Listen to the episode
Driving Profile: Amy Bushatz
(sneak peek)
AMY: I drove through what was a construction
zone. But I did not see was that the speed limit was dropped 10 miles an hour.
And so in my head, I’m
obeying all the rules and being awesome. So this policeman waves at [00:34:00]
me and I waved back and keep driving, cause like, Oh, have a nice day. You
know? And I see in my rear view mirror, it’s like, it’s like cinematic.
He looks at me. I keep
going. And he like double takes. So he like runs to his car, which was. You
know, hilarious and like jumps in it. And so he pulls me over and he’s like,
why did you flee.
(intro music)
BHAVNEET:
Happy Vaisakhi everyone and welcome back to Drive With Us
Podcast. A podcast where we explore driving cultures around the world by
bringing on a new guest each episode to talk about the crazy things they’ve
experienced on the road, who they are as drivers and how they became the driver
they are today. [00:01:00] I’m Bhavneet.
TARANJIT:
And I’m Taranjit. And also Happy Bicycle Day. Apparently, that’s
a thing.
BHAVNEET:
So if you don’t like driving, bicycle.
TARANJIT:
But be sure to tag us with your biking pics using the hashtag #BikeWithUsTo.
BHAVNEET:
And for those of you that were interested in our Vaisakhi Thank
You card and sticker, we will be mailing those out this week. Once again, thank
you for all your support and keep driving.
TARANJIT:
And keep driving. And today’s driver is Amy Bushatz, a
longtime journalist and indoor fan turned outdoor lover and host of the Humans
Outside podcast. Amy and her family moved to Alaska in 2016 to refocus their
lives on spending time in nature. And since September 2017, she has spent at
least 20 minutes outside every single day as part of our humans outside 365
project. She shares with us driving on ice heaves on Haul Road, waving to a
police officer who’s trying to pull over and what it was like moving to Alaska.
Let’s meet today’s driver Amy Bushatz.
(transition music)
BHAVNEET: [00:02:00] Welcome Amy. Thanks so much for joining us today.
AMY: Thank you guys so much
for having me. What a, what a pleasure.
RICHARD: I’m super excited to
hear your stories, especially since we’ve haven’t had anyone from Alaska yet,
so I’m sure you have some different stories for us. So what is one of the most
craziest driving stories you have experienced?
AMY: So the thing you need
to know about Alaska is that it’s like, um, is a humongous place, right? So
just for context, I mean, I think people know it’s really ginormous, but for
context, uh, Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas. So if you’ve ever
driven through Texas, and this is a, like a place that does not end, double it.
So the other thing to
know about Alaska is that a lot of the state actually doesn’t don’t have any,
uh, doesn’t have any roads that go to it. The amount of places you can actually
drive in Alaska or drive to and Alaska is actually pretty limited. So with that
in mind, there are places to go by car in Alaska, like point A [00:03:00]to B
that are just extremely remote and it takes forever to get there.
So my craziest Alaska
driving story is driving, what is known as the Haul Road or the Dalton highway
up North of the Arctic circle towards Deadhorse, which is on the Arctic Ocean.
It’s the home of Prudhoe Bay. It’s the home of the oil fields. When you hear
about oil drilling in Alaska, you’re hearing about.
Up there. So this
summer, my family and I got in the car and we were really, we were chasing
sunshine. We had a week off of work. We wanted to go somewhere where it was not
raining and 50 degrees. Uh, and we looked around the state and we determined
that that was going to be the sunniest place. So in the car we went and we
drove about eight hours, um, outside of our home near Anchorage, which is in
the Southern part of the state up North towards, um, Fairbank’s, which is sort
of the central part of the [00:04:00] state.
And then towards the
Dalton highway, the haul road heading out to Deadhorse. So. This is a 250 mile
highway and it goes, um, from, you know, just North, uh, Fairbank’s up to the
Arctic Ocean. That’s not like that many miles, but because the road is not
entirely paved or rather because parts of it are paved.
It is various slow
going. So the Dalton highway is just, it is if you’ve ever felt like you were
driving maybe through Iowa and you’re like, Oh, here I am. This is the middle
of nowhere. No, no, no. I found it. It’s in Alaska. So the problem, as I said
with the Dalton highway is that it’s not entirely paved. It would actually have
been better if they just left well enough alone and didn’t pave it at all
because the pavement portions have become what is known as an ice heave.
So when the road for
raises and asphalt freezes and then thaws [00:05:00] it bubbles up. And so when
you go over it, it’s like these tiny little things speed bumps with no signage.
And you’re like, Ooh, that’s my side effects for you were like, and you hit them.
And suddenly you’re like airborne, right?
Because you had no
idea. This thing was going to be there. And there it is. And now it’s too late
to stop. This is how people break their cars. So you’re always advised to have
an extra tire. So my family and I are we’ve decided, okay, we’re going to go up
here because it’s sunny and because we have a week off work. And we start
driving up the Dalton highway, it’s the Haul road towards the Arctic Circle.
And guys, it is just
like white knuckle driving the whole time, because you’re you’re surrounded by
this glorious landscape that you just really would love to be staring at, but
instead you have to watch the ground like hawk, because if you do not pay attention,
you’re going to land your entire car in a man’s size pothole, which is what the
non-paid portions are or on the paved portions.
You’re going to go
flying through the air because you hit one of these ice [00:06:00] heaves.
There’s just no good option then sort of like I seen on the weird road cake
comes the semi-trucks. So these are humongous, you know, the 18 Wheeler semis.
Okay. Do 18 wheelers, semis have a problem with tiny little ice heaves and
potholes?
No, they do not. They
are hauling. That’s why it’s called the Haul road. And these guys drive between
Fairbank’s and the Deadhorse road and they haul and they haul up right behind
your car. And so imagine with me, if you will driving cautiously down a dirt
road and the like, well, the middle of literally nowhere, you have no cell
reception, by the way, you’re nowhere.
And you are staring at
the road because you’re trying not to get eaten by a pothole or by an ice
heave, and you glance up and see out of nowhere has come into your rear view
mirror, this humongous semi that is barreling [00:07:00] down on your car. And
you now have to get out of the way because you have a humongous semi on the
back of your car.
And so you know there’s
nowhere to pull over. It was very stressful. But aside from all of that, what
do you like? What’s the point of a drive if not the destination, right? So we
decided not to go all the way to the Deadhorse because one day, like one, nine
hour day of this crazy driving, which got us about a hundred miles was quite
enough for us.
