Yellow River, Sunrise

I drove from Maryland to Utah just after Christmas. I stopped in Indiana to visit with cousins; more of this later (probably; that's the sort of promise I'm likely to break unless reminded). Suffice it to say, it was lovely and restful and peaceful, as I had expected it to be, but it's still always nice to have expectations like that fulfilled.

By the time I left Frank and Susie's at 6:30, I was already feeling a little worried that I was setting out later than really necessary. Not only was I attempting to get from the Northern- middle of Indiana to the middle of Nebraska in one day, but I was trying to outrun a storm. In this latter point, I did not succeed; I hit some of the worst winter driving conditions I've ever seen, in the middle of Iowa.

As I crossed the Yellow river, I thought to myself how incredibly beautiful it looked. I reminded myself that I was not long on time, but it only took me about three seconds to realize to myself that these sorts of situations are exactly why I carry my camera, so I turned the car around, crossed the road very carefully (two-lane, non-divided highway; speed limit 55 mph, as I recall), and took a few shots. The only thing that allowed me to do this was the fact that there were not, at that time of day, just too many vehicles on the road. I did make sure that I was only on the bridge when I was certain that I had enough time before the next vehicle got there to get off the bridge before it got on. Still, my sense of self- preservation quickly kicked in, and I was back to the car in under five minutes. Also, my fingers were beginning to be numb. When I got back in the car, its fancy-dancy thermometer said it was seventeen degrees. That was the point when I figured I had probably balanced practicality with my desires for artistic expression just about perfectly.