Finding Somewhere Warm

We’re heading North-West.

It’s the time of the year when we make this escape. Toowoomba is a pretty good place to live much of the time, but during July and August , there are better places to be.

The morning frost as we left confirmed it.

There was an eerie morning mist near Oakey.

And the outside temp was -2. The thingy warning of ice on the road came on – first time I’ve seen that in this car.

We’re heading for Longreach (where I worked in Ed Admin – disabilities and aboriginal programmes) back in the early nineties. It was a great time, and I haven’t been back since. Besides, it’s forecast 24 max in Longreach today.

West of Miles on the Warrego, there’s a monument to the families of railway fettlers who died during the building of the line back in the 1870s. They bred them tough back then – if you got sick, you died, so the survivors were strong.

There’s a stone and a sign – put up by the Queensland Women’s Historical Association. I’d driven past it on scores of occasions on work trips. Now I know the story.

That’s our little beastie in the background. This is the first time I’ve done a big trip in a small car since I owned a series of Renault 12s in the seventies. So far, it’s performing well. It’s a up-spec version with cruise control, something I doubt I could do without these days.

Mitchell has two great bakeries, and interesting decorated footpaths -

So it’s Charleville tonight with lots of open road ahead.

And a western sky at sunset – something I’ve missed since moving east.