Driving to the next county, Newport Beach v. Gunnison

So I'm not actually sure if Lake City is in a different county from Gunnison (they might both be in Gunnison county) so the title may not be completely accurate but the driving distance between Gunnison and Lake City versus Newport Beach (OC) and lets say ... Santa Monica (LA) is about the same. To make it easy I've attached links from Googlemaps just so you know I'm not BSing you.

Gunnison to Lake City http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Gunnison,+CO+81230&daddr=Lake+City,+CO,+81235&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=26.119945,70.927734&ie=UTF8&z=9

Newport Beach to Santa Monica http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Newport+Beach,+CA+92663&daddr=Santa+Monica,+CA&hl=en&geocode=FQP7AAIdvrL4-CmRQtEQB-DcgDGXhn5a5OmvKw%3BFX4YBwIdyffv-CkZAJHCzqTCgDGr9SP_tQoXtA&mra=ls&sll=38.287915,-107.12049&sspn=0.806273,2.216492&ie=UTF8&ll=33.746039,-118.084488&spn=0.854127,2.216492&z=9

(By the way, I checked the links to make sure they work, copy and paste, and they work. If they don't work for you it's user error.)

Anyways, the point is, although the driving distance is nearly the same, the drive itself is very different. For example, you will see on the trip from OC to LA that the drive time can double if there is traffic. However, for Gunni to LC there is no traffic considerations. In fact, driving back from LC to Gunni after dinner I have seen more of these










than these

To say the least there is a certain amount of relaxation and quiet involved in a drive from Gunni to LC (especially when you can see all the stars) that is lost in the traffic between OC and LA. However, this is not to say that there are no concerns. Deer tend to be less predictable than cars and therefore more of a concern even though there are far fewer of them. Also, it's dark, and the deer can be pretty difficult to see. Finally, ice. Ice is tricky because it usually pops out of nowhere and can be particularly dangerous when you are coming around a corner. I have learned - mom don't read the next line - that my car will start beeping and lights will start flashing on the dashboard when I'm sliding on ice. That doesn't seem very helpful.

Ok everyone, have a great weekend. To make Monday morning a little easier I will have a beard post ready to go for you. Here's a taste of what's to come






(note: this is not me, my beard isn't this awesome ... yet)