Epilogue

I have been home a few days now. All my stuff is unloaded and put away. All the clothes have been washed and put up, all the bills have been paid to date and I am getting readjusted to life back at home and not in a tent or a hotel room. The heat however is another thing since for the past three weeks I have been in temperatures that were 40-50 degrees cooler than back in the Dallas area, but I will adjust.

Reflecting back on my road trip adventure, I am glad I went and got to see the places I had wanted to see for a long time. I probably will not go on such an extended trip again. Six weeks and 8,475 miles was a long time to be gone on the road, but since I was heading to California, it made sense to me to go ahead and tag a number of the national parks onto the trip since I was going to be on that side of the country. I had planned to camp about half the time, but that changed after Bryce Canyon and I headed north to Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota where they were having record low temperatures and wetter weather (rain and/or snow) for this time of year. Since this was to be a “fun” trip and putting up or taking down a tent in the rain and/or snow is not a fun thing to have to do, I abandoned the camping at that point. The other camping experience was fine, except for the wind storm the night before I left Death Valley and I thought my tent and I might become a tumbleweed rolling across the desert floor.

Why did I take this trip other than some of the obvious reasons to see some great scenery and beautiful landscapes of our country? One, I was inspired by the PBS series on the National Parks by Ken Burns. I thought that it would be a great road trip to take to visit some of those places I had read about and always hoped to visit someday. Second, I had just finished going through a rough patch in my personal life, with the ending of a marriage that lasted just over three and half years. As a result I was emotionally spent from that experience and my spirit needed recharging. So, I needed to get away and do something completely different and this was as good as anything else I could possibly do. I also needed to do it while I was still healthy enough to make the trip and see all these places. Not that my health is in jeopardy, but you never know when something might happen.

I also got to spend a week with my daughter, Kristen and her family in San Francisco, arriving there the day before my granddaughter’s, Mary Judah, eighth birthday. I also got to spend some time with my grandson Killian, which previous trips have been shorter and not afforded the opportunity. He is almost five now and we were able to do some things together. We went on a guy’s day out to the movies one day and on a bike ride another day among other times together.

During that six week adventure I visited at least15 national and state parks and historic sites and landmarks and traveled to 12-13 states. Some people have asked if I had a favorite of the places I visited and that is really hard to decide. My observations and some comparisons of them are as follows:

The Grand Canyon of course is majestic and well, Grand. You could stand on the south rim and stare across the canyon for hours trying to take it all in. The sunset I got to witness at the canyon was awe inspiring even though the wind had come up that evening and was blowing everything around. I was glad I got to be at the Grand Canyon Easter and on “Bitsy Day” since my late wife and I were there only for a couple of hours in 1975 and we always wanted to go back but, life seemed to get in the way, that and maybe three children and other distractions.

Death Valley was surprising in that I expected a desolate, arid landscape except for the three to four oases scattered in the valley and it was. The surprising part was the mosaic of colors in the mountains ringing the valley. It looked like an artist’s palette with the varying hues of brown, red, white, black, green, etc. In fact one scenic drive is called Artist’s Palette.

Sequoia National Park was stunning in the large grove of Sequoias that make up its appeal. The drive north in the park to King’s Canyon National Park was very scenic, particularly with all the snow still on the ground. The drive down into King’s Canyon was exciting, on the winding road along the King’s river going down into the canyon. A real thrill for a sports car driver wannabe, but a sport sedan did just fine.