Thank you very much.
But we ended up in Coldfoot, which is a little bit less than halfway up the
road. And let me just tell you the scenes, imagine yourself surrounded by
mountains scapes that you’re looking at. And you’re thinking that cannot
possibly be real. That this is surely some sort of green screen backdrop.
And if I take a picture
of this one, it won’t do it justice. And two, no one will believe me because
this that I am seeing [00:08:00] is just without context. Fake. It’s a fake
news scenery, fake news. Like there’s no way to describe it. There’s no way to
take a picture of it. And it is just, it makes you feel very large and very
small at the same time.
And it is 100% worth
the drive.
BHAVNEET: Okay.
So after parts of what you’re saying, I don’t know if I would ever take this
road. I mean, I’ve read about it and Deadhorse just sounds very ominous.
AMY: Yeah, it does. Doesn’t
it. We did make it up there. And here’s why. So in, in this year, in COVID
land, when you get up to Deadhorse, there is exactly one thing to do. And the
thing to do is to pay the contractor who is allowed to take you to the Arctic
Ocean through the oil fields to do so, so that you can go swim in the Arctic
Ocean. Sounds great.
Except this year, that
contractor, they weren’t doing that. They just, it wasn’t being offered. And
so, you know, what’s are we like we’re going to drive up there, tap the sign
and tap the sign and [00:09:00] turn around and drive home. That didn’t sound
that fun. So we decided to spend a li more leisurely day in Coldfoot. Go on a
nice little hike, take in them mountain views, you know, contemplate our
choices with that road.
It was really fun. What
was really funny is my, my husband drove on the way there. He drove the whole
way. And the next day I was like, I am so tired of drive. Like, let’s just go
like, let’s turn around and go back. I’ve seen what there is to see pretty sure
the rest of it looks like this. He’s like, I feel like I haven’t seen anything.
I really want to, like,
I feel like there’s more to see. And I realized it was because he had been
driving the whole time. And unlike, you know, when you’re driving like a normal
highway, you probably have a chance to look around and appreciate what’s going
on around you. You’re driving the haul road, you’re looking at the road.
And so we swap places,
which is what I really got an appreciation for this like stress level of
driving on that road. And he was like, Oh yeah, it’s so beautiful here. I
didn’t even notice, you know, so yeah, it was great though. I mean, I think you
should drive it. I think it’s a, [00:10:00] it’s a great, it’s a great
experience.
It’s unlike anything
else.
RICHARD: Well, if you knew her
stress level, I don’t think you would want to be in the car if she was driving.
AMY: it would be a great
road trip for you.
RICHARD: When you were
describing this. I just felt like I was in the car with you experiencing this.
How long was this dry or like how long were you on this road for?
AMY: We drove, um, I mean
all day and we stopped, we stopped here and there to go on a walk or whatever.
Um, I think the way up, we maybe spent seven hours in the car, on the road, and
then on the way back, we actually spent a little bit longer than that because
we didn’t, we did drive a little bit further up the road before going back
because my husband really wanted to catch sight of the Brooks Range.
Which is a mountain
range here in Alaska and is part of the national park that’s up there. And so
while you do not ever enter officially the national park on this road, um, you
can see it. So he really wanted to [00:11:00] see that. So we actually drove an
additional 40 miles up the road so that he could see that, but that meant
driving an additional 40 miles back down the road.
Um, and this, this
event took us until, you know, till noon, but, you know, I think even that was
worth it, it was just like I said, fake, fake news views, guys, you know, Not
real, but it’s there. I swear to God, I saw it.
BHAVNEET: We’ll
take your word for it.
RICHARD: Would you ever go back
or would you maybe like in the future go all the way to where you were planning
on going?
AMY: Yeah. I mean, that’s
such a good question because it’s like, man, my goodness, it was a long drive.
And so I think like maybe I would take a plane. Can I do, can I do that
instead? I’ll tell you what was really funny on the way up. At some point we
looked up behind us, you know, I told you the semis come barreling down.
We look up behind us
and what do we see, but a U-Haul truck, like a, U-Haul box truck. [00:12:00]
And I’m looking, I’m like somebody like moving out here, like what in the, you
know, and so if these dudes, um, we both pulled over at the rest stop slash
campground that is at the Arctic circle sign.
So there’s of course a
sign that says, this is the Arctic circle now. And, um, we had both pulled over
at the same time there. And I was like, Hey guys, nice truck. And as it turned
out, they were just needed to rent a car to go hunt. And so they rented a,
U-Hul truck, but seems like there are other options. I don’t know. Anyway, that
wasn’t your question, but that, that was a funny sort of like, Hmm.
Okay. I don’t know that
I would drive drive it again. I, I think that I would just as soon pay a couple
of hundred bucks and fly up there as I went to spend the entire day, you know,
that much sitting in the car, like your butt starts to hurt, like things are
[00:13:00] aching. Get me out of here.
RICHARD: Yeah. Probably not
like, I guess other road trips where you can like stop somewhere and get out.
It seems like there’s not much, many places to get out and take a break on that
road.
AMY: Yeah, it was just very
desolate and you have to really have a sense of like, I want to get where we’re
going. I mean, you could stop anywhere, you know? So one of the really cool
things about Alaska is that you can actually camp literally anywhere as long as
it’s a public area. So people pull like legitimately pull off the highway and
like pull off spot and camp there.
But there’s like not a
lot going on. And we really were wanting to get to Coldfoot and just, you know,
set up camp and be there. So just at some point, it’s like, you have to be
purposeful about finding things to do or planning to stop and not just getting
tunnel vision on the destination so that you can enjoy the drive.
It, it sort of reminded
me a little bit of driving through Canada on the way to Alaska, which is a
whole another trip. I mean, literally a whole another road trip. [00:14:00]
It’s on the complete other side of the state. And that road is equally desolate
and you know, we’re talking no radio signals, no cell signals in between these
towns in Canada and you know, less, the road conditions are better.
So it’s less white
knuckle, but you really, at some point are just like, I just want to get where
I’m going. So I, you know, it would be like an act of mindfulness to say, I am
going to enjoy this. Strip and make sure I build in stopping points. And don’t just
think about the destination.
