Anyone home?

:cry: Gas continues to be high priced, especially along the 101 corridor to Pamplin Grove. Yesterday I paid $3.78 at the nearest station for PREMIUM gas, diesel is close in price. Go down ten cents for each grade of quality, so the cheapest was $3.58 for "regular".

Good news though along the Hwy 101 traffic corridor within 20 miles of Pamplin Grove:

The orange barricades have been removed from miles of highway in the last month once again opening up TWO full lanes in both directions. You folks will really appreciate this as for the last few years my at one time easy commute became a little more frantic when commuters could only use one lane at a time with reduced highway speeds (warnings of traffic fines doubled, etc.) and people rode your booty (that's English for trunk) all the way to the local college exit. Once I passed through the gorgeous area adjacent to the wildlife refuge, things mellowed out.

So now you can enjoy the beautiful drive coming from the north with minimal construction (compared to what it was) but still watch for signs that indicate reduced speeds, traveling a certain speed when TOWING, and heed the warnings so you don't get a ticket around the Hwy 101/36 turn-off. That would be a real "turn-off!".

Coming from the south the new bridge right before the Hwy 36 turnoff has been completed and widened, so when you cross it you are on the confluence of the Van Duzen and Eel River systems. Photo ops prevail throughout this section, especially if you like rolling hills and forested mountains. The turnoff to Hwy 36 is just past this construction area and signs are still posted regarding reduced speeds, but you'll want to slow down anyway cuz you'll be exiting off to your right/east at that point.

This is the first of March and I noticed that the signs saying "Highway Improvement Project completion date" has now had a 2008 tacked up over the previously estimated CD (2007)....gotta love those guys in orange as they wanted us to be sure to know when it would really be done. Be safe, stay tuned for updates.

Nanny :razz: