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Happy Johnny Appleseed Day (1774-1845)! 🌱🍏🍎
Felt safe until now
- Thread starter Penns Woods
- Start date
Interstate travel mostly. But just because its an interstate it doesnt mean it doesnt go thru all types of neighborhoods. Chicago for one. And when you need fuel, you need fuel. No idea how a traveler would know what type of neighborhood the exit to the gas station is.
Years ago we took a trip to the Buffalo River and we needed a room along the way. Didnt know anything about West Memphis and thats where we pulled over and got a room. Yeah, extremely nasty.
Stayed in a room just south of Baxter Maine a couple weeks ago. Some extremely shady stuff going on in that motel. The town was okay but the hotel, not so much.
I got more but I made my point.
Motels are known to rent rooms to hard drug users and sellers, yeah, they can be bad. Don't go to the cheaper ones, and for heavens sake gas up before you pass through a major city.
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My wife and I had a bad experience with motels. Everything was booked, the room was all we could get. Besides it was a name brand motel what got go wrong? Walking in we got a look at some of the "customers" and had a idea what we were dealing with. We had just driven 7 hours and was in no mood to put up with that kind of stuff., we grabbed a quick shower and an hour sleep and got out of there, thankful our car and we were still in one piece.
I stayed in a Motel 6 in Duluth while driving from Maine to the BWCA, I miss judged the time due to the time change and knew I wasn’t going to get as far as I wanted, I think I had already driven 12 hours that day. I was too exhausted to go to another place so I stayed. I was fine and my car was unmolested but I definitely can not recommend that place and it turned out it wasn’t much cheaper than a better place that served a breakfast. Zero stars.
Jim
Jim
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I had pre-paid, but when I saw the location, I just drove away and stayed somewhere else.
I drove truck back in the day, 48’ers down into Manhattan, twin 28’ers into Brooklyn, tandem 48’ers up into Boston area. I was in my element, no worries.
My two worst experiences driving my pickup with canoe on the roof were driving thru Montreal during rush hour and Ottawa during construction where a panhandler banged on my window.
I live in Maine, anyone can carry, but we have very little crime.
My two worst experiences driving my pickup with canoe on the roof were driving thru Montreal during rush hour and Ottawa during construction where a panhandler banged on my window.
I live in Maine, anyone can carry, but we have very little crime.
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My hat goes off to you sir!!!!! I drove a rig on the farm where I had 40 acres to turn that rig around, so I understand a little, When traveling down the highway and passed by one of these rigs I always think those drivers really earn their money. I don't know how you do it.
I live about 60 miles north of Chicago and when we go through it (The Loop which is downtown Chicago) on I94 we try to get through by 4-5 am to avoid the bumper-to-bumper crawl on the expressway. But at least now there are no longer snipers occasionally shooting at cars from the former high rise public housing which used to be located overlooking the expressway. And you definitely want to avoid parts of the south and west sides of town due to potential gang activity.
On rural trips to/from paddling destinations we often drive long days/nights and generally stay at small motels. On this year’s trip we stayed at a motel on the Trans Canadian which looked a little rough but was fine. We got the last room available and it appeared that most of the other guests were work crews and long haul truckers. The Indian owners charged us $110/USD cash as opposed to $155/CAD using a card. And we definitely had the most distinctive vehicle, a Tesla Cybertruck.
On rural trips to/from paddling destinations we often drive long days/nights and generally stay at small motels. On this year’s trip we stayed at a motel on the Trans Canadian which looked a little rough but was fine. We got the last room available and it appeared that most of the other guests were work crews and long haul truckers. The Indian owners charged us $110/USD cash as opposed to $155/CAD using a card. And we definitely had the most distinctive vehicle, a Tesla Cybertruck.
I stayed in the same room a week later, driving my '97 Dodge van. The Indian owners charged me $17 for the night. (Plus, my Dodge doesn't explode.)