BHAVNEET: You
decided to move to Alaska, where did you move from?
AMY: Yeah. So my family and
I lived in Tennessee, which, uh, near Nashville.
So just for
perspective, if you’re going to drive from tenants from Nashville, Tennessee,
to Anchorage, Alaska, The Boise Idaho area is your approximately or halfway
point. If you think about a map of the U S Boise seems really far from
Tennessee and it is that’s halfway to [00:15:00] Alaska, so, Whoa, Hey long
drive.
We really wanted to
change everything we were doing and be more focused on spending time outside.
My husband is an army combat veteran, and he was experiencing a lot of
challenges with, um, you know, basically just injuries from war. And we wanted
to help him recalibrate and spend more time in nature. So we quite literally
packed up the station wagon and moved to Alaska where we had never been, by the
way, you know, he plotted out our road trip, but we stuck everybody in the car
and we hit, you know, hit the road.
And, uh, I got to say
like, it’s very different from anywhere I’ve ever lived. Um, it was a very
different drive from anything I’d ever done. Lots of those moments of what the,
you can’t be real. And then we got up here and we. Looked at our lives and we
were spending more time outside, but I realized like I wasn’t spending the time
outside that I thought that I would.
Um, and so I created
this little challenge for [00:16:00] myself that I would try to spend at least
20 consecutive minutes outside every day for a year that was in early or
mid-2017. And since then I have spent 20 consecutive minutes every day out. You
know, outside every day for over three years. Um, and I even now have a podcast
about it called humans outside, where I’ve talked to experts and people about
making that into just a regular habit for your life.
And it’s, it’s a lot of
fun.
BHAVNEET: That’s
really awesome. I, I just, I don’t know how you’re like, out of all the places
let’s pick a place that I’ve never been before and yeah, let’s go move there.
That sounds great.
AMY: Well, like, okay. So
how about like, think about it like this though, if you had no reason to live
where you live, like no family ties there. No reason to be there. Like you
didn’t own a house, like maybe you like the restaurant down the street and
that’s pretty much, you know, you have some friends, like, that’s it, that’s
the only reason to live there, but you can live [00:17:00] literally anywhere
you want.
Where are you going to
go? And how are you going to pick it?
RICHARD: Were you ever worried
that if you got there and you’re like, Oh, I don’t really like this place at
all.
AMY: Yeah. I mean,
absolutely. So two things about that one, we had lived in Washington State,
which I really loved. And I had known a lot of people who lived up here in
Anchorage area through the military and all of them were like, Oh my gosh, it’s
so great. We love it there. And the people who said that were the same people
who really likes living in Washington State, So I figured, okay.
It’s a pretty good bet
that if they like it and I like it, they’re probably right about Alaska. But
the other thing is, is that, you know what, um, if we can decide to move here
and to give it a try, there’s nothing to keep us from moving away. You know,
it’s just extra time and extra work and, you know, extra cost, the same cost
that was to get up here.
And so why not try it
then take the risk. People say all the time that they want to try something new
and [00:18:00] actually doing it as something completely different, we really
felt like this is something that we can actually try to do. And if we hate it,
then we’ll try something else, you know, maybe head back down to Seattle and,
um, land somewhere that we know.
We like, heck that’s
even closer. Well, that’s still, almost halfway back to Tennessee, but it’s not
all the way back. So it’s fine.
RICHARD: That’s a really great
mindset. I feel like a lot of people dream of doing things, but they don’t
actually go forth with it. So I’m glad that you actually enjoy where you’re
living right now. And you took that risk.
AMY: Yeah, thank you. You
know, it’s, I, I talk about this a lot with people cause it, and of course
people are like, you’re crazy. You moved to Alaska. Why would you do that?
Isn’t it cold there? Isn’t it dark? Yes, it is. All of those things are true,
but the truth of matter is like you don’t have to move to Alaska to try
something new.
You don’t have to move
to Alaska to be outside more or, you know, recalibrate your life around
something that is important to you. All you have to do is make a [00:19:00]
plan and then do it. And that is less about, that’s less about practicalities
and more about self control and mental fortitude, making a decision and then
doing it just like you would, if you wanted to, you know, go on a diet or spend
20 minutes outside every day, right?
This is not. Something
that is necessarily about the pros and cons of doing the thing or the
practicalities of getting there. Although those are important, it’s more about
a mental mindset and making a decision for yourself that that’s something you
want to do, which is not to say any, everybody has to move to Alaska or
everyone should spend 20 minutes outside every day.
Although I think the
outside thing is a pretty good, pretty good gig. Um, three years in a row I’ve
I’ve. Sort of sold on the concept, but deciding that you want to make a change
for yourself is a matter of deciding that you want to make a change for
yourself. So that’s sort of my take on that.
Non-mental so health
expert, [00:20:00]that’s my take.
RICHARD: I feel like a lot of
people would like to go outside right now.
AMY: well, yeah, and that’s,
I mean, that’s real too, you know, like with, uh COVID and then wildfires in
some areas, those are very real, very real considerations. I think it’s
important to know that going outside is not a more like what outside looks like
is not a moral imperative. So, um, going outside does not mean going to the
forest, although it certainly could.
It does not mean I have
to go for a walk in the woods every day. Your, how you experience the outdoors
is up to you. And where are you experience The outdoors is up to you. And for
some of us that’s easier than others. Certainly. I absolutely know that I’m
hugely privileged on this right now that I live in a place that is very rural,
that I could afford to move to a place that is very rural.
They don’t have to
worry about meeting anybody on the trail. And if I did, they could, you know,
we can go [00:21:00] on the different side of the trail. That’s fine. But I
think that. In most circumstances, if you wanted to find a way to go outside
for even a few minutes at a time, you probably could. So that’s just my 2 cents.
RICHARD: Going back onto when
you’re driving to Alaska and through Canada. And you were mentioning that there
was no radio signal or no cell service. Were you ever nervous about not having
that? And was there ever a moment that you wish you had it or you needed it?
AMY: Yeah. You know what? It
was like one, why am I still in the car with these people? At some point I
looked at my husband and I was like, who’s just driving. Like I’m in the passenger
seat, he’s driving. There was nothing unusual about this arrangement. I was
just like, why are you so close to me? I mean, really?
