Monsoon memories

By John Olesky (BJ 1969-96)

Paula and I maneuvered monsoons, murky mountains, malady and Mountaineer misfires meted during my 56th post-retirement trip, and 31st with her, Sept. 19-23.

The primary reason for the trip was to go to a football game that was played by my alma mater, West Virginia University, against Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium. As usual for these once-a-year WVU road games, we tacked on extra days to enjoy the region. Ha!

The start of the Saturday night game in Auburn was delayed an hour by the monsoon – 2.5 inches in little more than an hour. Earlier, when we left Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International airport, we should have rented Noah’s Ark instead of a car. I-85 traffic was slowed by visibility-impeding torrential rains – up to 12 inches in a few days, and most of it, it seemed, while we were driving toward Alabama. Atlanta streets had water up to two feet deep rampaging through like the Colorado River before the Hoover Dam tamed it.

The morning after the game, we headed to Cherokee, NC, which is an elk’s throw away from The Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s entrance. The road signs say that we drove over The Smokies to Gatlinburg, TN and back. I’ll have to take their word for it. The murderous murky mist made it impossible to see more than a few hundred yards. I got out of the car and walked toward Clingmans Dome, at 6,643 feet the highest point in the Smokies, in Tennessee and on the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail footpath that runs from Maine to Georgia. Visibility atop Clingmans can be up to 100 miles. For us, try 100 feet.

Tourists in Gatlinburg seemed happy that they could see well enough to go from shop to shop. It’s why people come there, I guess.

A word about visiting Cherokee. Brown-bag it or eat at McDonald’s. Don’t trust the local “restaurants.” I have the out-of-body (in both directions) memories to prove it.

We had to delay our return home by a day because of the malady and cascading waterfalls – on the rain-smothered roads, including Interstates.

The football game? Oh, my Mountaineers lost a 14-0 lead and the game, 41-30, gift-wrapping six turnovers (five interceptions, one fumble) for the home team, which had the most friendly and hospitable fans I’ve encountered in my football travels over the years. Southern hospitality is no myth.

Last year, we flew to Colorado to watch the Mountaineers play. WVU lost.

In 2007 we flew to South Florida to watch the Mountaineers play. WVU lost.

In 2010 we plan to fly to Baton Rouge to watch the Mountaineers play LSU.

Put your money on the Tigers.

To see photos of our trip, click on the headline.