I was on the road most of this week with my father-in-law and my dog. We left Tucson Monday morning and pulled into Minneapolis Thursday afternoon. There are certain things that stood out, fresh memories to add to the slide show in my mind, one big road trip continually building on itself.
Here are my top five memories from my week on the road:
5) Mexican Hat: This is a little town in Utah, one of those blink and you miss it kind of places. The town is named after a rock formation that does indeed bare a strong resemblance to a sombrero.
4) Cornfields in Iowa: Maybe it’s my Midwestern upbringing, but there’s just something about the sight of cornfields stretching to the horizon that stirs my soul.
3) Elk: We saw a number of elk while driving through the Rockies, but the highlight was a mother and her calf that we saw while visiting my father-in-law’s friends in Estes Park.
2) Snow in June: There was quite a bit of snow in the upper elevations of the Rockies. The girls had given me strict orders to take a picture of the dog in snow, and thankfully, mission accomplished.
1) Grass: This one took me by surprise. I was walking the dog at a rest stop in Iowa. As I walked through the grass in my sandals, I could feel the dew on my feet. The sensation triggered memories of early mornings from my youth, the promise of good things to come.
Elk are pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteI can visualize your route (or close to it) as I have taken lots of drives from AZ to Chicago.
ReplyDeleteI think the area around Estes Park is just gorgeous but then there are so many beautiful CO spots.
There was a time as a kid I thought cornfields were neat. They brought visions of playing Marco Polo but they have long lost their appeal. While we live in the city (Kansas City), we own a farm and corn has become a matter of tracking costs and profits. Truly not a fun way of looking at cornfields.
As far as trips, I am leaving for Washington DC in a couple of days and it is the first trip of the summer. In 3 weeks I will make the trip back to "home" which is the Chicago area for a visit. So at some point I hopefully will have some trip highlights.
Have safe travels.
Ah, man, you went right by my house and didn't even wave. I live just down the hill (well, thirty miles) from Estes Park. My parents lived there for a dozen years. We love it there. In fact, I was supposed to go up there today and plans got botched.
ReplyDeleteHave a great Fourth of July weekend!
Travel Memory: Tucking a hard boiled egg in my pocket to warm my hands.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful drive. I'd love to see Mexican Hat, how fun. Was your dog confused by the snow? If he has always lived in Arizona I'm sure he wondered what the heck that white stuff was.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy the rest of your trip just as much!
OT: Indeed they are.
ReplyDeleteCheryl: I hear ya on the cornfields. Have fun in D.C. and Chicago.
LG: Sorry I didn't wave. Sure is beautiful out your way. Hard to beat Colorado for scenery.
Munk: Classic-I bet that detail is in your writing somewhere, and if not, will be one day.
Julie: She was excited at first, but her desert upbringing quickly got the better of her. I had to coax her back out so I could get the picture for the girls. It was quite funny actually.
Tim - I'm responding to the open call of your last post. I'll take you up on it - one of my goals this year is to try one new thing a quarter, which means y'all get to be my guinea pigs. I'll want you to check it out before it goes up and let me know what you think, though. Good thing this seems like a pretty enthusiastic and forgiving group...!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great trip. I just walked through dewy grass the other evening and it was so nice.
ReplyDeleteI spent much of July 1 in an old jeep roaming around in the hills and valleys along our river, more of a roadless trip but still excellent.
ReplyDeleteMr. Gaelic and I found an actual hidden valley. Gorgeous to drive through. It is a long, narrow valley. Like a pastoral Shangri-La.
ReplyDeleteDriving to the Oregon coast is always an adventure. I always see something new and the little towns that are undiscovered are the best.
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