Here's a long story about what can surprise you when you least expect it.
Many years ago, my wife and I took a backpacking trip in Utah. We flew in/out of Vegas and our return home flight was a red eye. We were staying in St George UT the night before our return. We got up early that morning and realized we had a whole day to kill so I got out the UT DeLorme and saw a FR that looked like it would be a nice drive as we headed toward the airport.
The road was a bit rugged but dry and we had a high clearance rental vehicle so traveling it wasn't too bad. But the farther we went the rougher it got, but we were still doing fine. Along the way, there were several places where small drainages washed across the gravel road and cause a bit of erosion and ruts. No problem, we just carefully drove thru.
Then we came upon one that had an old '70s (?) Mustang II stuck, buried to the axils, blocking the one lane road. It was facing the same direction as we were traveling.
As we approached, a gnarly looking guy jumped out of the Mustang and came limping back to our vehicle. He was dirty, disheveled, and wearing only socks on his feet.
"Do you have anything to drink" was the 1st thing out of his mouth. "I've been stuck here for 3 days and haven't had a drop of water". We gave him a can of soda as he started showing us his floor mats and some cordage that he intended to try to form some sort of "shoes" in order to walk out. Who leaves the house in that country without any shoes unless they were in a big hurry? Kinda strange.
Then he asked if we could pull his car out of the ruts. I told him I didn't have a chain or strap and besides, I couldn't get around him to pull him in the direction he was facing. He said, "No, I'm going in that direction" pointing behind us. I said but you're facing the other direction. Then he said "This car only has reverse". I replied, but it's 15 miles to the hard road ahead, you're saying that you backed down this rugged road for FIFTEEN miles?? He replied, "After a while, you get good at backing up". That was a bit humorous.
But I still don't have a strap to pull you out, then he asked "Do you have a knife? We can cut my seatbelts and make a strap". Seriously??
If that's what you really want to do to your car, I guess it's up to you.
But I was not about to hand an odd stranger, in this strange situation, in the back country, a knife.
I said I'll cut your seatbelts, just show me where you want 'em cut.
When I looked in his car, I realized the thing was completely stripped inside. Not much more than the driver's seat and a steering wheel remained. Like a car from the junk yard. This was getting weirder by the minute.
We made the strap and prepared to pull him out. He started his motor under the hood with a screwdriver. (No keys??)
At this point I was pretty sure this guy was most likely running from someone...The law? Drug deal gone bad? Other criminals?? IDK but it was getting a little scary. My wife very nervously waited in the car. Before I pulled him out, he started asking me if there were any homes or ranches along the route we drove. There were a couple several miles back but I wasn't going to tell him that. IDK is all I said.
I pulled him out and then I talked to my wife..."We need to turn around and go back the way we came. Who knows what (or who) we might run into further up this road, because this guy, with no shoes, and a sketchy car is most likely running from someone".
When we got back to the hard road, there was a little village with a post office. We went inside to tell the story and ask if there was a sheriff in "town". There was not but the clerk let us use his phone (this was before the days of cell phones) to call the sheriff. I figured I had to report this weirdness to law enforcement.
The sheriff said to me "Oh, they run drugs up and down that road". I said "Well there's a guy with no shoes, and a junk car with only reverse, backing down that road right now and you can probably intercept him if you come now...'cause something stinks about this situation".
He seemed completely disinterested, for what possible reason I don't have a clue. We never heard anything more about the guy. For all we know he could have been a slasher, or just a poor homeless guy down on his luck.
The point of this story...
It doesn't matter where you are...Interstate highway or suburban road, inner city or on a forest route in the desolate back country of Utah, and anywhere in between, you just never know who or what you are going to encounter.
My wife and I were not armed that day, but since then we try our very, legal best to carry when traveling.
Many years ago, my wife and I took a backpacking trip in Utah. We flew in/out of Vegas and our return home flight was a red eye. We were staying in St George UT the night before our return. We got up early that morning and realized we had a whole day to kill so I got out the UT DeLorme and saw a FR that looked like it would be a nice drive as we headed toward the airport.
