[or-roots] Car eating trees

[Leslie Chapman]

Many a car missed that turn, but they did not miss that tree!  A large patch
of bark was missing on the side of the tree that faced west (up the hill).
I'll never forget the day I saw a Buick wrapped around that tree (about
1945).  The tree survived, but the 4 occupants of the Buick did not; it was
on display at a Sweet Home wrecking yard for many years.

Don't drink and drive!

It is amazing the number of car eating trees we have in Oregon. I recall one
just a little ways west of Tiller in southern Douglas Co that probably to
this day hasn't healed up. It got hit about once every 6 to 9 months the
whole 7 years I worked in Tiller and last time I was down to visit it had
fresh scars. The sad thing was the corner wasn't that extreme, but it was a
"simple" curve. For those who do not understand that, as you enter most
highway curves, the road goes from being straight into a gradually
tightening curve for the first part until you get slowed down (hopefully) to
a speed that you can go around the tight part of the curve at whether it is
a big curve (radius = 1500 to 2400 feet) or a tight curve (some are less
than 750 feet or so on two lane roads, I believe) But the tree eating curve
just starts at about 1500 foot radius from the straight away and goes at
that radius all the way around. Next time you are on a back country road and
find a curve that is suprisingly hard to take, if you look at it real close,
that is probably why.

There are other places where the trees eat cars on straight stretches
though, I have to wonder about those, maybe they're magnetic.

Les Chapman khanjehgil at presys.com
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