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The most stunning descent into Vesuvius Virginia

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"Flyer, flyer, brakes on fire!" My 2005 Jeep Liberty is a heavy little devil, what with one-quarter inch plate steel protecting the undercarriage, plus, a payload on that particular trip which did not anticipate 8 to 10 degree downward inclines with very few switchbacks. As in two switchbacks over the course of four miles. I was reminded of two separate trips, two separate cars, on the parkway, the first in the spring of 1962 in a 1958 Ford Fairlane, and then our first camping trailer haul from 1968. The Ford was just too heavy of a vehicle for such lightweight brakes; The 1963 Impala, a much larger engine but lighter vehicle, was fine until we towed an all steel and plywood camping trailer proudly handbuilt and loaded to the gills by my father into some steep terrain that year. Both memories still carry weight. This sign stands in the middle of Vesuvius for the wary traveler to be enlightened by what to expect, and what not to consider likely. "No through trucks" is never a good sign, literally. I've lived in three towns with those signs. They mean business. Add to that daunting awareness this second, most peculiar to the grid today admonition "GPS Routing Not Advised," and there you have a virtual "Twilight Zone" reception just about to go all rogue on your happy little trip, one way, or the other. There is nothing, nothing, nothing more memorable that smoke billowing from four brake drums, all brand newly installed just 400 miles away in the South Carolina lowcountry up until my arrival in Vesuvius. "'Nuff Said." ≈ Sam Elliott, in just about every film the man has ever made. Still, it is a happy note to end upon, to know that understatement in very unique official travel advisory signs still exist in this day and time of all things ordinary.
February 9, 2025 at 6:37 PM