drafting a semi at a steady 53 mph (when I could have been going 70).
I kept wanting to hate the semi in front of me but every time I tried to, I was overtaken by a nagging feeling that I should be grateful to it. I had no idea why I was feeling this, and so I compromised by being reluctantly annoyed.
As we began to approach the Wyoming border, a desolate stretch of road free of towns and human life, I glanced down at my dash. And I saw my gas gauge needle hanging limply below the red. I had forgotten to get gas in Billings! And now I was in the middle of nowhere.
Obscenities flashed through my mind and I held my breath, held it for ten miles, each roll of the odometer bringing me closer to the town of Frannie, Wyoming, yet also closer to asphyxiation. I reached Frannie. There was an ancient gas pump in a gravel lot with a broken down rusted out car angled in front of it, a futile hope, but I pulled into the tobacco shop across the street and ran in barefoot with my truck idling, to ask (rather frantically) if the pump was functional.
Nope! Gas could be procured 30 miles to the north or 8 miles to the south. But I had at least reached Wyoming, and even though I’d never met the people in the tobacco store before, they treated me as family. “Don’t worry,” said the trucker at the counter when I wondered out loud about the possibility of coasting south. “I’m headed that direction and I’ll keep an eye out for you!” So at the very worst, I had an angel willing to run me to town and back for a gas can of go juice should my trusty truck putter out. An angel driving a big rig, to boot!
And let me take a moment to state the obvious: I can be such a blond sometimes! The truth is I detest stopping for gas ~ it’s been an aversion of mine ever since I started driving. My first car, my wonderful little ’67 Bug, had a reserve tank. So when the main tank was totally depleted, I could just push a lever and then have the reserve tank to run from. But there was no gauge for the reserve tank and I’d push the limit so often, and ran out of gas so often, and had to hitch to a gas station so often, I took to carrying a gas can in my Bug’s tiny boot.
Anyway. I made it eight more miles. Miraculously. I made it all the way to a gas station and it had everything to do with the semi I had been trapped behind for so long. If I hadn’t been drafting him for hours, and if I had been going 70 instead of 50mph, I know I would have run out of gas in the desolate zone north of the Wyoming border.
Moral Of The Story: If you aren’t getting what you do want, perhaps it’s because you’re being protected from something you really don’t want!
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52 Responses to “The Road Home”
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July 9th, 2010 @ 6:31 am
Great post- shows while we “think” we want one thing, we are being guided to what we “need”..glad you’re home dafe & sound..:-)
July 9th, 2010 @ 6:46 am
Amen! As The Stones say: “You can’t always get what you want
And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need”
July 9th, 2010 @ 6:50 am
What a lovely lesson to learn. When I was in my 30s and a sales rep with many hours spent on the road, I had numerous similar experiences and came to cherish them as proof that some higher power was looking out for me. I’m now in my mid-60s and moments like that still happen. I just laugh and say thank you to my angels. We can all be lucky if we just relax and let the good luck come to us. Thanks Shreve for sharing and I’m sure you will find more and more of these experiences throughout your life. Remember and cherish them.
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:05 am
What great rationale. And I agree with Kay it seems some things just work out for the best. Was unable to get the job I really wanted recently and yet another job presented itself and has given me the opportunity to do more of the things I really enjoy. More time with my canines and equines and volunteering for a large animal rescue and a wildlife center. Had I go the first job this would not have been possible because it was working nights as an RN in a large trauma center—-been there done that. This is all days and home early in the PM.
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:07 am
It makes me so happy when others realise this important lesson! Wonderful post, said much better than I ever could.
Glad your journey was safe…and slightly educational!
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:09 am
Colleen I agree! Your post and Shreve’s experience remind me of my favorite Rolling Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” It’s the theme song that always pops into my head when a force greater than me seems to takes over. Though it can be irritating/ frustrating/sad/angering/etc. at the time, I always seem to find out why things didn’t go the way I wanted them to in the end, and I’m thankful!
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:23 am
Lol nice one Patr, good lyrics =)
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:25 am
I enjoyed reading about your venture; I, too, have just gotten back from MT (my near future home).. presently working on 100s of photos taken..all from Flathead and Glacier Counties.
Someday, perhaps, WY will be in my travels(?)
