If You Can't Go Through It... Or: Gulf Coast Texans, enjoy your weeklong vacation!

Remember the saying that taught kids about prepositional phrases? Let me paraphrase it:

If you can't go through it, go over it.
If you can't go over it, go around it.

There's more to it, but these two statements will work for this demonstration. These teaching phrases teach more than just about prepositional phrases. They teach people that if you can't do what you want to do one way, think about doing it differently, until you can get it done.

It's teaching creative and varied thinking, something that can be difficult in this time and age when people seem to liken themselves to sheep or cattle. Just follow the ones ahead. This seems to be what's happening in the mass evacuation from the Galvaston/Houston area. Everyone and their dog is taking I-45 to the Austin/Dallas area. Cars and gas stations along the way are running out of gas. And frustrations are running people out of their sanity, too. That's what happens when people run around like sheep in big groups.

One thing I learned in my driver's ed class in high school is to avoid driving in packs of vehicles. It is just more hazardous and risky than driving alone. That's probably why I didn't like driving in Denver, where the clogged major arteries pushed many like me to drive the obscure routes, and after a while those too became more and more popular. However, there was always a couple of routes off the beaten path to get away from the pack.

And, for those in Texas who are trying to get away from the approaching threat of Rita, if you don't like going 100 yards an hour, take the next available off-ramp (or off-road makeshift ramp) and go a different direction away from the storm's target. You don't have to drive on congested I-45. You don't have to go to Dallas. Venture out and make the best of the situation. Take the road less traveled. Take a mini-vacation and travel up to the Ozarks, or Memphis, OR up north to Iowa's Great Lakes region where you will find great lakes from our quaint Five Island Lake (a great place to fish and relax), up to the Iowa tourist-mecca at Okoboji where you will find the glory days of past amusement parks alive and well at Arnolds Park with their old wooden "Big Coaster" now called the "Legend," and my personal favorite, the "Crazy House" at the entrance of the park.

The joy of visiting the Iowa Great Lakes is that hurricanes don't come around these parts.

You want to know how to get to the beginning of the beautiful Iowa Great Lakes and avoid I-45? Here's how:

HIGHWAY DISTANCE:1148 CITY DISTANCE: 110
0 0:00 Starting Trip 1258 24:21
Start East on I-10 for 1.6mi
2 0:01 Junction With US 59 Eastex Frwy 1256 24:20
Turn North on US 59 Eastex Frwy for 12mi
Cont. North on US 59 for 280mi
283 4:41 Approaching Vicinity of Texarkana TX/AR 975 19:40
294 4:55 Junction With I-30 964 19:26
Turn East on I-30 for 3mi
298 4:59 Junction With US 59 960 19:22
Turn North on US 59 for 103mi
298 4:59 Entering Arkansas (max speed limit 65 mph) 960 19:22
401 6:58 Junction With US 71 857 17:23
Cont. North on US 71 for 36mi
437 7:40 Junction With Rt 23 821 16:41
Cont. North on Rt 23 for 44mi
481 8:38 Junction With US 64 777 15:43
Turn West on US 64 for 0.6mi
481 8:39 Junction With Rt 23 777 15:42
Turn North on Rt 23 for 28mi
509 9:15 Junction With Rt 16 749 15:06
Turn West on Rt 16 for 30mi
534 9:48 Approaching Vicinity of Fayetteville AR 724 14:33
539 10:03 Junction With Hunt.St 719 14:18
Cont. West on Hunt.St for 1mi
Cont. West on 6th St for 0.6mi
540 10:08 Junction With Rt 180 718 14:13
Cont. West on Rt 180 for 1.7mi
542 10:11 Junction With US 62 716 14:10
Turn East on US 62 for 1.8mi
544 10:13 Junction With Rt 16 714 14:08
Turn West on Rt 16 for 24mi
568 10:50 Junction With US 412 690 13:31
Cont. West on US 412 for 16mi
571 10:54 Entering Oklahoma (max speed limit 70 mph) 687 13:27
584 11:07 Junction With US 59 674 13:14
Turn North on US 59 for 230mi
661 12:35 Entering Kansas (max speed limit 70 mph) 597 11:46
807 15:23 Approaching Vicinity of Lawrence KS 451 8:58
Cont. North on US 59 Iowa St for 4mi
Turn East on US 59 for 37mi
854 16:36 Junction With US 159 404 7:45
Turn North on US 159 for 58mi
908 17:38 Entering Nebraska (max speed limit 75 mph) 350 6:43
912 17:42 Junction With US 73 346 6:39
Cont. North on US 73 for 16mi
928 17:59 Junction With US 75 330 6:22
Cont. North on US 75 for 77mi
999 19:11 Approaching Vicinity of Omaha NE 259 5:10
1005 19:17 Junction With I-480 253 5:04
Cont. North on I-480 for 2.6mi
1008 19:19 Junction With US 75 250 5:02
Cont. North on US 75 for 6mi
1013 19:25 Junction With I-680 245 4:56
Turn South on I-680 for 0.9mi
1014 19:26 Junction With US 75 244 4:55
Turn North on US 75 for 88mi
1096 20:54 Approaching Vicinity of Sioux City IA 162 3:27
1102 21:07 Junction With I-129 US 20 US 77 156 3:14
Turn East on I-129 US 20 US 77 for 2.8mi
Cont. East on I-129 US 20 US 75 for 0.3mi
1105 21:10 Entering Iowa (max speed limit 65 mph) 153 3:11
1105 21:10 Junction With I-29 153 3:11
Turn North on I-29 for 4mi
1109 21:14 Junction With US 20b Gordon Dr 149 3:07
Turn East on US 20b Gordon Dr for 1.4mi
1110 21:16 Junction With US 75 148 3:05
Turn North on US 75 for 25mi
1135 21:50 Junction With Rt 60 123 2:31
Cont. North on Rt 60 for 51mi
1187 22:53 Junction With Rt 9 71 1:28
Turn East on Rt 9 for 30mi
1217 23:31 Junction With US 71 41 0:50
Turn North on US 71 for 7mi
1224 23:40 Junction With Rt 9 34 0:41
Turn East on Rt 9 for 9mi
1233 23:50 Junction With Rt 4 25 0:31
Turn South on Rt 4 for 20mi
1253 24:16 Junction With US 18 5 0:05
Turn East on US 18 for 5mi

1258 24:21 Ending at: US 18 & Rt 4