….every morning….and every afternoon….this would be your two-and-a-half mile twice-daily commute.
Down the steep, steep driveway.
And out the road to the first creek crossing.
And the second creek.
And the third creek. (Relax! This is the last one! Look at the trees and squirrels and wild turkeys and birds! It’s GORGEOUS!)
Then up the hill.
By the way, occasionally you will come across another car driving in the opposite direction. Somebody is gonna have to figure out how to find room to pull over without going over a cliff. Sometimes this involves driving backward for 1/4 mile till you find a spot. Here are the rules:
1. If the other driver is a guy, he totally has to be the one to pull over.
2. Man or woman, if they have a 4wd to match your 4wd, they have to pull over.
3. If they don’t have a 4wd (aka they are from the city), you will have to pull over. But only then.
I made these rules up all by my sissy, scaredy-cat self and they are based on the fact that I am from the city. So you have to be from the city, like, fresher than me for me to pull over. How do I know? Ha. I can so tell….. Like, you’re probably not driving a 4wd. And you’re probably driving 2 miles an hour even if you are driving a 4wd cuz you don’t know that you can drive a whole 15 mph on this road. And, plus, you look more scared than me of pulling over.
And over the hill.
And down the hill.
To where the creek behaves and runs beside the road instead of in it.
To the stop sign at the intersection with the hard road. Because there is a LOT of traffic and we need to STOP.
And out the winding hard road another 1/2 mile.
To the old farmhouse where the schoolbus stops.
And this girl will stomp up to your car window and say, “You are LATE! I’ve been WAITING for you! WHY are you LATE?”
And if I were you, I would totally say, “There was a tree across the road and I had to cut it down with a nail file and organize an army of ants to carry it away on their backs one speck at a time.”
Because I sure wouldn’t admit I was late cuz I’d been taking pictures.
CONTEST WINNER of the $50 Amazon gift certificate!
Using a random number generator, inputting 1-208 (number of entries posted by noon Sunday Eastern time), this was the result:
Research Randomizer Results
1 Set of 1 Unique Numbers Per Set
Range: From 1 to 208 — Unsorted
143
Comment #143 is Dava! (Click the Contact button at the top of the sidebar to email me!)
Thank you so much for playing! By the way, I had the best time reading your VW bug stories!!! I’ll be hosting another contest soon, so stick around!
😎
Carolyn says:
Congratulations Dava! xxoo
On May 12, 2008 at 6:13 am
Becky says:
If she were bad you could SO threaten here with the walk to and from the bus stop.
Congratulations Dava!
On May 12, 2008 at 6:41 am
Kim A. says:
Now that’s a daily commute I’d love!
Congratulations, Dava!
-Kim
On May 12, 2008 at 7:45 am
Kacey says:
I’m thinking a long walk would be good for Princess now and again…
What’s a measly 2.5 mile hike through creeks and up and down hills to a healthy growing girl child?? :yes:
The drive looks lovely!
On May 12, 2008 at 8:50 am
wkf says:
Congrats Dava! :flying:
On May 12, 2008 at 9:04 am
Robin G. says:
I concur with the above posters — 2.5 miles is a perfectly acceptable walk, especially through such loveliness. Or she could always bike.
On May 12, 2008 at 9:11 am
Treasia says:
It’s a beautiful drive you get to go on each day.
On May 12, 2008 at 9:50 am
Kim W says:
Country roads, take me home!! I just LOVE driving down those kinds of roads…that’s why we are moving inch by inch farther out. We’ve lived JUST inside the town limits of a little village, 1/4 miles from roads like this. But…we still hold out hope that the good Lord will allow us to find an awesome – or BUILD an awesome – country home. Farmboy hubby and I miss those drives
Blessings from Ohio…
On May 12, 2008 at 10:16 am
Granny Sue says:
Okay, your road etiquette is a little different! Here’s what happens on my road:
*if you’re coming down the hill and someone is coming up, you’ve got to move over and let ’em by.
*the one closest to a wide spot on the flatter sections of road has to pull over or back up.
*if you ain’t from here, we’ll figure it out by the way you stop dead in the road when another vehicle approaches, or by the way you hog the entire road and keep on coming, assuming that of course you have the right to do so. We’ll move over or back up as needed, but you might not get the usual friendly wave. And you won’t know to do the thing listed next:
*if someone pulls over for you, you should wave or give a little tap on the horn to say thanks.
*you should never ever use other sign language when you get irritated with someone who ain’t from here and doesn’t know the rules.
*if you meet your neighbor on the road, you can both stop and talk until the next car comes. Then you should move on. Unless, of course, they get out of their car and join the conversation.
*if you see someone with car trouble, stuck in the ditch or whatever, you must stop to help. If you can’t help, you can commiserate or offer to go find someone with tractor and/or tools. You should never, ever simply wave and go by. That’s rude and your payback will come when you’re broke down, believe me.
*men must stop to look at deer. Women usually don’t bother–the deer are in the road enough to see them quite well. Some men will have head-on collisions in the middle of a one-lane dirt road with total traffic of about 20 cars a day because they’re looking at deer (ask my husband and the neighbor he met on our road). It’s safer to let them stop and look.
