I usually take the highways for granted, driving to and from Telluride and from Los Angeles to here, and I don't give the food in the grocery stores a second thought either.
But the highways were carved out of the mountains 130 years ago and gradually paved and improved. The food in the stores has to be grown and then driven over the roads.
Yesterday I encountered this scene on Hwy. 145 at milepost 66, near where you can stop and look at Wilson Peak and Sunshine Mountain.
The 18-wheeler was carrying 23,000 lbs. of Olathe sweet corn. The driver survived.
The highway was closed from Sunday afternoon through Monday while two wreckers were being used to haul up the truck.
Traffic was detoured through Ames and Illium, a mostly dirt road with nice cliffs. The first mile or two are challenging, especially in pouring rain with yellow rivulets of mud running down the road.
Caution: one lane road the sign says--but five cars were coming at me uphill as I started down. I moved to the inside half of that lane, dodging small piles of rock that had slid off in the rain, while the other cars took the outside.
Where was that corn going? Olathe is between Montrose and Grand Junction, and I suppose most of the corn goes north to I-70 to get to markets, but going south over Hwys. 50, 62, and 145 is harder for big rigs.
Here's to the drivers who carry our food! And may they all slow down for the sharp curves in the road.
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