Random Signs
A Week Or So Ago…
On my way back on Interstate 70 from Colorado into Utah from being a guest lecturer with Kevin J. Anderson’s class at Western Colorado University, I saw three signs in the space of a quarter mile or so. It was on top of one of those 8,000-foot-plus mountain passes.
The signs were so weird I had to call Kris and have her write them down for me before I spaced them.
First sign… TRAIL THROUGH TIME
And there was an arrow to the left.
Very quickly after that sign, there was another simple sign…
EAGLES ON THE HIGHWAY
Okay??? I knew I was up high, but that was the first time I had ever seen either of those signs. And I was still puzzling on TRAIL THROUGH TIME.
And why left?
When within a very short distance (I was going about 80mph), another sign appeared.
THE GRAND REPUBLIC ARMY NEXT RIGHT
Now I am not stupid enough to look up what that group might be, and I have lived out west long enough to know not to get curious (and please don’t tell me if you know, and for heaven’s sake, don’t look it up.)
I was just glad the TRAIL THROUGH TIME was in the other direction from the army. And that I didn’t have to slam on my breaks to avoid hitting an eagle.
15 Comments
Mike
For some reason I’d thought you’d written Star Wars tie in novels … so your ignorance surprised me.
dwsmith
Oh, god, no, I HATE Star Wars. I did about 35 Star Trek books, however. But I couldn’t even write one short story in the Star Wars universe. To each his own.
Anon
The next three Thunder Mountain titles…
TRAIL THROUGH TIME
EAGLES ON THE HIGHWAY
THE GRAND REPUBLIC ARMY
dwsmith
Nope, Thunder Mountain titles are all Idaho actual place names, and not one of those is a place name in Idaho. (grin) Utah, on the other hand, clearly.
Anon
Lol. Sorry. Zane Grey homage?
Might be a Utah time travel spinoff trilogy then.
James Palmer
Those would make great short story titles.
Harvey Stanbrough
Wow! Cool! And I hear story titles coming. (grin)
Glen Sprigg
Well, tht’s two book titles just sitting there waiting to be claimed. I’ll pass on the Army one.
Rebecca
Those sound like great story titles, Dean!
Terry Compton
Sounds like book titles or the start of a story.
Mary McKenna
I can explain the Trail Through Time sign – it’s a short hike around an active dinosaur quarry – and the Eagle on Highway is a warning that eagles land on the road to eat carrion so drivers need to be alert.
Can’t explain theGtand Republic Army.
Thomas E
It’s actually the highway designation in honour of quite an innocuous group.
They were the veterans association for Union soldiers in the civil war.
They supported voting rights for black veterans, memorial Day, and veterans pensions. Closed down in the 1950’s when the last veteran died.
allynh
Don’t be silly, it’s a Highway designation. It’s like the signs pointing to the original Route 66. The website mentions that Jack Kerouac’s novel On The Road talks about it.
U.S. 6 – The Grand Army of the Republic Highway
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us6.cfm
Indiana Jim
There was also a fraternal order for veterans of the Union Army during the Civil War
Mary
US Route 6 is the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, named in honor of Civil War Veterans. It starts at the tip of Cape Cod in Provincetown and ends on the California coast. It runs through Utah.