Why are you here? You
know, But I, you know, I’m an introvert and that was all like a lot of like
contact time. I missed having the ability to like, be distracted from the
driving part. [00:22:00] And I don’t know that I was fully prepared for how
long that would be, how long it would be. The cell signal was kind of like,
well, there goes that distraction.
One of the fun things
about driving to Alaska and in Alaska is that we have a book called the
milepost. And if you were to look at the mileposts, you’d say, why does this
phone book look and thing have information about every single mile on the road.
So it’s like, it’s literally. Mile one, pull out to right side mile, two nice
view of mountains, mile 2.5, pull out on North side.
It’s just like, it’s
like very detailed. That’s we have that because that’s it, there’s no other
information you’re getting on the road. So if you want to know where a pullout
is, that’s your information, that’s it. And so you get to a point where you literally
just read the mileposts mile by mile. Oh, upcoming, nice view of mountains.
Look, look to the left,
you know, and in fact, I did that on the haul [00:23:00] road too. Cause it
covers that road as well. And it actually does talk a little bit about potholes.
The miles 15 to 25 possible ice heaves. Be careful, you know, it’s a Britain
with some dedication, some very attentive people, right. The milepost, but that
was really the entertainment in the car.
That’s it?
RICHARD: Wow that must’ve been,
I mean, I guess at points, if I mostly got rough being in that car for that
long.
AMY: I think your standards
change, right? Like usually you’re like I require podcasts and songs and then,
you know, at some point you’re like, Ooh, mile 2.3, pull out, you know, exciting.
I did. I definitely, at one point in like a motel room in a town where we had
cell signal downloaded a lot of books, I was like, this is like day four.
I was like, this has
got to end. We got to have something to listen to tomorrow. I can’t handle this
anymore.
RICHARD: [00:24:00] Is this a
road that is taken by a lot of people. And were there a lot of other cars in
the road or were you guys just one of the very few.
AMY: So that was in 2016.
Now this year, I think there’s a little different. There’s like nobody out
there. It was, we were not the only, there was not a lot of people. We were not
the only people, if that makes sense every now and then you’d see, like this
ginormous motorhome that you’re thinking, why are you driving that here?
Um, like just huge
honking motor home. And then the other thing about this part of the country is
that road work requires them to shut down the road and then have just one
direction going at a time. So you would be driving for just hours and hours and
seen nothing and nobody. And then you would get to a section that was closed
for 20 minutes and there’d be 50 cars.
And so it was a good
reminder that you’re not completely alone out there, but yeah, it is pretty
desolate for sure.
BHAVNEET: That’s
how I, even though this probably it does not compare it all, but that’s how I
feel sometimes we’re driving through Pennsylvania.
AMY: Yeah, well, okay.
There, I mean, if you’re out in the middle of Amish country in Pennsylvania,
like the farmland, [00:25:00] that is for sure how it is, it’s like, um, is
this the scene of crimes? Like.
BHAVNEET: I’m,
like if we get lost here, no, one’s going to find
AMY: one will find us. And
that will be the end of our story. Yeah, for sure. My in-laws live in Ohio. I
completely, yeah. In fact, before we moved to Alaska and I was like, I did it,
I found the middle of nowhere. I really felt the middle of nowhere was in Ohio,
but it’s not it’s here. I found it.
BHAVNEET: well,
since you did mention that you have moved across the U S multiple times, I’m
interested to hear if you have to like, come across any stereotypes of certain
types of drivers in different areas where you’ve been.
AMY: Yeah, so I lived in
Washington DC for a little while. And the stereotype there is like very
aggressive that, I mean, people drivers in the Washington DC area are very,
very aggressive. And it’s where I actually sort of, I did most of my early
driving in that area. [00:26:00] And I think I probably picked up some of those
habits, but God help us.
You got it because the
signs are not anywhere close. Like they’re not anywhere close to where they
need to be. If you need to get off the highway, the sign is all, but after the
exit. So you better be pretty aggressive cause you got to get over four lanes
with a thousand people right there.
BHAVNEET: That’s
true. we’re in Maryland. And anytime we go to DC, I refuse to drive. I’m like
she’s driving. She knows it like the back of her head now. And I’m like, I’m
never driving in DC.
AMY: yeah, it’s really it’s
especially right there. I’m on 395 going into the city, you pass this Lafayette
Plaza exit. And if you need to be on that exit and you’re not in, you were in
the HOV lane. That we’re, you know, good luck so best to you.
RICHARD: Exactly. So how would
you compare drivers from DC? And if you were in Tennessee, before to drivers in
Alaska,
AMY: Drivers. So [00:27:00]
Alaskans stereotypically are just mine. Like they just really want to do what
they do. Like it’s not quite minding your own business. It’s just, it’s the
freedom to mind your own business, if you want to. And so Alaskans are not in a
hurry. They just have their own flare laws tend to be suggestions.
So, um, I would say
like in DC, people are very aggressive and what they want is what they want
here. It’s more like they’re a little lawless. They might be driving way under
the speed limit. They might be driving way over the speed limit. They might be
doing either of these things in either lane. They might just be hanging out at
the traffic circle.
When you think going
around, it would be the better call.
RICHARD: Did you have a hard time
adjusting to that driving?
AMY: You know, you get used
to it. I’ll give you one more example. If we have a lot of two lane roads here,
so more people than a two lane road would support. And so if I want to turn
left [00:28:00] and a two lane road, right. I have to wait for the other side
to clear this obviously inconveniences everyone behind me, but have no fear
because they’re just going to go around me on the right.
So that took some
getting used to, and furthermore, you’re expected to do that. So if I’m sitting
behind somebody who’s waiting to turn left, the person behind me thinks that
going around them on the right is the best call. And if I don’t do that,
they’re going to go around me and that guy Bo
BHAVNEET: Are
there shoulders on the roads in Alaska or is it just like literally two lanes?
AMY: it’s very, the
shoulders are very narrow in most places going around, someone on these roads
is like, Hmm. Okay. If you think that works.
RICHARD: Let’s dive into the type of driver you are. I know we got a
little bit of a picture of what type of driver you are, but if you are given
the option of being the driver or the passenger, which would you choose,
AMY: Probably the driver.
RICHARD: have you ever been in a
car where you were a passenger and you’re like, uh, this was a bad idea.
AMY: Yes. Okay. [00:29:00]
So I have this friend who is a very cautious driver and we were on this very
narrow, windy, narrow road. That goes from where I live near, near Anchorage.
