I'd really like to seeing a living armadillo, since I've seen so many dead ones.
In my region, if there's a dead animal on the road larger than a squirrel, it's probably a deer. Or unfortunate family pet.
The first day of my road trip, when I was in southeastern Colorado, I was rather startled to see a dead animal on the road that appeared to be an armadillo. I'd only ever seen one in pictures. As the hours and miles built up, moving to Oklahoma, then Arkansas, then Missouri... I saw many, many more of them dead on the road. Usually, they weren't squashed, but instead on their backs at the side of the road with all four legs in the air. Turns out, from a quick search, one particular species has migrated from South America to the middle of the U.S. They can jump a few feet into the air when startled, which makes them common road prey, since they hit the bottom of cars. That usually happens at night.
Since I've seen so many dead armadillos the past few days, I feel I'm owed the sighting of a live one.
Why does anyone want to live in Michigan? What does it have to offer that no other state can offer? When I was driving through the upper peninsula yesterday morning, the highway was lined with a vast array of trees for dozens of miles. Unfortunately, they were dead. I wasn't sure at the time if they only looked dead, but have since found out that various things, including pine beetles, have decimated the forests.
When I first laid eyes on Lake Michigan, which went on for many miles next to the highway, I was amazed at how light blue it was. Very pretty. And strange. Was it supposed to look like that? Turns out, no. There's been a "mussel invasion" going on for quite a few years, which has eaten a lot of the algae, which in turn has reduced the amount of fish, which in turn has harmed the various industries that are dependent upon fish.
The above are my direct observations from yesterday. In recent years, Michigan has a capital city that has gone bankrupt, a lot of inner city poverty. Oh and then there's the Flint, Michigan water thing from a few years back.
As if that's not enough, last night I planned my route for getting out of Michigan and into Ohio. I just happened to check the news -- in case the world blew up while I wasn't looking -- and Michigan had a dam break! Causing all sorts of flooding, and causing me to change my route today. Really, has any of the other 49 states suffered such misery in the past five years? Who would want to live there?
Oh, and their roads suck.
I did get one thrill though, driving through. I had long forgotten that the upper peninsula doesn't have any land that connects it to the rest of Michigan. So, they built a bridge known affectionately as the Big Mack. It goes across where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. I drove over it yesterday afternoon. Five miles long. A lot of metal suspended over a whole lot of water. Pretty cool.
Coronavirus Observations: I have driven in nine states since Sunday. There is zilch consistency about how Coronavirus is being dealt with. In Colorado and most of Oklahoma, people were wearing masks, no more than one person was supposed to be in a restroom at a gas station, there were glass partitions separating employees from customers, etc. In Arkansas, people were more lax about wearing masks. By Missouri, nobody was wearing masks, but there were still the glass partitions.
That was pretty much the case going north to Wisconsin, and then over to Michigan. Interesting that if something public like a park was open, the restrooms were closed. Yet, in Michigan I was very appreciative that the restrooms at rest stops were open It was also there that I saw the first gas station/store where the counter didn't have a glass partition. That was in the upper peninsula. Down state, I started finding requirements for masks, but that didn't last very long, as I traveled farther south.
As for hotels, most only had a few rooms available, since they had limited cleaning staff. Otherwise, everything was the same, except only one served breakfast; everyone else is offering a brown bag with muffins, etc. While all but the one I'm in tonight had the glass partitions, nobody is wearing masks. I had budgeted $100 a night for motels. In actuality, it's been $70-$80 a night in the depressed economy. Except I'm staying in a $109 room tonight. It's a Holiday Inn Express and worth it.
What has been consistent through the states: traffic! Small towns are bumper-to-bumper. I suffered through an early holiday rush hour in Dayton, Ohio this afternoon, and it was like any other busy city. Since Monday, I've seen lots of campers and vehicles hauling boats and other recreational vehicles.
Bottom Line: whatever the experts and the governments say, Americans at large are done with Coronavirus controlling their lives. Life happens.
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