*men must try to get out if it snows or floods. They just must, I don’t know why. Even if they have nowhere to go, they will want to see if they can get through.
‘Course, this is Jackson County etiquette. Roane County might be a little different!
On May 12, 2008 at 11:56 am
Gina says:
I love all the pictures you post!
On May 12, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Dava says:
Thanks everybody! I was in a state of disbelief when I saw my name! Thanks Suzanne! :snoopy:
I love your road. I sure wish mine looked like that rather than being a busy state highway.
Dava, who is still trying to learn how to use the cute little avatars!
On May 12, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Lucy says:
Pleeeeezzzze let me come and live there. I love the road, the streams, the house, the cats, the kids, the trees, all of it. I will be your nanny or housekeeper or sweep the barns. Annnhyyyytttthhhiiinnng. I CAN COOK!!!
Lucky you. As you can tell… I would leave Arizona for just about any reason. Well. not prison. Prison is not on the list. No I won’t for that reason. I sure do like keeping up with your blog. Thanks.
On May 12, 2008 at 12:58 pm
catslady says:
“Over the river and through the woods…” Great pics and I soooooo would be the one to stop dead in my tracks scared to do anything lol. I especially enjoyed the stop sign which looks like it’s out in the middle of no where.
On May 12, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Christine says:
Um, what kind of drugs are you on exactly? 😆 I’m concerned you might get washed away never mind the pulling over! :drowning:
On May 12, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Amy Addison says:
Congratulations, Dava!
Did she buy the tree-across-the-road story?
Great, great pictures. My only thought was…oh, how pretty. Too bad I have allergies and would have gone over the cliff cuz I’d be sneezing my head off!
On May 12, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Susan says:
Congratulations, Dava!
I wouldn’t tell Princess I was taking pictures either. 😮 Do you mind if I adopt your rules for the roads around here? I really like them! :shimmy:
On May 12, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Sue Ann says:
Thanks for my first good laugh of the day. Born in Gandeeville, moved to the BIG CITY(Parkersburg, Vienna) when I was eight, but spent every summer in Gandeeville until I was married. Now I am stuck in Virginia, not Northern VA (DC AREA) but close enough. Remember those roads well. :rotfl:
On May 12, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Tori Lennox says:
The pictures are absolutely gorgeous, Suzanne!!!
Congrats, Dava!!!
On May 12, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Donna says:
LOL I love how you narrate your kids. LOL That Princess is so cute! Ha! Wow, the forrest is so gorgeous around your home/area…I Love land and forrests. I hope I am spelling Forrest right. One of my nephews names’ is Forest and I get confused now. LOL Anyway, I LOVED the forrests in Germany, with cold water springs around to stop and drink from…I loved the El Yunque rain forrest in Puerto Rico (if nothing else LOL)…I hate it when I see them clearing out land here, by the day, to build shopping centers, more 10 story apartment mazes…strip malls with one too many nail places in it….yada…we need to appreciate our forrests!!!! I LOVE the kitty above your cabinet. LOL So cute. Little Stinky! You should have a contest to count your refridg. magnets there. Looks like you have PLENTY. Ha!
On May 12, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Estella says:
Great pics, Suzanne!
Congrats, Dava!
On May 12, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Shimmy Mom says:
What a beautiful drive. I could handle two miles of THAT everyday! (Minus the cranky 12 year old at the end. I get enough of that with the 4 Perfectly wonderful pews of my own.)
On May 12, 2008 at 4:13 pm
hawkswench says:
LOL I’m sorry I would be driving up the sides slightly when I could to widen out the road in more places. I don’t take kindly to having to pull over or backing up 🙂
On May 12, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Dene says:
Thanks so much for the beautiful photos, it keeps my dream alive! I now see where they got the phrase ‘if the creek don’t rise’!
On May 12, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Lexi Connor says:
Wow, beautiful pictures, Suzanne!
On May 12, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Ann from Montana says:
It got green!!! Beautiful!
On May 12, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Heidi says:
Over the creek and through to wood to Su-zee’s house we go…princess knows the way, so dont go astray or she will surley know!!! LOL 🙂 sorry, that all I could come up with..LOL
On May 12, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Maria says:
SO enjoyed this post…as well as your chicken house with a roof on it. “The Chicken Shack” as I think of it…and the loverly photos of the kids when they were little…completely sweet. I barely recognize that teenager who is dissing you for being late to pick her up!!
On May 12, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Amber says:
Is it a creek or a crick? I always get those confused? 😆
On May 12, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Brandy says:
I wish we lived that far up, or down somewhere. *g*
Congratulations Dava!
On May 12, 2008 at 10:16 pm
sc says:
Wow, everything is so green and beautiful! I can smell the oxygen. I love how you have the truth behind the ‘uphill to school and back’ dialogue we give our kids when they get to feeling hard-done-by. It must be really hard not to dawdle on the way.
Congratulations Dava!
On May 13, 2008 at 9:02 am