Saturday, June 15, 2013

The Return

So...you MIGHT ask "where have YOU been?...It's been OVER 2 months!"  Yes dear readers, we took off for parts unknown until we were there back where we started.  We loaded up the trusty Prius with enough clothing, BBQ tools, cat carrier, blankets, beer and assorted odds and ends until, as we left, the car could not be seen under the piles.  We had made up our mind to spend some time wandering this great country of ours in search of friendly faces, buoyant sights, regional foods, good beds and cheaper gas...not necessarily in that order.  We found all of that and more.  I took something over 5,200 photos and we drove a total of 10,851 miles!  America the Beautiful was true as it has ever been,  What a wonderfully diverse and magnificent country we have here.  Never saw a SINGLE black helicopter either...not one!  Visited some National Parks, some National Monuments and Interstate highways too.  Our days had a rhythm to them, up about 7am daily, wash up, pack up, pack the cat secreted along (more about that later), load up the car and skedaddle (yes it's a word) off to the next town along the way.  Here are a few pictures to give you a hint of our various travels lo these last 2 months.
_____________________________________________________________________________







 
 
One thing was certain, my driving skill set is less than the voyage demanded.  I missed signs, I ran stop signs, wandered right and left as I grew weary in the day.  Afternoons were the worst, caffeine was a god-send for both Kelly and I.  We limited our mileage per day to something under 300 miles and soon we were trading driving time of an hour in order to keep alert.  Staying hydrated was helpful too.  We bought cases of water and stuffed it into whatever cranny was available at the time.
 
Coffee every morning, and eventually a cola was shared each afternoon as we rolled along toward that days distant goal.  The miles in the afternoon were the hardest, often the sun was just too blinding, to bright, too strong.  We often got off of whatever highway we were on to wander a nearby byway into a village for a while to regain our perspective and eyesight.  The trees were wonderfully full and deeply green.  America is at least 1/2 forest.  Kelly was a better driver every time, she never missed a sign and was smooth as glass over the highway with minimum wander even in the blowing hot dust winds of the western desert.  Her driving skills are still there, mine, alas are weakening.  Part of it is my eyes, while I still recognize the miracle of my double cataract surgery I am still left with extensive floaters and some blurry vision that even the new glasses can't seem to reconcile.