Give Me a Back Road

When Nancy drives from Colorado to her hometown of Beatrice, Nebraska, she tends to go down the Interstate. It allows one to drive fast and not worry about missing a turn. Generally you can pass a slower driver any time you want to. And almost any need you may have can be met at the nearest exit or the one after that.

But I don’t like Interstates. I admit that they are convenient when you have to get across the country as fast as possible. But I avoid those situations whenever I can. Who wants to listen to the tire noise of 18-wheelers all day?

So when I first drove to Beatrice, I searched my maps and found a fairly direct route along secondary roads. It is actually about 60 miles shorter than using the Interstate, but is not appreciably faster. That is because the speed limit is lower and there are a few stop signs and a couple of traffic lights. But to me, it is more interesting and more restful.

I recommended this back-road route to someone one time. After they tried it I thought I would never hear the end of it. They found it to be unbearably boring, frustratingly hilly and devoid of critical services. Their opinion was doubtless impacted by the fact that they were pulling a heavily loaded trailer and their vehicle overheated several times. But even without the trailer they will never take that route again. I’m okay with that. That means my route will remain “a road less travelled.”

This time we were pulling our tear drop trailer so I was holding the speed down to 65 mph anyway and there was even less need than usual for an Interstate.

Two-lane roads can be frustrating if you frequently need to pass someone, but I never came upon such a need. Mostly I was looking at empty roads. And behind me the road was mostly empty as well. In the stretch from Byers, CO, to St. Francis, KS, a stretch of 138 miles, only two vehicles passed me going the same way. In the 103 miles from St. Francis to Norton, the number of times I was passed increased by 50%, but two of the three passes were by the same guy who pulled over at a rest stop in between. From the time I left the Interstate at Byers until I arrived in Beatrice, more than 400 miles later, I had been passed no more than seven times and never needed to pass anyone myself.

And as for there being no services along the road, I disagree. We found gasoline when we needed it and I’m sure it was cheaper than it is along the Interstate, where demand raises the prices. And we found that meals were available in any town larger than 1000 people. It might not have been a familiar fast-food chain, but a local café is more interesting, anyway. I really don’t mind the lack of “generica” by which I mean the familiar signs of McDonalds, Walmart, and Burger King that make it hard to tell whether you are in New Jersey or Newport Beach. Give me a back road where I am as likely to see a coyote or a three-point buck (both of which we did see,) as I am to see a chain reaction accident. That’s where I want to drive.