Stepping Out, Shining Through: Road Trip

This morning I was up before sunrise. Sitting in my rocker, looking out into the wetland, drinking my coffee, I was in awe of the full moon. It was as if the moon was smiling back at me.

Today was the first day of our "Road Trip" to Texas. I haven't traveled long distance by car in several years. Due to the COVID situation, my husband and I felt "why not travel by car and see the USA".

If you have never taken a road trip, you need to. It is a great way to enjoy the terrain, talk about the history of that area and just time to be with each other.

Before I talk about our 1st day of traveling, I want to share some trivia about the world's first recorded long-distance road trip by automobile. It took place in Germany in August 1888. The wife of the inventor of the first patented motor car traveled 66 miles, a speed of 10 miles per hour. She traveled with her two teenage sons. Her husband had no knowledge of this trip.

Her official reason of why she took this trip was to go visit her mother. Unofficially, she intended to generate publicity for her husband's invention. Her name was Bertha Benz. The Benz's family eventually evolved into the present day Mercedes-Benz Company. As Paul Harvey would say "now you know the rest of the story".

Kenny and I wanted to take the time to visit family in Texas. Kenny's mother has three siblings that are living. Uncle Frank and Aunt Loie live in San Antonio and Aunt Pat lives in Mars Hills, North Carolina. Uncle Frank will be 92 in December and is still bowling and meeting friends for breakfast. Aunt Loie will be 87 in October and keeps busy with her husband and children and grandchildren. San Antonio would be our final destination in Texas before we drive back to Loveland.

The morning was busy packing the truck. Knowing we had lots of room and we didn't need to worry about the weight of our luggage, we packed everything. Kenny wanted to take boxes of books and turkey decoys for his brother, who would meet us in San Antonio from Houston. We were definitely loaded when we pulled out of the driveway.

We would take I-25 South and then 70-east and then Highway 287 south to Texas. Along the way, we would travel through areas that went through a lot of hardship during the 1920's and 1930's.

As we traveled down the highway, the terrain continued to change. We went from the mountains to the great plains. Here we were traveling in our air condition truck with all the comforts. I thought about the people that had traveled westward to discover new territories and new opportunities. These people from the east set out on foot, wagon, horseback or train. Their road trip was different than mine.

Driving along Highway 287, we saw an 18 wheeler that had been turned over. Also, there was a guy on a Harley that was packed. Lots of traffic on the road. Everybody was going somewhere.

As we drove through the Comanche National Grasslands, southeast area of Colorado, I thought of the dinosaurs roaming the grasslands to the Mexican and American traders traveling through to the Santa Fe trail.

Crossing the border from Colorado to Oklahoma, Kenny talked about the area and that the plains were the worst hit during the dust bowl. The high plains experienced drought conditions for as many as eight years. Passing through Boise City, Oklahoma, we discussed "Black Sunday". Black Sunday refers to the dust storm that occurred on April 14, 1935. It was one of the worst storms in American history and it caused immense economic and agricultural damage. The combination of drought, erosion, bare soil and winds caused the dust to fly freely and at high speed. One begins to realize that every generation goes through something. Every one stresses about the COVID pandemic, but what about the people who lived during the dust bowl. Around 7,000 people died during the Dust Bowl.

Driving through the Oklahoma panhandle, which is a 38 mile stretch, we reached the Texas border. It felt good to be back in "Texas". We had another 140 mile before we got to Canyon, Texas to spend the night with friends.

After 500 miles and eight hours of driving, stopping twice, we finally reached our friends. We were looking forward to visiting, as well as a great meal and a good nights sleep.

Tomorrow, we will see Palo Duro Canyon. This has been on my bucket list for a long time.