The road goes ever on and on.

Day 6 (part two) – The Badlands – So, maybe its because I’m driving around on the Lord’s day instead of going to church or maybe because I’m kind of deceiving my mother regarding my “accommodations” on some nights of the trip; or other general bad karma but whatever the reason the second half of today’s journey did not go so well.

I entered VT (1578.8 m) and had a perfectly lovely drive for about 60 miles then, again, mapquest fucks me. I still don’t know where the roads it listed were but I spend a minimum of 45 minutes driving around this town (read: intersection) called Barnard (1641.8). It was such a small town that I’m certain conversations were taking place regarding “that silver car that keeps going by.” I couldn’t even help myself with my iPhone because there was no service (I’m sure I heard the phone laugh at me).

I finally pulled over (for the third time) and selected a new route with my trusty paper atlas (not published by mapquest) cutting off part of my scenic tour of VT and the Adirondacks (it’d be dark anyway) and headed southwest.

(Despite getting lost, I did happen upon some cute little towns, Fair Haven among them.)

There were a few issues in NY but what became clear to me was that my timing was significantly off – despite getting, well I won’t say lost but others might – because I had adjusted my route and not stopped anywhere for more than 10 minutes since ME I was way ahead of schedule.

This put me in Cooperstown (1873.2) at a little past midnight. As I had not intended to get a room, thinking I’d be near a city with some sort of 24 hour establishment this was a slight hitch in the plan, but nothing major, I was sure I could find some place to hunker down and then it happened…With another car blocking me on the left and no road on the right I had to drive over a branch in the road. The branch decided to hitch a ride. And try as I might it would not detach. I felt like a shark with one of those parasite fish on its side. I pulled over in a neighborhood area and went around to the passenger’s side and tried to wrench it out but I’d chosen a spot right over a sewer grate and all I could think of was rats coming up from the depths so I moved up a few yards and put the car on a curb so I’d have more room to maneuver. Ultimately it was me and my flashlight laying down on the asphalt of Cooperstown, New York at one in the morning twisting a branch out of the under carriage (?) of my car, and I’ve got 8 hours until the Hall of Fame opens. Oh for a Waffle House!

Not 10 seconds after I start moving again another branch only slightly smaller falls out of a tree and onto the hood of my moving car.

Then I stopped to rest in a church parking lot, but that didn’t work out so I found a shopping center and waited out the night.

Also I twisted my ankle.