Debbie Croft: Traffic jams and hogging the road – country-style

This time of year the roads winding upward through the hills can lure us away from city and freeway traffic. But driving in the country requires alertness for different reasons.

Rainfall in the Valley can quickly turn to hail or snow in the higher elevations.

While driving in rural or mountain areas, watch for the critters. Especially watch for indecisive ground squirrels running across the long stretch of highway between Snelling and Merced. I’ve hit a few, and I’m always sorry.

At night the opossums, raccoons and skunks are out. You could also see deer, wild pigs, scared rabbits, feral cats and a stray dog.

Sometimes a cattle roundup takes up both lanes, accompanied by excited dogs, horses and riders. And a few hungry cows might find greener grass outside the fence. Wandering onto the road, they don’t know how or when to get out of the way.

The sheriff’s deputies get involved, at times.

Traffic jams might be caused by a flock of flustered, undignified turkeys in the road. (I personally think they resemble World War II B-24 heavy bomber planes while flapping their noisy wings and lumbering into the treetops behind our house.)

On the Smithsonian magazine’s website, Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter to his daughter his opinions of the bald eagle and turkey:

“For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character … for the truth the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America … He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on.”

I do know this: A flock of eagles would never cause a traffic jam. And they don’t stand around preening, or strut down the fashion runway just so folks can admire their plumage.

While visiting our neighborhoods, don’t be surprised to look out the window and see a cow trotting beside you.

One night while driving near Mariposa, my headlights caught a pair of eyes. From where I sat it looked like a small critter stood on the other side of the road. But as the road turned and I got closer, the pair of eyes belonged to a bear standing in my lane! I had just enough time to swerve out of the way.

Nature itself causes problems. Road closures, caused by wildfires or mud and rocks piled on the asphalt, can leave you stranded and waiting, or left with no option but to turn around and find another (longer) way to get where you’re going.

It’s not only boulders that stop traffic, though. A rock the size of a softball or soccer ball can loosen from the hillside and tumble onto the road. During a rainstorm or in the dark a driver might not see it until it’s too late – and a tire is ruined.

Bicyclists travel the roads through our neighborhood to enjoy the views and a challenging ride uphill. We appreciate their consideration by staying close to the shoulder and motioning us around when they see it’s clear ahead.

Two decades ago I bought my first cellphone, thrilled to have a way to keep in touch on long trips between Arizona and California. But I forgot about the Mojave Desert. That great expanse of boring, ugly nothingness, where at the time no cell coverage existed.

With hilltops and mountain peaks to get in the way, cellphones don’t always work up here, either.

Life in a ghost town means every trip takes me out of town, except to check the mail. Having our car serviced, meeting friends for coffee, commuting to my other job, filling the gas tank, going to school and church, errands to the dry cleaner’s or library, shopping, dining out – everything.

Our insurance company offers free towing within a certain mile radius. Yay for free towing! Especially when you live in the middle of nowhere. But one day when I had really thought this through, I realized our policy needed upgrading.

Because 5 miles from the middle of nowhere is still the middle of nowhere.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Debbie Croft: Traffic jams and hogging the road – country-style."