From the Ozarks to the Appalachians…..

We're Home!

We woke up this morning before daybreak – still dark, in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Yes me! Packed up the rv, shook of the mud from our shoes, dumped the tanks and hit the road for home. Small, narrow roads, winding themselves through the woods and mist, with the sunlight tipping the tops of the leaves that are all changing color now, we watched as people woke up, lighting their fires and defrosting their cars, ready to start another day.

The clouds mostly kept the sun from shining directly into our eyes and kept the mist hanging gently above the ponds all along the way and blasting from the nostrils of the cows that were already up. It’s quite incredible that people live in some of these ramshackle houses and at times the most derelict of all homes is plonked right next to a mansion that seems so strangely out of place here.

And then we hit the interstate. There were trucks everywhere – wall to wall trucks, vying for place, criss-crossing from lane to lane, weaving a pattern as they screamed down the road, only to pull into a rest stop and pass us yet again 20 miles further down the same interstate. There are so many trucks on the road that the rest stops are full to capacity – it just seems to be so many more than on our other trips.

Anyway – we started home really early this morning and arrived at this little yellow house in Soddy that we call home. It feels good! Steven and Laura came up to wish Frank a happy birthday, bringing a goodly beer or three which we greatly appreciated. It was wonderful to see them again. I called the other kids and the rest of the family too…..

Of all the places we have been – only this can be home. It’s the people that are here, and the place too – but mainly the people that make it home.

It’s only been three weeks – is that all? Seems impossible. Yet it feels like a year since we left home. Frank and I were talking and wondering where we spent the first night on the road – you know that neither of us can remember? I know we went screaming across country to get to California before Joleen could catch us out, and those first four days seem a total blur right now.

Many already roads were traveled and a good many unfamiliar ones too. It was good to see some of the places we had been before, but it’s never the same as the first time we saw it. The Painted Desert was lovely – colors always beautiful, the Petrified Forest is still as amazing and the scenery just got better from there.

We wound our way around a good few narrow, bumpy roads with nothing in sight for miles around and came in to Twentynine Palms sneakily. That was simply glorious! Joleen called me on the phone when we were about two hours away from her. When I saw it was her calling, I did not answer the phone, I was too afraid she would hear the incredible noise the inside of the rv was making as we screamed down an impossibly bumply road. But then I just had to call her back to see what she called about, and her first words were ‘tell me I am good!” So I did, wondering if she had found out about us coming. Nope – fortunately not.

The look on my child’s face when she saw us at her door was definitely the highlight of this trip. Her smile and her laugh and just being able to hug her after over a year….. wow. That made every boring mile, every raindrop, every mudpuddle worth it! We had told her that we had sent something to her and it was going to be delivered after work hours as a special favor so that she did not have to take time off work, so she was looking for a delivery van or sorts – not us. I will forever treasure that moment she saw us there. Always.

Death Valley and the moving stones, the utter desolation of that place, was again stunning. Driving up to that dry lake bed that I had only seen on tv was incredibly exciting, even though the stones and their paths were not as obvious as I had expected. Still it was wonderful to be there – to feel the stillness and quiet. It’s a different sort of peace and quiet. One that carries a kind of a threat – not a direct or harmful threat, just one that definitely makes one more aware of staying safe and being sensible. And on to the Channel Islands – just the name sounds so wonderful and the privilege of standing on the shores of out there, feeling the breeze from the ocean while on top of the cliffs, watching the birds float effortlessly by – all just wonderful. Forestiere Gardens – now that was also totally awesome. I could have stayed there for a good long time, especially going through the tunnels we were not allowed to. The mind of someone that builds something like that and it’s simply awesome that the family keeps it going. It really is something special that everyone should go and see.

There were a good few times we had to change our plans on the spur of the moment – like not heading further north than Fresno to the glass beach in Fort Bragg, or not going to the opal mines in northern Nevada….. but that did not take away from the adventures at all. Rather it added different places on the list that we had not expected to go to. Like driving the full length of ET Highway and going in to the Ale-inn there. Nothing dramatic, actually a very boring and non-eventful drive, but that’s good, because no one needs ‘an event’ out there in the middle of nothing – well, unless a spaceship arrived, of course!