My town’s called Palmer and it winds up the Glenn highway towards the Matanuska
glacier. Okay. So it’s like this gorgeous drive, but it is quite narrowing,
quite windy.
And she’s just, she was
in an accident, not that long ago. And so she is very like gun shy right now.
And the way she, she took, took these curves, just like pot, like hesitant. I
was like, Oh my gosh, I’m going to let, how about I drive home? You know? Well,
we are one, never going to get there. And to everyone is very angry at us right
now in three you’re driving me crazy.
BHAVNEET: Did you
drive back?
AMY: I did not because it
was her car and I felt bad. I, you know what I did, I, instead of dry, like
sitting in the front seat, I. Sat in the back seat and like just looked at my
phone and tried to have a Zen moment with myself.
BHAVNEET: [00:30:00] How
would you describe in your own words, the type of driver that you are, and
would you say that your family and friends would describe your driving in the
same way?
AMY: Yeah. I think that I am
probably a semi aggressive driver and I think that they would describe it in
the same way. I think my kids would probably call me a semi distracted
aggressive driver, which is probably not a super safety conscious. Description,
but you know, I’m trying to deal with them and the road and you know what I’m
saying?
This I’m thinking I
should get better about that. It’s like, is this driving confessions? Are we
changing the name of your show?
RICHARD: Yeah, I just added on
at the end. Try with us confessions. Would you consider yourself someone who
honks or, uh, consider yourself a honker?
AMY: I am a honker, like,
come on, pay attention. If the light is green, it’s time to go. Go stop looking
at your phone drive.
BHAVNEET: [00:31:00}Is
that your DC driving coming out?
AMY: I think so. I think it
might be, I’m like one of these people who thinks that things I know for
whatever reason, it baffles me that the thing that is always 10 minutes away is
not five minutes away.
Like there’s never been
a time that it’s actually taken me five minutes to get there, but I, every time
I’m going, I think, well, that’s really close by. It’ll probably take like five
minutes and it does not. And so I’m always in a little bit of a hurry, uh, when
I shouldn’t be, because I’m smarter than that, but here we are.
BHAVNEET: Well,
speaking of honking, what would you say is your biggest driving pet peeve?
AMY: it drives me. Okay. So
I’m also a runner. It drives me crazy when people do not stop for people in
sidewalks. So as aggressive as I am, like, as in hurrying, as I am. It drives
me insane when people don’t see pedestrians and when they don’t give them the
right of way. And that’s really just because I’m so often one and there, you
know, too many times I’ve almost been hit by a car, not looking [00:32:00] in
the crosswalk before they turned right on red. Runner trauma.
RICHARD: Yeah. I feel like a lot
of people don’t pay attention to that. And then it’s like, but it’s like,
you’re taught like pedestrians have the right away, but people are just like,
no, I’m going first. You wait.
AMY: well, exactly. And you
know, I, I don’t even know, like, especially here, um, because people, people
really are not. Like that, like, they’re not, they’re not being pushy that way.
Right. It’s more like, I just didn’t even look, I didn’t see you. And then when
they do see you, they get mad that they, that your there.
Right. Cause it’s not
about having the right the way it’s it’s about, they just almost hit you with
their car. And now they’re trying to make an excuse. So I find that people, so
Alaska is not a particularly pedestrian friendly place. The area I live in is,
um, there are a lot of bike paths and sidewalks here.
It’s really kind of
incredible because the rest of the state is so pedestrian unfriendly.
[00:33:00] But people just don’t know, like they’re not used to dealing with
sidewalks and crosswalks. And so I had somebody yell at me a couple of months
ago that I wasn’t supposed to be in the crosswalk because the light, the hand
was blinking because it was like saying you’re, you know, you’re almost out of
time.
And I’m like, that’s
not the rule, you know, he’s like, you’re not, you know, the light is red. Like
it’s blinking your ass, supposed to be here. I’m like, um, what
BHAVNEET: That’s
not right.
AMY: I was like, ah, you,
you know, don’t get mad at me cause you almost just hit me with your car. But
yeah, that really drives me crazy. But again, it’s just a little PTSD.
RICHARD: Speaking of this
aggression. Uh, would you consider yourself someone who has road rage or has
anyone ever had road rage towards you?
AMY: I do not consider
myself someone with road rage. I, there has been limited. There’s been one time
in particular. I remember that I was driving [00:34:00] and I changed, like I
needed to change lanes. And when I do that, I just wave and like wave up my
hand. Like, thank you, you know, courtesy wave and this person, I think they
like in retrospect, I think they thought I was flipping them off.
Like they didn’t see my
hand wave. They just like, they just didn’t see the whole thing. Cause I
definitely was not. But I was like, thank you very much, you know, good mood.
And then they were flipping, like they drove, they rev past me and they were
flipping me off and you know, and there was nothing about this city.
Like I hadn’t cut them
off. Like they had given me space, you know, like it was a very like
non-confrontational situation until that moment. And then I was like, what in
the world just happened? You know, like what did I do? And I think what happened
was that they, they did not see my courtesy way if they saw me giving them the
bird, which did not happen by the way.
Um, and then I feel
like I obviously feel really bad about that because it was like, this was such
a nice interaction until right now [00:35:00] it’s just a misunderstanding.
RICHARD: Yeah. That’s what I
always worry, like, think about when someone lasts me and are like, wave to
say, thanks. I’m like, did they even see my wave? Should I wave again? Do I
have to do it again?
AMY: Yeah. Yeah, because I
really am grateful. Like, thank you so much, but no.
RICHARD: Speaking of a waving. I
think you’ve had an instance with a police officer where he was waving you over.
AMY: Oh my goodness. So I
was driving, I was in Washington state. I was like on my merry way to the YMCA
and I. Drove through what was a construction zone. Like I specifically remember
being like, Oh look, construction workers. But I did not see was that the speed
limit was dropped 10 miles an hour. So I was not going over the normal speed
limit, which I want to say was 35.
Or maybe even 25, like
I was like, Oh, look, we’re being cautious. Here’s all these people, you know,
and the cop. And so in my head, I’m obeying all the rules and being awesome. So
this policeman waves at [00:36:00] me and I waved back and keep driving, cause
like, Oh, have a nice day. You know? And I see in my rear view mirror, it’s
like, it’s like cinematic.