Yosemite Valley and Zion Canyon are similar in that the parks are on the valley floor and towering above are these stone mountains. Yosemite is gray granite, where Zion is red sandstone. Yosemite Valley’s abundance of water falls adds to its stunning quality. Both have rivers running along the roads into the valley, making them scenic byways. The other parts of Yosemite (Hetch Hetchy and Wawona) are contrasts in the variety of landscapes that make up this park about the size of Rhode Island from the ruggedness of Hetch Hetchy to the Sequoia Giants in Wawona. Of course one of the highlights of Yosemite was meeting Dara, the young woman taking the wilderness EMT training, and talking with her about where her life’s next phase was going to take her. The evening we met I was unloading things from my car and she was unloading hers and she asked if I was on a trip or something to that effect.  I replied I was on a national parks bucket list road trip. She responded that I didn’t look old enough to have a bucket list. I liked her immediately! I hope I was able to be an encouragement to her. Looking back, I sometimes think the reason I wound up staying at the Yosemite Bug Mountain Resort, was that God had placed me there to be an encouragement to Dara at this juncture in her life. He does work in mysterious ways at times. I hope to hear from her when she gets back home this month and find out what her next steps might be.

Bryce Canyon is very similar to Grand Canyon on a smaller scale and its formations seem very fragile by comparison. The drive from Reno to Bryce Canyon was interesting if not monotonous. No wonder they call it the “Loneliest Road in America” and for good reason. Bryce is different from Grand Canyon in another way in that from the rim of the canyon you can see out over the valleys and basins beyond the canyon itself making an interesting panorama.

It was raining at Zion, unfortunately, the few hours I had to spend there and I would like to return under more favorable conditions and hike some of the trails. The drive in from the east entrance to the canyon was fantastic and worth the detour I made to go there on my way to Grand Teton.

Jackson, Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park were amazing. The thing about Grand Teton is as you are driving north out of Jackson to the park entrance, you can’t see the Teton Range. However about 7-10 miles up the road you round this curve in the road and BAM! There they are stretching out before you on you left side and they are so stunning that you have to force yourself to keep you eyes on the road and not stare in amazement at them. It was too bad that the cooler temps they were having still had the lakes frozen and the trails impassable. Another place to return under warmer conditions.

Yellowstone is vast and you can drive a couple of hundred miles on the park roads and still not see it all. There certainly is an abundance of wild life – bison, elk, moose, bear, waterfowl, etc. Old Faithful of course is iconic and I got to see it erupt three different times. An added bonus was getting to see the Beehive Geyser and Old Faithful erupting within minutes of each other. The various geysers and springs throughout the park testify to the hydro-thermal activity of the area. The north end of the park at Mammoth Hot Springs was a contrast in terrain from the forests and geysers of the Old Faithful area the open valleys and mountain ranges of the north area. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone contrasts with the other two with its steep canyon walls and waterfalls. Yellowstone also was burdened, from my point of view, of having cooler than usual temperatures that made hiking around impassable for the most part. Another park to revisit with more favorable climate conditions.

Mount Rushmore, another iconic landmark lived up to its expectations. Fortunately, the day I visited Mount Rushmore was the only day that the sun shone and the temperatures were mild by comparison. The following day it was rainy and cold so I visited Wind Cave National Park and went on a couple of cave tours. The formations in these caves are different from what one normally expects to see such as stalagmites and stalactites. The formations here were different and very fragile such as the boxwork formations. Also, visiting the Crazy Horse monument was different. This monument will be lucky to be finished in my grandchildren’s lifetime and they have been at it for over 60 years. They have ten more years of blasting before they can start sculpting the horse!

The Badlands National Park was as different from the others as you can imagine. The formations in the park are mounds and/or eroded structures. There are lots of color variations in the formations. It was very scenic as you could look out over the formations toward the valleys and basins beyond them seeing thirty miles in some places if the sky was clear. The terrain is made up of what seems like sandy clay that sticks to everything when it gets wet. I brought several pounds of it back in the wheel wells of my car from driving along the Sage Creek Rim Road while it was still muddy in places. Once it hardens it doesn’t just flake off, it has to be removed. Fortunately the car wash when I got back home was able to remove it with the high pressure hose.

On my journey I got to meet lots of people from many different states and countries. All of them were taking in the sights of the national parks, a national treasure that we all get to share. I had the opportunity to visit with some friends in Reno who had recently moved there from Garland. I also got to visit with some other friends by stopping by Springdale, Arkansas on my way home.

