tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post5235587474653058289..comments2024-03-25T10:19:58.493-07:00Comments on the joy of sox: Driving From New York To Parisallanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-58903402522839844892011-02-12T13:45:55.555-08:002011-02-12T13:45:55.555-08:004th photo
trying again with the html<a href="http://www.nmsu.edu/~geology/amato/chukotka/chukotka4.html" rel="nofollow">4th photo</a> <br /><br />trying again with the htmlDr. Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17771229779025430726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-11548301927176268982011-02-12T09:46:50.071-08:002011-02-12T09:46:50.071-08:00the Russian technique for getting unstuck
This al...<i>the Russian technique for getting unstuck</i><br /><br />This also reminded me of the description in Russell Banks's "Cloudsplitter" of how to get a huge, heavy covered wagon down a very steep hill in a safe manner. It's not something we would think of, but it is very time-consuming. The basic idea (I read the book years ago) was to tie the wagon to various trees alongside the road (if there was a road) and slowly move it down the hill by untying the rope from one tree and retying that to another tree a little further down, moving the wagon securely a few feet at a time.allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-73280125620808425512011-02-12T09:42:35.794-08:002011-02-12T09:42:35.794-08:00Cole's book mentions huge swamps of mud up to ...Cole's book mentions huge swamps of mud up to two feet deep. And these cars had what look like bicycle tires!<br /><br />The accounts of driving across the US in winter are amazing. There were few real roads -- and, naturally, they are not plowed. Because drifts were often 10-12 feet high, they could not figure out which way the road went, so they would drive across less snowy fields or along railroad tracks. (They crossed the entirety of Iowa at about 10 mph.)allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-32357061194090849102011-02-12T08:22:39.657-08:002011-02-12T08:22:39.657-08:00Your photo of the car stuck in the mud during the ...Your photo of the car stuck in the mud during the race to Paris reminded me of geology field work in Siberia. The mud is severe! It would be impossible to drive through it. We used "track vehicles" and even they got stuck. In the <a href="http://www.nmsu.edu/~geology/amato/chukotka/chukotka4.html>4th photo</a> on this page you can see the Russian technique for getting unstuck. First, find a tree. Chop it down. Then carry it to the site (non-trivial, the nearest tree was a few km away!) Tie it to the front of the treads, then turn it on and let the treads pull the tree under the vehicle, providing traction.Dr. Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17771229779025430726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-22143961805324909612011-02-12T05:59:35.961-08:002011-02-12T05:59:35.961-08:00In the days before the race, Stephane Lauzanne, ed...In the days before the race, Stephane Lauzanne, editor of Le Matin, expressed amazement at the New Yorkers walk the streets:<br /><br />"People go about with alert and busy steps, eyes straight before them, as if eternally running towards an invisible goal. They are indifferent to all eccentricities, averse to all idleness."allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.com