He looks at me. As I,
he, like, he waves at me. He looks back at me. I keep going. And he like double
takes. And then like, he’s like a cop who maybe had a lot of donuts. Okay. So
he like runs to his car, which was. You know, hilarious and like jumps in it.
Like it’s like his best day. Cause I was going to like chase out a perk and
like flashes on his lights and chases me down.
And I immediately I’m
like, Oh snap. I was supposed to pull over and I totally misinterpreted that
moment. So, so he pulls me over and he’s like, where are you? Like, um, why did
you dry? Like, why did you flee? I don’t think I like doing what I’m doing,
like 25 miles an hour. Like there was no fleeing and I waved at you.
But if, okay, why did
you flee? And I was like, I am so sorry. I just thought you were [00:37:00]
waving at me. I didn’t see the construction zone sign. I think he didn’t give
me a ticket, but it was pretty, you know, he like took a chill pill right then
a little bit, but I was like, um, my bad, you know,
BHAVNEET: I was
just trying to be friendly.
AMY: I’m just like being
nice, you know, like it’s a great, it’s a beautiful day to be alive, you know?
RICHARD: I just thought you were
waving.
AMY: You’re a nice guy. I’m
nice. Let’s all wave at each other. Fine.
RICHARD: Oh, that’s hilarious.
But what the fact that you took it as, Oh, it’s just a hi.
AMY: Yeah.
RICHARD: just makes me more
funnier.
BHAVNEET: Cause
you know, please often they’re just stand on. The road like, hi. How are you
doing?
AMY: Well okay. Maybe they
should. I’m just saying. I think that would make everything better. If people
just stood around and just waved for no reason, have a good day. How’s it
going? Like no campaign signs, like just friendly waving in the middle of the
street.
BHAVNEET: [00:38:00]
That would be good. Yeah, that would be great. Well, now that we know the type
of driver you are, let’s go back to your driving first. How would you describe
your first time driving experience and who was it with?
AMY: So I, um, I learned to
drive sort of in stages, my mom I have seven younger brothers and sisters. And
so my mother begrudgingly taught me how to drive in a 15 passenger van. So it
was like, like just in the parking lot. I’m not even sure we ever drove on the
road, by the way. So then when I went to college, I, um, went off to a really
small college in Michigan.
A friend there offered
to help me learn how to drive. So now we’re like we have a 20 year old, like a,
not even 20, like an 18 year old teaching, a 17 year old hub drive. Is this
going to end well? And so I really learned how to drive there. And I mentioned
that because I have this memory of practicing for my test and.
We’re on like a very
busy, like four lane road in Michigan, and I’m supposed to be turning into the
[00:39:00] Walmart parking lot. And you know, like when you’re a new driver and
the oncoming traffic, like that’s really scary. And so I started to turn, there
was a car coming, I hesitated so that we’re just sitting in traffic.
And I distinctly
remember my friend like gripping the, the dashboard and like yelling. Like it’s
clearly very traumatizing to her and to me, you know, and I’m like, I’m so
sorry, you know, but yeah. Got to learn somehow and nobody was harmed in making
this movie. So.
BHAVNEET: That’s
good to know.
AMY: Let’s try now. And
like, in retrospect also, so the way the, at least at the time Michigan did
their driving tests, they contract them out to like various driving test
contractors. Okay. And that person passes or fails you, and then you go get
your license. So my first license was actually from Michigan. And I went and
took my driving test and the woman [00:40:00] who administer the driving test
was a was like about like, she was afraid she was gonna lose her job.
She had had been out
with pneumonia and I got this. She gave me this long story. She needed the
people. She was grading to give her a good review so that she could keep her
job. And so there was a couple of different things. I know I did during the test
that I probably should have been given low, like bad marks for that.
I was not. And B
because she was motivated to pass me so that I would give her a good review.
And so that’s probably not a good system. They should change that.
BHAVNEET: Oh,
wow. You got really lucky. I mean, if you had an, if you had anyone else, do
you think you would have passed on the first try?
AMY: I think that I would
have had to retake it, you know, there weren’t like huge things. Um, but like I
decided to, like, the light was changing from green to red and I should have.
[00:41:00] I think that if there had been another grader, she would’ve given me
a mark for not stopping at that intersection instead of deciding to go for it.
Like nothing, hugely,
nothing dangerous. And I’m a great driver guys. I swear to God, this is like
more than 20 years ago. But at the same time, I think she was so afraid of
losing her job that yeah, she would have that maybe I should have failed and
that, you know, bless her heart, Michigan. You need to get it together, guys.
RICHARD: I think that they had,
I guess, DMVs where they hired people and their jobs are dependent on reviews
because that’s not the best, especially when you’re giving young kids a license
and it’s all dependent on. And you’re like, well, I want to keep my job, so I
might as well just pass everyone.
AMY: I know that was my
thought. Exactly. But then I was like pretty grateful to get past. So, I mean,
it did work in her favor. I like, I I’m not like that. I mean, I was 18, right.
I’m not a, so who knows what I would’ve done then, but at least I would like to
[00:42:00] think that then I was, and now I most certainly am not that person
to say you did your job and I’m going to give you a bad review.
I hope no one does that.
RICHARD: So did you have to
parallel park on the task? Because this is. Shocking to me, how many people had
didn’t have to. So I’m curious if you had to.
AMY: I do think so. I don’t
think I did. Yeah, but I lived in DC, so I’m really good at it now. And I’m
really good. I can even parallel park on the opposite side of the street on a
one way street.
BHAVNEET: Whoa.
AMY: I know these people who
use their cars magically parallel park themselves. Please.
RICHARD: I’m curious to know. So
I know some places, if you move from state to state, you may have to retake the
driver’s test. So did you have to retake it or were you able to just transfer
your license when you got to Alaska?
AMY: Yeah. So Alaska
actually requires you to take their driving test. And I, part of that is
[00:43:00] because there are some specific to Alaska rules on there that, um,
are not the case in other places. So for example, Alaska has a law that says
that if you are driving an RV or you’re a slow driver and you have more than
five vehicles behind you, you have to pull out over and let them pass.
It’s actually a law and
it’s on the test. And so, yeah, so I definitely retook the test here and I did
not pass it the first time. I don’t think I remember correctly. There was, I
don’t even remember why, but I was annoyed by this. So cause I’m an excellent
test taker and it’s not a road test, it’s a written test.
