Saturday, February 3, 2018

WE need more education!

Historical Photo:
The USS Oklahoma 1943 Salvage operation. Some  human feats are amazing.

We started traveling long ago. We never seem to tire of seeing new places or return visits to special places. One thing we learned fairly quickly was each state and some counties have higher gasoline prices than others. We lived just a few miles north of the South Carolina border. SC always has had cheaper gas prices.

Once just on the NY/NJ border we saw a gasoline price 10 cents cheaper than we had seen in Roundout Valley, NY. Sooo I drove the ½ mile off the interstate. Got out, reset the pump and started to pump. STOP I heard in a nice voice, I will do that. The attendant pumped my gas. I was surprised, I haven’t had that happen since my youth. I didn’t realize I had crossed the NY/NJ line.
SEE FACTS USA FACTS BELOW!
Being southerners, something else we learned by traveling, everything above the Mason Dixon line ‘ain’t big buildings and concrete!’  I was even pleased to learn that NYC isn’t NY State. There is lots of farm land and country, rivers and mountains (not really big, but mountains) in the rest of the state.

I remember parking the RV in the Dakotas once in view of a huge field. One BIG lone tractor was making a round ‘turning the soil.’ I knew that was the first step to ready a field for planting. The old crop is ‘turned under’ leaving a field ready for a cultivator to smooth the rough field the turning leaves in its wake.
Now, I am not a farmer, but I did learn something from dad and friend Kenneth Conrad (Missouri farmer). I was familiar with farm fields from an acre to ten acres. I sat and watched this huge tractor plowing a TWENTY FOOT PATH! In one day he made only one pass plus a little around that GIANT field. It was way over 100 acres. WOW.

 At the end of the day he left the tractor in its tracks and rode a little 4 wheeler (that was on the tractor) off the field to go home.

My dad farmed with two mules was my thoughts. How in the world could someone farm BIG with a team of mules? Traveling is an education in itself.

Nite Shipslog

PS: Cousin Tony sent these little known facts about the USA: New Jersey is now the only state where it is illegal to pump your own gasoline.

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Bing Crosby giving rides around the studio in his '39 Olds convertible.

7 comments:

Mevely317 said...

Yes! Like my dad, I now believe travel can be a great education. Before he passed, Dad took enormous pride in saying his daughter had been to 49 states (Alaska came much later.) Unfortunately, as a spoiled kid I spent many of those road miles in the back seat ... bored, with my face in book.
'Not sure if you saw it, but the other day I posted an excerpt from my mom's 1956 travel diary on Facebook. In the course of one month: miles driven 8,115; gas & oil $147.69!

PS - I wish more states would make pumping one's own gas illegal. Not sure why, but that's something I loathe.

Paula said...

My Daddy plowed with mules too until they got struck by lightening. He quit and got a job at Kelly Field in San Antonio packing medicine. He even went to work early to play dominoes before work. Must have been much easier then farming.

Lisa said...

Well at least they didn't use Elephants.
Get it? Haha
Lisa

Chatty Crone said...

Seems like everyone got to travel and have wonderful role models for their dads and worked on the farm. My dad never worked the farm. He was 34 when he had me and was fun into business by then.

TARYTERRE said...

what a nice bonus to have an attendant pumped your gas. it would be worth the trip.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Traveling the way you do would definitely be an education and there is so much to see and learn. I miss the days when your gas was pumped for you and they washed the windows too and checked the oil. Snowing here this morning! Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday !

Dar said...

Until last summer, our gas was pumped, windows washed, wipers replaced for us at PF Petro. It was bought out and now a Kwik Trip takes it's place. There, we have to pump our own gas. Progress isn't so sweet sometimes. We miss Petro. Farming fields stays the same as far as turning the soil but the equipment to giter'done sure changed. With a tractor and plow, Bill got stuck so deep one time. I'll bet the mules could have tugged him right out of that situation lickity-split! thanks for the memories.
Love n' such from up north where my guy is plowing snow again. We are so ready for spring.................in another couple-three months.