It was glorious to see Yosemite again, to find those enormous pinecones and to see the absolute beauty of almost unadulterated nature. That peace and quiet up there is a much gentler one, one that has the sounds of humming bugs, twittering birds, the rustling of the trees and falling pinecones in it. It’s also littered with the sounds of the motors of rv’s huffing there way upwards or trying to slow down on the way down the hills. We took it slowly through there, really enjoying the greenery and the stunning views. I knew that as soon as we got out of Yosemite, we would be headed towards the Nevada desert area and that we had better enjoy the hills and the trees while we could.

Bryce Canyon was another place we were re-visiting – this time to do the hike by mule. We are both very glad we did that, and extremely glad we did not attempt a full day ride into the Grand Canyon as we had discussed! That is still one of my favorite places and many of the photographs I took are almost exactly the same as ones I took in 2003 when we hiked through there. This time the camera is a better one, so the photos are more accurate in their capturing of the wonder, but there is still no way one can get it all in. The feeling of being down there with those enormous spires and hoodoos towering over you, that breeze and the heat, it’s just wonderful.

The drive through the orange lands east of Bryce Canyon was simply the cherry on the cake for me. The camera kept clicking and we kept pointing out more and more awesome views all along the way. There is just nothing like that drive – eventually one starts to think in orange! This is definitely another place where I find myself putting life into perspective. Stuff is just so big, so awesome, so beautiful and so much longer lasting than we, or our worries, are.

After waking up the next morning and looking at a mountain fairly firmly dusted with snow from the night before, we once again changed plans and headed directly south – hoping to find some sunshine and hiking/biking weather. Roswell. We bought some inflatable aliens to hang in front of the shop – green, blue and purple ones, had a good bike ride, a good rest and slowed down for a day or two.

And even the Mud Pit, I mean Diamond Mine was something of an experience. We sat for a full day waiting for the rain to quit, wondering if we were just going to let it all slip by. Then we decided that as long as we were here and there were warm showers and we had a clean change of clothes, we might as well go and get dirty! And boy did we. We came out of there laughing loudly and probably a little madly and I am sure people were wondering if we had picked up the ‘insane bug’ in the mud. But it was fun. Another thing that we are glad we did and have no need to do again. At least neither of us fell into the mud.

A few nights we slept along the road, not comfortable nor warm and some things we did were kinda stupid, like kicking a cactus and towing the bakkie in gear…… but hey – it all worked out and we had an incredible three weeks that feel like a lifetime! This time I was good – I only managed just under 6500 photographs – that’s 22 gigabytes with this camera! I am going to have a total blast cropping and printing when we get home. With 10megapixels I can make a great photo out of just one corner of the original shot. I am going to have to take a couple of weeks of work just to play with these! Just kidding.

Last night doglet knew we were moving again in the morning and even looked excited when Frank teased and went and sat in the drivers seat, pretending to start the motor. She prances around when we talk about going home, going to work, or going riding. Maybe she will like the last day when she has the yellow house back in her sights. She has been a royal pain in the behind every day that we have been driving, and next time I know how to start it off with her – in a dark doggie box, behind a seat, and slowly, slowly adjust. Only her total cuteness saved her this time!

Anyway, there I sat last night, knowing that this trip is over, mulling it all over in my head. Wonderful. The cold air coming in from under the slide-outs of the motor home is a big deciding factor in heading home now – that and the rain. There are a good few many people I would have liked to have met up with again, or met, on this trip. But this was not a trip for meeting people – not this time, and email and phones were not reliable enough to set that up either. We needed the break too, we needed to just be. And we got it. A simply awesome trip. Again.

All of you getting these emails have been with us along the way. Thanks for the encouraging emails, the laughter and the sharing….it’s been a great ride!

Steven - your courage challenged me so many times along the way, Lisa – your worrying and fretting about no contact was heartwarming and lovely and Joleen – your face said it all! I love you guys so very much.

And Frank. Once again it’s been totally amazing. I could not have asked for better company, a better driver, a better friend or a better cook! You calmly and coolly trekked us through many situations that had my insides quivering and my foot looking for the brake pedal on my side, (yes – that 8% grade in the dark tonight!) while you had that little smile on your face. You enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. Thank you, gentle man. Thank you.

And so, with Love and Light
Annie
All photos and emails from the trip are at http://lens2life.blogspot.com/