The Road Less Travelled

[uno,dos,3]

I arrived home last night from my winter 'escape from Wisconsin'. 

Went through Utah, which is a gorgeous, sparsely populated  State. Most of the exits I passed had signs that stated 'No Service'....big whoop! I was pretty much serviced out by the 'play for pay ladies in Las Vegas. Rather then being a State I think Utah should become one big national park.

Colorado was another matter altogether. I saw a sign that said Beaver Crossing....being a red blooded American male I immediately pulled off (the road) and awaited, with great anticipation, the march of the beavers.........but apparently there are no Beavers marching in the month of March........I was immensely disappointed as I was imagining that any place marketing beavers would be the ideal tourist trap for a fellow of my bent. Onward I went arriving in Vail Colorado on Sunday afternoon.....big mistake! Like lemmings a gaggle of Denver tourists were leaving the ski hills and heading home....5 miles an hour for 15 miles.....that 3 HOURS for you math impaired members.....I was forced to pee in a LARGE cup at the 2 2/2 hour mark....the women next to me looked over with a smirk......I smiled and gave her the old thumbs up (always the people person).

Nebraska was a mess. I counted over 80 cars and trucks that had skidded off the road around Lincoln. Progress was slow but at that point I was more interested in survival  

Iowa was more of the same.....being a guy who lives large I stayed at a Motel 6 in Avoca Iowa and dined at a Subway for supper and breakfast.....that's how I roll! You can't beat the 6 inch breakfast sub with bottomless Seattle's best coffee for $3.00.

It was a good thing that I was frugal in Iowa as the bankrupt State of Illinois gouges travellers with their toll roads....funny thing is that the speed limit was 75 mph throughout Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska....70 mph in Iowa.....and in Illinois where booths are set up to grab a person's money the speed limit is 65 mph.....Illinois is a flat boring State that most anyone would be pay big bucks to go 80 mph and got the hell out of Dodge (or Moline, whatever).

I arrived in Wisconsin only to be greeted by snow and high winds. Good thing daylight savings time is over...it can't get dark early enough.......I just want to sleep until good weather arrives.

Good thing I'm not a whiner.  

[Dell]

I am glad you made it home without needing the bail fund. I now have a used boat and am taking a cruise next week so I need the money...Enjoy your sleep, I heard good weather arrives in Wisconsin next month.

[uno,dos,3]

Be careful out rhere Dell. There are rumors of ginormous mosquitos invading Florida this year. It is said that their sting is similar to being stabbed with a knife.....I'm not sure how they know this.....most likely someone who was bitten by one of these mosquito's then proceeded to stab himself/herself with a knife in the name of science.

[Dell]

That is why there is a screen over the pool. But if we feel adventurous, Amber and I take the 22 and the shotgun and go hunting mosquitoes  Great sport! We will keep it safe for your safari next winter.

[ProblemAgain]

Gallinippers! Monster mosquitoes poised to strike Florida

 

By Marc Lallanilla, LiveScience

UF IFAS / Sean McCann

An adult gallinipper feeding on human blood.

One of the most ferocious insects you've ever heard of — it's the size of a quarter and its painful bite has been compared to being knifed — is set to invade Florida this summer.

The Sunshine State, already home to man-eating sinkholes, invading Burmese pythons, swarming sharks, tropical storms and other disasters, can expect to see an explosion of shaggy-haired gallinippers (Psorophora ciliata), a type of giant mosquito, according to entomologist Phil Kaufman of the University of Florida.

Gallinipper eggs hatch after a rainstorm or flood, and the state saw a big jump in the numbers of gallinippers last summer after Tropical Storm Debby dumped its load on Florida. Eggs laid last year could produce a bumper crop of the blood-sucking bugs this summer if Florida sees a soggy rainy season.

"I wouldn't be surprised, given the numbers we saw last year," Kaufman said in a statement. "When we hit the rainy cycle, we may see that again."

As insects go, gallinippers are particularly formidable. Their eggs lay dormant for years, awaiting the floodwaters that will enable them to hatch. Even in their larval stage, gallinippers are so tough they'll eat tadpoles and other small aquatic prey. [Ouch! Nature's 10 Biggest Pests]

And as adults, the voracious pests feed day and night (unlike everyday mosquitoes, which generally feed only at dawn and dusk). Their bodies are strong enough to bite through clothing, and they're known to go after pets, wild animals and even fish, MyFoxOrlando.com reports.

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/09/17249991-gallinippers-m...

[frenchy]

you forgot to mention the monitor lizards that have invaded cape coral all the way up to port charlotte and they're movin up towards tampa .. and the one good thing about them gallinippers .. they eat the other type of mosquitos so if we all stay indoors maybe by the time they eat all the little boogers then they'll starve to death .. one can only hope ..  

[Lifesighs]

Glad you survived your western journey uno, back in time to shovel some snow and wait for the Wisconsin mosquitos, no match for those Florida ones but mighty fierce.

[frenchy]

p.s. sorry to hear of your beaver dissappointment uno .. my condolences .. i hate when i miss the beaver runs too .. 

[uno,dos,3]

Yeah frenchy, the older I get the crueler life seems to be.......40 years ago this would have been no big deal........nowadays the beaver viewing opportunies don't come around much anymore. I was really looking forward to the show....at my age even a dry run is a thing of beauty.