One of my stuporvisors at the USPS got mad at me for not coming to work when the freeways (and the access roads) were all closed from ice on them, and my only possible way out of where I lived was Vance Jackson. North of Callaghan. He didn't get why I wasn't willing to get on that road at night, because he lived out by Cibolo or some other flat land dystopia.
Fast forward a few years, when we'd both worked other parts of the city. We were back to working together again, shooting the usual, how/where've you beens. That's when he apologized to me for giving me grief about not taking VJ during an ice storm. Apparently, he had to use it for something related to work (must have been working at Lockhill), and he got an eye-opener about how different some of the terrain was north of 410.
"It's like a roller coaster up there, and that's just during the day when you can see. I had no idea one street could be so scary, never mind trying to drive it at night. With ice on the roads!"
"Yeah, next time listen to me when I'm telling you it's too dangerous to be on a road like that."
After a while, I knew VJ like I knew the back of my hand, because I used it for back-road access to get certain places south of me and was in no mood for the freeway. But when you don't know that road, it's crazy to drive with its higher hills, and, hey, let's put a curve at the bottom of this hill, too! First time I drove it at night, I was scared to death.
Don't know about now, but back then it also had a bunch of woodsy areas with trees to crash into if you weren't careful. And of course, all the places at the bottom of hills that flood anytime it rains (Orsinger, DREAMLAND). You don't even have to watch the evening news about heavy rain in SA to know what you'll be seeing/hearing: Helicopters having to rescue the idiots who think that they could drive on Dreamland (always Dreamland!) when it rained. Nope. No can do.
We were looking at places out at Stone Oak (wilderness oaks road?). Same thing with the hills and curves and even some trees. If an ice storm hit up there, I wouldn't get on those roads at night for love or money.
= new reply since forum marked as read