I left on this journey somewhat rushed in that I got off on my trip three days later than planned and had to drive a long way the first day in order to make the Grand Canyon the second day. A family emergency had me making a ten day trip to Houston before I was to leave so when I got back I had one full day to finish getting things ready to leave if I was going to make the Grand Canyon for Easter. I felt like I was out of breath the first several days as a result and was trying to catch up to myself. The week in San Francisco was a good respite after the first week’s challenges.

I left needing recharging and trying to get my life back in perspective after the emotional turmoil of the preceding several months. And overall it accomplished that and helped jump start the process.  It was, sometimes, like those hikes I went on in several of the parks. The path was rough with many pitfalls, but at the end of the trail the view was more than worth it. During the past several months, maybe even more than a year with all that has gone on in my life, a song by Wayne Watson, was a source of encouragement to me, hoping that at the end of the rough path I was on that I would find a beautiful place. So in closing I leave you with the words to this song which sort of sums up my road trip adventure and the beautiful places I got to experience.

A Beautiful Place – Wayne Watson

If I had my way I must admit if I called every play of the game

I’d pray for good times, blue sky and sunshine and I’d avoid with a passion any pain

But with every blow from an angry wind and with every dark shadow that falls

There’s a better view up around the bend where this puzzle makes some sense after all

Mistakes and misfortunes will come and go, for you to try and still fail is no disgrace

Sometimes a rough and rocky road is going to take you to a beautiful place.

Is there anyone out there looking back through your faith can deny that your Father knows what’s best

Oh, but at the time and place for the life of you, you saw no reason, no good for the test

But now remembering as you watched His hand put the color to your black and white dreams

Maybe one more time that’s what you can see, for the trouble at the moment isn’t as bad as it seems.

Mistakes and misfortunes will come and go, for you to try and still fail is no disgrace

Sometimes a rough and rocky road is going to take you to a beautiful place.

Sometimes the unspoiled beauty of the wisdom of God is lying there in the wilderness

Up there beyond the easy reach, where the journey takes a little more, just a little more faith I guess

Sometimes mistakes, misfortunes will come and go, for you to try and still fail is no disgrace

Sometimes a rough and rocky road is going to take you to a beautiful place.

Sometimes a rough and rocky road is going to take you, take you to a beautiful place.

And that’s the end of this road, for now……

HOME!

'Nuff said!

I got up a little after 6 am this morning, showered, dressed and went down for breakfast consisting of biscuit and sausage gravy and coffee. I returned to my room packed up my things, loaded them in the car and checked out. I gassed up the car on the way out and was on the road by 7:20 am. Samantha indicated that I should be home between 12-12:30 pm. The sky was clear and 70F when I left Springdale, AR. As the drive and morning progressed the temp began to rise into the 80s.

Scenes along the road from Springdale to Ft. Smith AR

I made a stop in McAllister, OK for a rest stop and get a snack for the rest of the journey around 10 am. Back in the car and continue down the road. I hit the Texas state line between 11 and 11:30. I was home at 12:20 pm and glad to be here, finally.The temp was now 91 and supposed to be heading toward 98! I hope it doesn't take me long to acclimate back to the warmer weather since I've been in 40-50s the past couple of weeks. Samantha was funny, though, with some of her directions once I made the turn south headed for Texas. She had me stay "right" on US 75 and gave a distance where I was to do so. As I got into Texas that distance would put me somewhere between McKinney and Plano. Wasn’t sure what she was up to until I got to the point where I was to stay "right" on US 75 and it turned out to be at the HOV lane entrance. She wanted to make sure I didn’t get in it and stayed on the main road. Funny! Thanks, Samantha for getting me where I needed to go, most of the time.

