OK. No Indiana doesn't suck. Well at least the land is pretty, the people seemed really nice and friendly. It actually looks like a fine place to be a prepper although I am not so sure about being easily defensible. There was plenty of farmland that looked to be extremely productive. Ground water and plenty of trees as well but it was almost too well groomed. The wooded areas had little undergrowth and there didn't seem to be much in the way of naturally defensible barriers. May not be much of a problem if the population density wasn't so high with too many large cities nearby.
It certainly was beautiful even if I was driving through snow.
No the reason I am a bit miffed at Indiana (Besides the whole wrong side of the Civil war thing) is that they don't call it the crossroads of America for nothing. I think they really should call it...
"Where all Tractor Trailer Trucks come to make driving miserable".
I think there was a big truck broke down on the side of I-70 (East or West bound didn't matter) every 2 to 3 miles in Indiana, although strangely enough not in Ohio or Illinois, just Indiana. Not to mention we got caught in a traffic jam and it took us almost three hours to get from Terre Haute to Indianapolis and guess what caused it? Yep a tractor trailer truck. Because of this over population of tractor trailer trucks my little trip that we planned on taking about 20 hours to complete took almost 39 hours.
That and Indiana seems to have a rule that they must have a highway patrol car every five miles with it's radar on too.
The overturned Tractor trailer truck caused us to be 30 minutes too late in getting to the place we were picking up the car in Ohio. This in turn meant I had to try and sleep in a motel with a little heater and thin blanket on the coldest damned night Ohio has seen in a while. Then try and find the car this morning after the gates were opened. Luckily I had my get home bag blanket with me so the night was alright except I cannot sleep for shit in a strange room. When I found the car that was literally frozen into a solid block of snow and ice it also had a flat tire.
That was literally the coldest I can ever remember being in my entire life getting that car ready to travel.
Keep in mind I used to operate several different vehicles in German Winters around the Graf, Hohenfels and Vilseck ranges and I still don't remember being as cold as I was this morning. I thought for a moment I left my right ear in that parking lot.
So anyway I am home now safe and sound and no pipes froze or anything like that. Gonna take a shower and crash for like 12 hours though. More to come tomorrow.
Oh I did learn one important safety tip. Don't try and use your folding knife to cut the plastic ring off a bottle while driving through Indianapolis. Stab wounds suck, especially self inflicted ones while driving.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
Glad you made it back Preppy. Sorry it was so cold.
ReplyDeleteit always great to be home.
ReplyDeleteStrange about the trucks, we have a crooked hilly interstate and a problem once in awhile, probably when an Indiana truck tries to go through but all in all it goes fairly smooth.
ReplyDeleteI got so that I carry a can of fix a flat, it makes the tire shop mad when someone comes in but that is a different problem inside their shop so, oh well.
Glad the girls kept the hay going and pipes thawed while you were gone, it is a real worry this time of year. -6 here this morning, so far.
If you aren't trying to hide (a huge if), wide open terrain has been shown at the tactical level to be more defensible than closed terrain. The primary reason that I can think of (the studies didn't say) is that it limits the attackers approach distance to a point where the sighted in defenders weapons are effective, but the attackers are not. It goes along with the idea that defenders have a disadvantage in urban combat except when they are occupying some slightly setoff, monolithic structure: think Russian tractor plants.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like closed terrain because it lets you run away.
PP,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you made it home okay...........even with the self inflicted wound :-)
Anytime we have to get on I-70 between Terre Haute and Indianapolis, we automatically factor in time for a shut down. I'd hate to see the fatality statistics on that road. Glad you're home safe! Our winter storm warning for tonight includes a layer of ice on the roads. Winter can go now!
ReplyDeleteP.S If I'd known you were passing through I could have intercepted you and handed off your blog prize.
US 40 parallels I 70 and I almost always take US 40 if traveling to Terre Haute or Indy. Even in the winter US 40 is almost always in better driving condition than I 70. Indiana brags about the state being the crossroads of America and they are right, there are huge trucking warehouses in the area between the Indianapolis airport and Plainfield. I was an AC mech at the airport for many years until I retired a couple of years ago. I am an original Minnesotan but have stayed in Indiana since retirement...but I definitely need to move further south...its still too cold here.
ReplyDeleteIt must be interesting to travel so far on such a large country. If I travel over an hour I think I've gone a long way! I have to say that I feel exposed without some hills near me.
ReplyDelete