Shreve, you’ll be happy to know that I left your book “The Daily Coyote” with my sis-in-law as a “thank you” for sitting my Aussie Cattle Dog while I was away; which I understand was more of a joy than any chore.
I’ve been curious all along (don’t laugh! ok, laugh!)..how is your name pronounced (Shreh-vay, or, Shreevee?) I am thinking it’s the first, hmm.
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:27 am
Thank you so much for your post, Shreve. I drink in every word of yours I can find. There is something about your writing that fills a hole in the soul (sounds like the title of a book, doesn’t it). Now my thirst is quenched again for a time.
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:27 am
Shreve, one syllable, rhymes with Eve :)
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:40 am
It’s always nice to find out that something you had seen as a negative was definitely affecting you positively, too, you just didn’t see it yet :) I’m glad you made it to the gas station! I know how much it would kill you to just be stuck until help arrived.
July 9th, 2010 @ 8:17 am
I’ve heard of “spiritual flat tires”–where a flat tire has kept someone from a far worse fate. So, maybe you had the equivalent, by being slowed down by the big trucks.
I imagine as Bethany reads this, she has a knowing smile on her face while she slowly nods her head.
July 9th, 2010 @ 9:08 am
You are soooo right about being made to wait for something so wanted. Food for thought this morning. Thank you!!!!
July 9th, 2010 @ 9:26 am
I deplore stopping for gas as well, whether its in town or on a trip – what is that all about – boring interruption perhaps, not sure…wonder if its a human condition or a personality issue
July 9th, 2010 @ 9:54 am
YES! Loved the moral. Thanks for the story.
July 9th, 2010 @ 9:59 am
Ahh, I remember your bug and van! Coming home is the best. There is a certain pause to life when arriving HOME!
July 9th, 2010 @ 10:05 am
Excellent post Shreve! I too have been in a similar situation in WYO…between Lusk and Newcastle. It is such a scary feeling when you figure out you forgot! Anyways glad you made it!
July 9th, 2010 @ 10:11 am
Loved it!
July 9th, 2010 @ 10:26 am
Reminds me of a fave Dead lyric….
“Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.”
July 9th, 2010 @ 10:29 am
Kate!! Wasn’t it you with me in the Bug when I caught my shirt on fire?
July 9th, 2010 @ 10:29 am
Patr! I was humming that song while reading this post. ha ha.
July 9th, 2010 @ 10:34 am
:D Yes.
Great story, and so glad it all worked out for you on your way home!
July 9th, 2010 @ 11:11 am
I do not know how to pump gas, is that insane or what, I am petrified of gas pumps.I am afraid to set myself on fire. Can you imagine the embarrassment, I ask the gas attendants and they always help me and give me a tutorial, also kids and gentlemen are always helpful and give me a tutorial as well. I had thousands of lovely tutorials at the pump. One of these days I will do it, I better, in my late 50’s I better start going at it, you think…..Passing 2 rigs at once on a 2 lane road is not in the cards for me either… Driving alone, one must be extra careful and big rigs drivers are always helpful, I find.
July 9th, 2010 @ 11:15 am
Shreve,,,,I love reading every word you write! am living thru you, in a sense.
July 9th, 2010 @ 11:56 am
Really, really good post and loved the ‘moral of the story’ at the end.
July 9th, 2010 @ 12:06 pm
~rolls eyes~ lol
July 9th, 2010 @ 1:23 pm
OMG! This post is so ironic. I just ran out of gas today…on the hottest day we have had yet so far. I walked about a mile to the gas station and low and behold there were bags on all the pumps and the station was closed…needless to say, I called a friend and she rescued me.
July 9th, 2010 @ 1:46 pm
I intensely dislike the highway from Laurel MT to the WY state line – way too many cars and bad drivers! Nice post. Hey – Daisy cow is a grandma again – my Molly had an Angus cross bull calf yesterday!
July 9th, 2010 @ 1:58 pm
Cool story – from another decade!! Don’t you have AAA and a cell phone?
(P.S. I LOVE getting gas. Love everything about it: stopping the car, popping open the gas latch, talking to the people, swiping the card – or handing over the cash, looking at all the odd little snacks and sodas, washing off the windows, watching the numbers rack up, then getting back on the road as the car lights flash and go PEEP. It is the most grownup I ever feel!)
July 9th, 2010 @ 2:08 pm
catherine, you should move to NJ, it is illegal for consumers to pump their own gas there. Of course, then you would live in NJ.