BHAVNEET: Oh, I
was going to say if it’s like, if we had to parallel park, it’s like, I got
this, I’ll pass it.
AMY: I know. I know. Yeah.
So the, so the Alaska state test is a, is a, well, I think they do do a road
test for younger drivers, but we’re first-time licensees. Um, but if you’re
just moving in from out of state, it’s, uh, it’s just a written [00:44:00] test.
RICHARD: That’s fascinating to
know. And that fact about RVs having to pull over, I feel like that would help
the flow of traffic if it was applied in other States, like the bigger vehicle.
AMY: yeah, I know everyone
should do that. It makes so much sense. And it’s just gonna be, it’s like just
common courtesy, like. Stopping, you know, so, but like if you’re driving one
of these honk and huge RVs on these narrow roads. Yeah. I mean, people are
gonna, you’re gonna go slower as you should, and then you’re gonna have people
behind you and they don’t need to go slow.
So pullover.
RICHARD: Everyone be nice to
each other on the road. And we’re all trying to get somewhere
AMY: I like it.
RICHARD: Thinking into the
future. We’ve heard about your past and your current driving. So thinking into
the future. Where the idea of, uh, cars being able to drive themselves. What
are your thoughts on this? And would you get in that.
AMY: you know, I think it depends.
So I have some friends with some of these cars. I think that it depends where
you are. [00:45:00] Like, uh, I’m not, I’m a fan of technology if it’s can be
proven to be safe. Sure. But you know, how are you going to know if there’s a
moose in the road, bro? Just saying do these cars know about moose because the
moose are very large and they are in the road and.
You should not hit one.
It is not going to end well for you or the moose.
BHAVNEET: Yeah,
I’m glad we don’t have moose over here, but we have so many deer.
AMY: yeah. Imagine like a
three times as big animal hitting your car. It’s not great.
RICHARD: Um, I don’t want to
measure that I’ve had already had two deer accents, so I don’t need anything
bigger than.
AMY: yeah. I mean, it’s it,
uh, you can tell if a car has hit a moose, like if you see the car, you’re
like, Ooh, Ooh. In fact, they even have signs on the road that say number of
moves hits since July 1st and it’s like 53 or whatever, you know, like they
changed the number. Yeah. It’s like a monthly tally [00:46:00] for the year.
It’s crazy. Just to
remind you to not hit a boost.
BHAVNEET: Why
would you do that?
AMY: Because it’s super
dangerous, you know? So like not all highways are well lit, right? And if
you’re in an area with a lot of wildlife, um, and you’re not paying attention,
like moose are humongous, but they are more stealthy than you think they are.
And like, you just mind your own business.
And then there are
moose t=in the road, you know, and you really do have to pay attention,
especially in Twilight. It can be really difficult to see.
BHAVNEET: That is
crazy. I hope I never have to encounter a moose.
AMY: Well, you know, maybe
from a distance
BHAVNEET: Ah yeah.
AMY: or on TV, probably not
going to happen in the DC area.
BHAVNEET: Oh
yeah. If there’s some Moose over here, somethings wrong.
AMY: But it’s 2020. So I
think anything’s possible.
BHAVNEET: Very
true. ABonus question time. Are you ready?
AMY: Oh yeah. Bring it on.
BHAVNEET: If you
could make one, a new driving law, what would it be?
AMY: [00:47:00] I
have a lot of laws I would like to enforce, like, why do you have this rule, If
you’re not going to do anything about it, I would eliminate speed limits on
highways. They’re arbitrary and stupid.
BHAVNEET: What?
AMY: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Then
like Germany, they don’t, um, they don’t have a speed limit on the highway.
Works out fine.
And obviously it
depends on what highway we’re talking about here. So like I’ve spent a lot of
time on the highway and DC and Virginia, right? The you’re talking about a huge
volume of traffic. I think that’s much different circumstance than somewhere like.
In the middle of the U S if you’re just driving down route 50 or here in
Alaska, there is absolutely no reason to have this speed limit here capped at
65 or whatever.
I mean, if you have
more than five vehicles behind you pull over, if you don’t do what you want.
BHAVNEET: I guess
it makes more sense in the West, but I was like, we’ve only ever really been on
the East coast and it’s like, I think people in Maryland already kind of go by
the, I don’t have a speed limit. I’m just going to drive whatever I want.
AMY: [00:48:00] Yeah,
that’s true. Yeah. Okay. But all right here, to my point, like if you’re going
to have this law in the book, have a reason for it and then enforce it
thoroughly, you know, it’s like the law, it’s like the law that says you’re
supposed to turn when you turn. Right. And you’re supposed to turn right into
the same lane in which you already are.
People don’t do that.
Right. They turn right. And then they turn, they like turn into the farther
lane. Which is can be dangerous if you are, or they turn left across traffic.
And if you’re turning right at the same time, they could be turning into your
lane, even though they’re supposed to stay in the far left lane.
Now you were almost
getting hit by this car. That stuff drives me insane. As you can tell.
RICHARD: Oh yeah. That I don’t
understand why people do that. It’s like you go in your lane. I go at my land
will avoid all accidents.
AMY: That’s right. This is
what I’m saying. Literally stay in your lane. My goodness.
RICHARD: Yeah. Exactly. Do you
have any final thoughts or any tips that you would like to give other drivers?
AMY: [00:49:00] Well,
I’d say like, come on into Alaska, you know, if you want to drive somewhere
that is in the great outdoors and where you might see a moose, this is your,
this is the place for you guys. Um, come do a road trip and if you’re here and
you’re driving an RV and you have more than five vehicles behind you pull over,
that’s my tips.
BHAVNEET: That’s a very good tip.
TARANJIT: Before we let you go, I know, you have a podcast of your own. Where can listeners find you if they wanna check it out?
AMY: Yeah. So if you want
to, um, come up here to Alaska or just follow me online, you can find my
podcast at humansoutside.com/podcasts. And you can find me on
Instagram @humans outside. I got like a lot of Alaska inspiration in there. I
put my little 20 minutes outside. I put a picture of it up every single day.
So, um, it’s a great
place to find more information about, um, Alaska and about humans outside.
BHAVNEET: Well,
thank you so much for coming on. We had so much fun talking to you.