The road was a bit rugged but dry and we had a high clearance rental vehicle so traveling it wasn't too bad. But the farther we went the rougher it got, but we were still doing fine. Along the way, there were several places where small drainages washed across the gravel road and cause a bit of erosion and ruts. No problem, we just carefully drove thru.
Then we came upon one that had an old '70s (?) Mustang II stuck, buried to the axils, blocking the one lane road. It was facing the same direction as we were traveling.
As we approached, a gnarly looking guy jumped out of the Mustang and came limping back to our vehicle. He was dirty, disheveled, and wearing only socks on his feet.
"Do you have anything to drink" was the 1st thing out of his mouth. "I've been stuck here for 3 days and haven't had a drop of water". We gave him a can of soda as he started showing us his floor mats and some cordage that he intended to try to form some sort of "shoes" in order to walk out. Who leaves the house in that country without any shoes unless they were in a big hurry? Kinda strange.
Then he asked if we could pull his car out of the ruts. I told him I didn't have a chain or strap and besides, I couldn't get around him to pull him in the direction he was facing. He said, "No, I'm going in that direction" pointing behind us. I said but you're facing the other direction. Then he said "This car only has reverse". I replied, but it's 15 miles to the hard road ahead, you're saying that you backed down this rugged road for FIFTEEN miles?? He replied, "After a while, you get good at backing up". That was a bit humorous.
But I still don't have a strap to pull you out, then he asked "Do you have a knife? We can cut my seatbelts and make a strap". Seriously??
If that's what you really want to do to your car, I guess it's up to you.
But I was not about to hand an odd stranger, in this strange situation, in the back country, a knife.
I said I'll cut your seatbelts, just show me where you want 'em cut.
When I looked in his car, I realized the thing was completely stripped inside. Not much more than the driver's seat and a steering wheel remained. Like a car from the junk yard. This was getting weirder by the minute.
We made the strap and prepared to pull him out. He started his motor under the hood with a screwdriver. (No keys??)
At this point I was pretty sure this guy was most likely running from someone...The law? Drug deal gone bad? Other criminals?? IDK but it was getting a little scary. My wife very nervously waited in the car. Before I pulled him out, he started asking me if there were any homes or ranches along the route we drove. There were a couple several miles back but I wasn't going to tell him that. IDK is all I said.
I pulled him out and then I talked to my wife..."We need to turn around and go back the way we came. Who knows what (or who) we might run into further up this road, because this guy, with no shoes, and a sketchy car is most likely running from someone".
When we got back to the hard road, there was a little village with a post office. We went inside to tell the story and ask if there was a sheriff in "town". There was not but the clerk let us use his phone (this was before the days of cell phones) to call the sheriff. I figured I had to report this weirdness to law enforcement.
The sheriff said to me "Oh, they run drugs up and down that road". I said "Well there's a guy with no shoes, and a junk car with only reverse, backing down that road right now and you can probably intercept him if you come now...'cause something stinks about this situation".
He seemed completely disinterested, for what possible reason I don't have a clue. We never heard anything more about the guy. For all we know he could have been a slasher, or just a poor homeless guy down on his luck.
The point of this story...
It doesn't matter where you are...Interstate highway or suburban road, inner city or on a forest route in the desolate back country of Utah, and anywhere in between, you just never know who or what you are going to encounter.
My wife and I were not armed that day, but since then we try our very, legal best to carry when traveling.
I guess it was that $70-80 grand truck that determined our price as opposed to your price/truck.
The suspect is in custody.
www.mynbc5.com
Civilian tip helps police capture New York homicide suspect, officials say
Cohoes officials said a press conference in Ray Brook on Thursday was "instrumental" in leading to the capture of homicide suspect Anthony Bechand.
www.mynbc5.com
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