Town names source of entertainment on long drive

When you sit in a car for eight hours at a time, town name signs start to become a source of entertainment to break the monotony of driving in the Southwest.

I travel to San Antonio once a month for my Army reserve duty, which is eight hours of back roads that wind past a million scenery-ruining windmills. I find myself looking forward to passing certain signs to estimate my progress and imagine the circumstances that led to naming those areas.

Tied for first place are Floydada and Fluvanna, which are the kinds of town names you have to say out loud to whoever is in the car with you, even if it’s to your two annoying cats. I imagine the residents of Floydada to be a commune of avant-garde artists who are led by an unconventional Texan named Floyd. In Fluvanna, an evil prankster drives around in a mini-van turned food truck and infects unsuspecting tourists with the common cold. By this point in the trip, as you can tell, I am already bored.

Noodle Dome is a sign you pass if you get distracted and drive past Sweetwater and are forced to travel through Abilene. In a post-apocalyptic world, Noodle Dome will be a gladiatorial arena where conflicts are resolved by a spaghetti-eating contest. When passing, be sure to put on some Tina Turner and sing, “We don’t need another hero,” at the top of your lungs to stay awake.

The bridge over Woman Hollering Creek is one of the last I pass before I get to my parents’ ranch. Who is this woman, and why is she hollering in a dirty little creek in South Texas? I imagine she was trapped in a small car with two loud cats for eight hours, and she just had to vent. I get you, girl.

When I got home from my drill weekend, I decided to pull up the town names on Google to find out their origins. Fluvanna just means “Anne’s River” and Floydada’s meaning is disputed but it’s likely a portmanteau of two names, Floyd and Ada. As for Noodle Dome and Woman Hollering Creek, there isn’t a clear story. I’ll stick with mine.

Aubry Buzek is a staff writer for Clovis Media Inc. Contact her at [email protected]