AMY: Thank you so much for
having me. It’s been fun. [00:50:00]
(transition music)
TARANJIT:
Our first Alaska driver. I’ve learned so much about Alaska from
her and what to do and not to do when driving there.
BHAVNEET:
What isn’t there. The true middle of nowhere.
TARANJIT:
And what is there. What can you do there.
BHAVNEET:
There’s something…
TARANJIT:
But would you drive on the Haul Road or would you go to Dead
Horse?
BHAVNEET:
It’s
funny because that’s one of the first roads I found when we were looking when I
was looking at like the most dangerous roads in the world was Haul Road. And I
was just reading about it and I was like, oh. That seems so scary. So Scary.
But then listening to her, it seems so beautiful because like you get to see
all these really fake news shots as she said. Fake news views, but then I don’t
want to also be going well I don’t know how the sound effects she made. But
like over ice heaves. [00:51:00] No. Especially with those 18-wheelers just
like barreling down behind you.
TARANJIT:
Well it’s called the Haul Road. You’re hauling.
BHAVNEET:
Yeah, so would you drive it?
TARANJIT:
I don’t know. I don’t know if I would want to just fly there or
drive there.
BHAVNEET:
I wouldn’t want to go there because of the cold but as an
experience be on it.
TARANJIT:
I don’t know. I don’t know if it’ll be better if we would it be
better if we split the drive there or just fly there.
BHAVNEET:
At that point, I feel like I don’t know cuz I don’t think I’m at
that experience level to drive that.
TARANJIT:
True. And it will take a lot of planning because like she was
saying there’s literally nothing to do and you would have to figure out ways to
keep yourself entertained and also you would have to plan like were going to
pull over and like be ready for just driving and driving and driving.
BHAVNEET:
And lots of emergency supplies.
TARANJIT:
Exactly. [00:52:00] So if you had to just like up and move to a
different state right now. Like you have no choice, but you had to leave. You
couldn’t stay in Maryland any longer. Where would you go?
BHAVNEET:
Virginia. Close enough. What about you? Okay. So now, you can’t
go to Maryland or Virginia. Where would you go?
TARANJIT:
Oh. Darn it.
BHAVNEET:
Were you going to say, Virginia?
TARANJIT:
Yeah, I was like…
BHAVNEET:
Ok. If you couldn’t be on the East Coast. Where would you go?
TARANJIT:
So initially when before I went to college and stuff before then
when I was I guess high schoolish age, I was like, oh maybe I would like to
move to like Arizona. California was on my list at one point or like Arizona or
Nevada like the warmer States over there because I hate the cold and I can
withstand extreme heat. Like…
BHAVNEET:
Yeah. Go live in the desert.
TARANJIT:
I’m perfectly comfortable with that, but as soon as it gets
below 60 degrees, which is like not that cold, I freeze. [00:53:00] So I was
like oh those, but then I don’t think I made for the West Coast / western side
of the U. S. Lifestyle. I feel like I can’t take the East Coast out of me
and I don’t think I would fit in over there.
BHAVNEET:
You need the hustle and bustle of the East Coast.
TARANJIT:
Yeah. That’s why I was like Virginia is my next option, But then
you just said, I can’t choose Virginia.
BHAVNEET:
Okay. If you couldn’t live on the East Coast, pick a state right
now that you had to move to.
TARANJIT:
Then I think I would go west to like Arizona-ish area because
the weather. Like California is nice to visit, but I don’t think I could live
there.
BHAVNEET:
It’s so expensive.
TARANJIT:
Not just expensive. I don’t think I don’t think I could just
live there. Earthquakes. All that. I couldn’t do it. So I guess if you won’t
let me stay in Virginia.
BHAVNEET:
No I just I wanted to know what you would pick otherwise.
TARANJIT:
What would you pick?
BHAVNEET:
Huh?
TARANJIT:
What would you pick?
BHAVNEET:
Virginia.
TARANJIT:
No. You can’t pick an East Coast one either.
BHAVNEET:
[00:54:00] I don’t know what the weather is like in different
states, but I want to pick a state that is not the desert and is not freezing.
So somewhere that’s in the middle like kind of maybe I would pick
somewhere in like Utah that’s in between the hot and then the cold or in Nevada
that’s between like the mountains and the deserts that is kind of like in
between. You know?
TARANJIT:
You could go…
BHAVNEET:
Or you could be in Southern Arizona. I’ll be in Northern kind of
like before you get to the Mountainy part of the Grand Canyons. Somewhere
that’s like, but I think those are reservation so I can’t live there.
TARANJIT:
Exactly.
BHAVNEET:
So. If you can find me a place like that, I’ll pick that State.
TARANJIT:
Somewhere that doesn’t snow. I have had enough snow for the rest
of my life.
BHAVNEET:
Literally. Yeah. Well that was Amy’s driving stories.
TARANJIT:
I don’t care about yours.
BHAVNEET:
And are ya trying to figure out where else we would
live…dilemmas.
TARANJIT:
Stories.
BHAVNEET:
[00:55:00] They’re not really stories.
TARANJIT:
It’s a story now.
BHAVNEET:
Yes, but if you or anyone, you know has any crazy, interesting,
weird, funny driving experiences and would like to come on the show, you can fill
out the interest form on our website at DriveWithUsPodcast.com.
TARANJIT:
Sorry you were just going on. I thought you were going to give more
adjectives.
BHAVNEET:
Yeah. I was…
TARANJIT:
Funny. Interesting. Weird. Absurd. Sad. Frustrating. Happy.
BHAVNEET:
Angry. Disappointing. I drove from here to here and that’s it.
Nothing happened.
TARANJIT:
I drove 2 minutes down the road. The end.
BHAVNEET:
Yeah.
BHAVNEET:
TARANJIT:
But stay tuned until the end of this episode for a sneak peek of
next week’s episode. And come hang with us in our Discord group
because we talk all things driving. You can come chat with us there.
Thanks for driving with us.
(outro music)
RALPH: They’re going to drop me off [00:56:00] on the Georgian side of the border and I was going to go through and meet my other guide in Armenia on the other side.
We get to the border and she tells me, okay, here you go. You know, we’ll wait outside for 10 or 15 minutes just to make sure you get through and everything’s okay.
There weren’t too many people in line, maybe four or five people in front of me. Get up to the border guard to the booth there, hand the man, my passport. And he says, do you have a visa for Azerbaijan?