Great story, Shreve.
July 9th, 2010 @ 2:17 pm
E – I got rid of my cell phone 5 years ago, and AAA is preeety useless out here……. so no, I don’t have that either.
N – Oregon, too! I used to LOVE driving though Oregon because, even though I still had to stop for gas, all I had to do was stop and everything else was taken care of! Even checking of oil and washing of windows :)
July 9th, 2010 @ 2:45 pm
Re: AAA, cells – I got stuck in the sand near Caballo Lake in New Mexico, which is, like, the middle of nowhere. It was nighttime, and when I called AAA to ask if someone could haul my ass out of there in the morning, they insisted on coming right out! 27 minutes later I’m learning how to drive backwards, how to get my own self out of sand, and hearing some pretty funny jokes. I’d say: the 21st century can rock.
July 9th, 2010 @ 3:11 pm
Yep. Drafting and going 53 saved you. That boosted your mpg way up.
I drive a Prius, so I know quite a few mileage boosting tricks and practice them regularly.
Truckers are nice and generous people. But I don’t think it hurt that you were female, young, blonde and pretty.
Now that I drive a Prius, I actually look for big rigs to draft behind. Not only does it save me gas, but I can also drive below the speed limit and not risk being honked at by impatient speeders behind me. Sometimes I’ll drive in front of them so I can see the road ahead, but still drive below the speed limit. Since the trucks are already going slow, they’re not going to bother me to speed up.
When radio reception is bad, the best thing to improve a boring road trip is a lot of CDs if you have a CD player. Both of my previous cars had tape decks for the same reason. If I didn’t have that, I’d certainly own an iPod for long road trips.
July 9th, 2010 @ 4:51 pm
Enjoyable post, and I agree completely with the moral of the story, Shreve! Keep on truckin’, as we used to say a few decades ago!
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:19 pm
What a fantastic post.
About 10 years ago I was at work, when I got a call from my mum to say that her house was on fire. I headed out there straight away, only to be stuck behind a truck going up the hills outside of Perth. Instead of getting frustrated, I actually thanked the trucker. Instead of racing up there in my worry, and potentially having a crash, I was forced to calm down and stick to the limit, and so arrive safely, and able to help out my family. The house was gone, but everyone was safe. What do they say, Less haste, more speed.
July 9th, 2010 @ 7:21 pm
Sweet Shreve, such a lovely allegory of our energy future.
July 9th, 2010 @ 8:06 pm
I love love love (and am a tiny bit envious of) how you can turn anything and everything into a fabulous story that gets me so sucked in I’m looking up Billings, MT on google maps and following you across the border to Frannie, looking at the “street view” so I can get a visual of the long desolate highway (I like visuals). I’m glad you made home without running of gas. I can’t usually be bothered to get gas either, until it becomes an absolute necessity.
I’m still hoping you’ll turn vespa vagabond into a book someday. I love your story telling/writing style.
July 9th, 2010 @ 8:49 pm
Yep, what is it about stopping for gas? Not a bad chore but one of those I hate to do as well. I had a 67 Bug too! But I don’t remember a reserve tank – Dad was either holding out on me or we had a lower model… : )
Ok, I’m from the south, and no matter how I say your name Shreve, it comes out as more than 1 syllable – I’m sorry – it’s just that southern accent — hahaha. It is such a pretty name.
July 9th, 2010 @ 11:59 pm
reminds me of Garth Brooks’ “unanswered prayers”
sometimes there simply is something else going on thats larger than what us and our simple plans.
abiding by our ps & qs doesn’t hurt the situation any either ;-)
July 10th, 2010 @ 9:59 am
Glad you made it safely home! Must have felt like heaven to see your place, your cowboy and every single member of the farmily. Several times during my long road trips I have cut it too close and run the car on prayer. BTW, Utah has vast expanses of absolutely nothing and even prayer couldn’t get my car to keep moving. Have run out of gas twice, and each time had to wait a long time for my road service to arrive. So… blinked twice and said, “it’s ok, just BE here” and enjoyed wonderful scenery. Love semis because they are usually very good drivers, and when I’m driving in heavy wind or a blizzard, I tuck myself behind one and never leave my little nest of protection.
July 10th, 2010 @ 12:40 pm
Shreve: I absolutely know some great online sources to learn to crochet.
