The Right of Way, the Wrong Way and By-way

Out of Newburg the road was wide enough where I didn't have to walk in the ditch-line. When we got past Dundee that changed, the edge was too narrow and the ditch was more of a steep trench. The railroad tracks looked inviting. I checked the GPS and saw it ran with the road for a long stretch with the occasional drive or road intersecting. Morning traffic was heavy so I jumped on the "right of way" and hopped down the tracks. It's more of a dance, with the uneven ties of varied age from new to crumbling. At each crossing I would check to see if the road widened before going on. Everything was going well when I came upon a trestle. It didn't look very long, the cross ties were close together, I had a good view of the line each way but when I got high over the water the view gave me flashes of vertigo while I watched my step. On my walkman radio the song """Locomotion" encouraged me, keeping my rhythm and my brain from reverting to my childhood fear of heights. "Come on everybody, do the locomotion with me.". At my next opportunity I went back to the ditches, thorn scrubs, fast cars, ever stronger wind in our faces and road-kill. I ran a tight bridge or two and made my way to a bypass around most of McMinnville with a wide shoulder where we could all walk without having to balance on a fine line twixt' death and the briar patch. With the long and straight bypass that turned just enough we made up some pace until we got to the well groomed grass in front of the airport where Nice (the dog) flopped down for a rest. I didn't mind, I was ready to let the wind cool my wet back and give my legs a moment. We were about to go after I had some fresh cherries and Oregon Hazelnuts I had gotten from a nursery we passed earlier when the city police came in response to a call. I had been stoped by a State trooper a half of a mile back so we deduced some concerned citizen was calling in the calvary. The county officer drove by just as I got going again but didn't stop. They were the only cars that I'd seen all day. He came by just as I was frantically waving to someone who had stopped in the middle of the road to snap a picture with cars barreling down on them. I guess he saw my animated frustration, there was a wide emergency lane to do that in a safe way.
I did not get far past the airport when I found a place to stop and our ride to relay the van appeared. A warm and happy working mother.
It's getting late in the morning so I must get going to get some miles in before the Forth of July celebrations get too rowdy.
Have a sane and safe Holiday. Oh, and enjoy your walk.