Old Dogs, New Tricks Part 2

Zion National Park

“When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward {wo}man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in {her}self a good and sufficient reason for going…Next {s}he must must plan {her} trip in time and space, choose a direction and a destination…Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process; a new factor enters and takes over.  A trip, safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys.  It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness.  A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike.  And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless.  We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”

~John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley

Nearly everywhere we go, someone asks if we’re on vacation.  I always answer no.  For in a very real way, what we are doing is not a vacation.  It’s a journey.  The work level is high, especially for Jason and me, and one of the expectations that I had to let go of very early on was one of free time.  There really is not much of that at all, as evidenced by our sparse blog posts and my empty art journal.  

So vacation, this is not.  It is so much more, and carries much more meaning than just a leisurely jaunt to a relaxing place.  After the first two weeks we began feeling comfortable on the road, comfortable as a camping family, and comfortable with our vehicle {“Napoleon”}.  Time has started to compress, speeding by regardless of how well we are giving each present moment our focused attention.  We chat more easily with the other campers when we see them, and laugh more together as a family.  We have routines and private jokes, shared memories and visions of beauty that will forever join us.  

San Francisco de Asis Mission Church, Taos, NM {oft-painted by Georgia O'Keeffe}

So on this non-vacation, we have had way too many “favorite” moments for me to possibly list them all, but here are some highlights, and things I have learned along the way.

• State parks are amazing places to stay, each with a personality and unique gifts to offer.  I have enjoyed the towering “cedars” in Tennessee at Cedars of Lebanon State Park; the wooded slope down to the lake in Natchez State Park in Mississippi; Padre Island National Seashore on the gulf in Texas {not a state park, but so unassuming and unpopulated it felt like it}; Davis Mountains State Park with its beautiful mountain landscape and dark, open night skies; the desert wind and wildlife of Oliver Lee Memorial State Park in New Mexico; the history and ruins of Homolovi State Park in Arizona; and the bizarre and beautiful colors of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Utah.
• I need to be intentional about getting myself in pictures.  I'm always the one who is taking them.
• I love to drive long distances when there is space in front of me.  I’ve never minded driving, but when there are hundreds of miles of Texas plains, or Utah plateaus and mountains, on all sides of me, driving is almost a spiritual experience.  My mind opens up and my anxieties fade away, especially if I’m listening to my traveling music {which usually consists of a Jim Croce Pandora station.}

• Speaking of music, I have found a deeper connection both to songs that include names of places, and to the places themselves.  There’s something awesome about listening to “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers while you’re actually crossing the river in Mississippi, or passing by the famous “corner in Winslow, Arizona" made famous by the Eagles in their song, “Take it Easy”.  “Dust in the Wind” takes on new meaning when you’re in West Texas, and “City of New Orleans” is just better once you’ve been there.  I could name a half dozen other songs that have become new favorites, but you get the idea.
• I will never again take easy access to internet for granted.
• The unexpected moments have been some of the best.  Finding a remote restaurant in Arizona on a small airport runway, and being invited to climb aboard a Blackhawk helicopter by the Army guys who had just finished lunch there, for example.
• I was thoroughly inspired by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, NM.  It was definitely a favorite place for me.  And they gave the kiddos sketchbooks to work in too.

• I will forever feel cramped in the east.  I have learned even more deeply that I need to feel small in a vast expanse of space, that my relationship with our Creator God thrives on it.  Whether it’s the ocean, the desert, a mountain at night under stars I never see because of too much city light, or overlooking a place like the Grand Canyon, my heart and soul must have a steady diet of Big so that I can put things in perspective.  

Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

• Zion National Park was perhaps my best surprise so far.  I didn’t know what to expect, but even the simple act of driving the 13 miles in to the Visitor’s Center, winding through cliffs, rock layers, and colors, left me completely awed.  And feeling small?  Yup.  Nowhere else, even the Grand Canyon, gave me such a dose of blessed insignificance.