Road Time

This “little road trip” as producer Hugh Forrest jokingly called it yesterday in an email conversation requires large amounts of solo driving across wide open territory. It begs the question another producer Brad J. Ward posted as a comment to yesterday’s Daily Journal entry:

I want to know more about what ScottyHendo does during an 8.5 hour road stretch. What does your windshield time look like? Playlists? Podcasts? Would a phone call from a Producer help fill some of the gaps or help you stay awake?

Yesterday it was simple. I hit shuffle play on my Apple Music and just drove all day. What began as an 8.5 hour session became 10 hours thanks to a reroute through Billings and surprise stories at the iconic Pompeys Pillar. That sandstone monolith along the Yellowstone River still has William Clark’s signature etched into it.

I find long road trips to be meditative, just like I find solo hiking excursions. Both are about discovery novelty and seeing the world from new vistas. As long as the music has a healthy mix of songs and artists, I can stay focused for solid bursts.

When I need a break from the thinking and ruminating, I will load up an audiobook from Audible.com and listen at 2.5-3x speed. The human mind can process way faster than the human mouth can speak. It’s quite a way to absorb very thick books in a relatively short time period.

Back in the 1990s when I drove the summer across Nebraska, I would read my fair share of books and magazines. No, it was not safe but then again the roads were arrow straight with not many folks coming from either direction. Yes, I will cheat death from time to time for a periodic social media scroll. It’s about keeping the mind moving not falling into a lull.

I was in such a groove yesterday I didn’t think to question Waze when it rerouted me from Eddie’s Corner, MT away from the due east road to the southeast fork. Not sure if it was a glitch or there was a major road issue on the original route, but I only noticed the extra hour of drive time the new route brought once I was on top of a ridge looking down into the Yellowstone River valley at Billings, MT.

Making lemonade out of lemons, I seized the opportunity to stop at the iconic Pompeys Pillar national monument. I set up the Mavic Pro and captured some flyby imagery of the landmark, since I arrived after the gates had closed. Needing to get to Bismarck, I chose not to walk the extra mile(s) to see the signature firsthand.

Now I’m back in the Central Time Zone and have two interviews today with two more scheduled tomorrow here both Dakotas. Gotta hit the road again.

What other behind the scenes questions do you have for me?