When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It

The old saying, attributed to baseball great Yogi Berra, about taking the fork in the road comes into play quite often. Sometimes you make a judgement based solely on instincts, other times its random (see previous post on chaos.)

At this 42N location the decisions come fast. From one spot looking north in the top photo your choices will lead you to town (left) or to warehouse areas (right.) Looking south in the bottom photo your choices are left to a dead end storage or to the right to a grain processor.

There is another road saying to consider when you are deciding which fork to take. From Robert Frost's 1916 poem "The Road Not Taken" the final lines read:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —I took the 'one less traveled' by, And that has made all the difference." Know that.

End of the Line

This track spur leads away from the end of the line at a rail yard in 42N country. While the staging area is for older rail cars it is not quite the last stop. A look around shows there are no weeds, the rails are shiny and newer gravel bedding underneath the tracks suggest an active, working area. On this day however there isn't even a hint of activity, but it still makes for a great shot. Know that.

Switch Your Track

Ever wondered what a railroad switch looks like or how it operates? I bet you have. So here's one pictured directly above. To make the switch all you do is stomp on the pedal on the left which releases the weighted arm and allows switching of the rail lines. Simple, except when rain rusts the switch or the cold doesn't allow movement of the arm. Sturdy people these railroad worker types. Know that.