Do you want to learn short hook or long hook? I am a member of the Tunisian Crochet group on Yahoo. It uses a long hook and can look just like knitting or not, depending on the stitch. It’s run by two crochet hook authors: Kim Guzman and ARnie Grabowski. Plenty of beginners join and learn to crochet with the long Tunisian hook.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tunisiancrochet/
There are plenty of files and links to resources for directions, patterns, supplies, etc. If you’ve got a mailbox, you can get any hook you want. If you have internet, you can download a patter. And Arnie and Kim are always there to answer any question and help people. It’s a really nice group.
July 10th, 2010 @ 12:48 pm
I love the way you think.
I love the photo of that gorgeous dog on the green green grass.
July 10th, 2010 @ 8:11 pm
I have been saved by truckers numerous times. I used to want to drive truck when I was a little kid, much to the chagrin of my mom, so I think I have good trucker karma. One time in particular, I was 19 broken down on hwy 80 in Wyoming in late November at 11:30 at night in my 72 Ford Bronco, freezing my ass off, driving with a sleeping bag over me. When my truck died I freaked, but 15 minutes later a truck driver stopped for me across the highway and gave me a lift to Laramie. I was really lucky. Uhh, random story, but anyway I loved this post!
July 10th, 2010 @ 10:21 pm
I have had the same sort of experience so many times, when seeming obstacles turn out to have led to good fortune. When in the midst of something that’s not going my way, as I’m fussing & fuming, I try to remember that, & go with the flow as best I can.
July 11th, 2010 @ 10:30 am
LOL :) Great story with great moral
July 11th, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
Great post Shreve! Although, I too hate when anyone rides too close together, I’m glad they saved you from running out of gas!
I wish everyone knew just how unsafe it is (car or semi) to ride too close together. It makes it very hard and unsafe to pass and sadly, a lot of people will risk both their own safety as well as your own, to do the passing, rather than riding it out.
You and I are SO alike in that I will wait until I’m running on fumes before I stop for gas/diesel…. It’s always such an inconvenience. Luckily I can go around 900 miles in Rosie, before I have to stop!
So glad you made it home safe and sound. I’ll be headed to Wy later this week…. I’ll let you know if I get close!
July 12th, 2010 @ 5:07 pm
People who drive for a living are often the best people to share the road with! It’s very rare that I see a big-rig driver doing something asinine or even unpredictable. Wish I could say the same for the other four-wheel drivers on the road!
July 16th, 2010 @ 9:24 am
GREAT moral to the story, and so true…
July 16th, 2010 @ 8:30 pm
Goodness! Once I was driving through the central valley of California, and on one (several hundred mile) length of road, there are only two gas stations within fifteen miles of eachother right in the middle of this length. As it turns out, I had severely miscalculated how much gas I had left, and when I got to the first of the two, I only had seventeen gallons left. To my terror, this gas station had completely lost power, and so it seemed likely that the other would as well, considering their close proximity. Thankfully, the other did in fact have power, but I was so horrified! Your experience sounds even worse, and I’m so glad that you made it safely!
July 17th, 2010 @ 7:57 pm
Reminds me of a camping trip we took maybe 15 yrs ago: me, the husband, our 6 kids between 12 & 5, a dog….Anyways, after a week of camping in the Rockies & Cheyenne, it was time to head home. I was in the mood to drive & after a few hrs, all the other occupants were fast asleep…just me alone with my thoughts & some cigarettes & colas, moving happily along till I looked at the dash: close to empty. It’s about midnight, I’m on an empty highway, with nothing in sight. Oh well, what other choice but to keep on? I saw an exit for a small town & pulled off but no luck, the only thing open was the local saloon, all else closed up tight. So I get back on the road, decided to ‘Let Go & Let God’ (got that from my very religious cousin) and finally spotted a huge light in the distance. A TRUCK STOP. I bet that van was running on fumes. I was so slaphappy filling her up, I babbled on to the guy nearby who instructed me to “Fill up whenever you see a gas station out west” cuz you never know when you’ll see another. No one woke till I drove across the Mississippi, making sure to take his advice.
July 17th, 2010 @ 10:03 pm
You said, “As we approached the Wyoming border…”…Who was with you? Eli? Chloe? Great story…
July 18th, 2010 @ 6:46 am
D ~ we = me + the two big rigs! :)