Scenes along the road in Oklahoma

Trip Computer Data Since Bryce Canyon.29 MPG on the second half of the trip, 27 the first half - not too shabby

Odometer reading at the start of the trip

Final Odometer Reading – 8,475 miles later

I unloaded the car and put the camping things on the floor of the garage. I need to decide where to store them, but that is a task for next week. I unloaded my clothes, souvenirs, dirty laundry, foodstuff left over (oatmeal bars, trail mix bars, coffee, beef jerky, etc.) I put away the clean clothes and now I need to sort the dirty laundry to start washing, but not today.

There is a stack of mail to go through. Thankfully, Katie and Josh have been coming over to check on the house, mow the grass and collect the mail. Katie and I have talked about what things I was receiving and has arranged them in stacks to help be get to the important things, like bills and then the varying degrees of junk mail, magazines and catalogs that have accumulated over the past six weeks. My community group from church meets tonight, and I haven’t seen them in two months. Monday I will head back to the gym and “start over” and Tuesday the handymen at Senior Network have our monthly ramp building session. So, it will be good to start getting plugged back in. Also, I need to see my children and my two grandsons that are here this next week.

The trip was a lot of fun and refreshing, but after 6 weeks on the road, there is no place like home. I will post some final thoughts in a day or two about the trip and then that will be the end of the road, for now.

Back at you later!

Homeward Bound – Day 3: KC to Springdale, AR

I awoke this morning around 3:30 am to go to the bathroom. When I got back to bed I was wide awake. I dozed for the next couple of hours and finally gave up and got up a little before 6 am. I looked out the window at partly overcast skies and the sunrise was just beginning to be seen through the haze. I checked some news sites on my computer and around 7 am got dressed and went down for breakfast. I came back to my room and checked on the opening times for the National Frontier Trails Museum and the Harry Truman Home Historic Site in Independence, Mo which was about a 40 minute drive from the hotel and not too far out of my way on my travels today. I checked out of the hotel a little after 8 am and headed toward Independence.

Sunrise over KC

I arrived at the Truman Home Visitor Center a little after 9 am and signed up for the 9:30 tour. My NPS annual pass got me the tour for free. I drove to the home site arriving around 9:15 am and there was only one other person waiting for the 9:15 am tour so the park ranger let me go on that tour.

 Last Car Truman Bought: A 1972 Chrysler and it has only 19,000 miles on it

Truman Home

After the tour I walked around the perimeter of the Truman Home and then decided to go visit the Truman Presidential Library. I purchased a ticket and toured the facility and listened in on some of the volunteer guides speaking to tour groups in some of the areas. Harry Truman, I believe was my Dad’s favorite president. He liked ‘Ol Give ‘Em Hell Harry”. My Dad was a life-long Democrat, but he voted for Goldwater, since he could not stand LBJ, who he considered a crook.

Harry S. Truman Presidential Library

Oval Office Replica in the Library

One of two new cars he bought as a Senator

Presidential China

After the Presidential Library, I drove over to the National Frontier Trails Museum arriving around 10:30 am. I was the first visitor of the day and watched the video presentation and then toured the facility. On my way to the car I walked over to the Chicago-Alton Railroad station and toured around it for a little while. I returned to my car around 11:30 am and started out on my drive to Springdale, AR which Samantha said was about 3-1/2 hours away.

Frontier Trails Museum

One of the Exhibits

Railroad Depot: Was moved to this site and restored

One of the displays inside

I made a stop at a Quik Trip for a Coke and a snack just outside KC and continued on my journey. I arrived in Springdale at the Super 8 a few minutes after 3 pm and checked in.

Scenes Along the Road from KC to Springdale

 This evening I had the pleasure of having dinner and visiting with my friends, Bill and Kim Phillips. It was good to see them, having been over 4 years since we last got together and it was a good time of catching up on what’s going on in each of our lives and our families.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the end of my road trip as I drive the final leg home, anticipating arriving early in the afternoon. It has been fun, but I am glad it is coming to an end. Now if I can just get used to the heat in the Dallas area when I return.

See you down the road!