Wandering's Greatest Gifts: the Unknown Where and When

 

This week, the blog will be a bit different. This will be more about our life on the road in the last week than the places we have visited. I came down with a cold while we were in New Mexico, and Marlene caught it by the time we reached Texas. So we have spent a lot of time in Koko just living our lives as best we can. The good news is that we are recovering well and hope to be back out there, wandering and exploring Palo Duro Canyon and beyond. But for now, we are hunkered down and taking care of stuff. We started our week in Grants, New Mexico.

 

El Malpais are ancient and not-so-ancient lava beds in West Central New Mexico. Most of the lava in the Bandera-Zuni Lava Field came from cinder cones that dot the area. The flows filled a large section of the Rio Grande Rift, with some flows up to 24 feet deep. The valley is filled with collapsed lava tubes, holes, and tubes that wander for miles. These pictures are from the Sandstone Cliffs that contained the lava on one side, across from the Zuni Mountains. They have been called El Malpais since the Spanish Conquistadors struggled to find a path through the Bad (mal) Country (mais). They may appear barren, but life abounds in this rugged land. Bats, lizards, birds, and all kinds of creepy crawlies live in the shelter of the lava. We have seen lava beds before, but these are among the largest and most inaccessible we have ever seen. I can only imagine the mysteries that those vast stretches of tumbled, jumbled black and red rock hold. As I stood looking out toward the Zuni Mountains, my mind filled with questions. At the same time, my heart discovered a strange peace, knowing that they have been and will continue in this place for another 100,000 years. Such seeming timelessness is a rare gift to transient souls such as ours.

 

Lava beds are rugged and unforgiving places.

Looking Across El Malpais

A Dry and Ancient Landscape

Beauty and the Overlook

Always as High as She Can Go!

Cholla

Cholla

A Desert Garden

Refuge in the Rocks

Standing Guard

Sandstone Bluffs

The Mysteries of Geology in One Rock

La Ventana

La Ventana in situ

Yep, a Dead Tree

The Wide Open Spaces

Amazing Beauty Surrounds Us

On Tuesday, we drove to the Tucumcari KOA in Tucumcari, NM. Fortunately, my head cold was, for the most part, left behind in Grants. Our slideout issue with Koko was also left behind after calling to arrange a repair in Amarillo next week. The tech walked me through his diagnostic process, and I discovered I had been using the wrong spray to lube the slide. He pointed me toward a new spray, and a quick trip to Tractor Supply resolved the issue. Thanks, Josh. You made this drive to Tucumcari much less worrisome! We arrived and set up in no time, ready for three nights in a town that usually finds us driving through on the way somewhere else.

 

I have been asked why we would stay three nights in a town "on the way" somewhere else. Frankly, we are not in a hurry. Nearly every community has something to offer the wanderer with time to linger and savor. Interesting restaurants, local museums, and unique characters are all worth exploring when we make the time. Yep, even Tucumcari, NM!

 

Tucumcari holds an extraordinary memory for me. In the mid-1960s, my Mom, Dad, and brother Kenny piled in the new car, a 1966 Chevrolet Catalina, hooked up a rented tent trailer and set out for Yellowstone. My Dad was not a patient traveler. He was headed home as soon as he backed out of the driveway. My Mom, however, loved to travel. And one of her passions was Curio Shops. This was before I 40, and Route 66 went (as it still does) right through Tucumcari. There was a Curio shop on the South side of the road, and miraculously, Dad stopped. I am sure it was with my Mother's insistence. Mother gave my brother and me a couple dollars to buy something while she looked at all the treasures in the shop. There were toys and candy bars everywhere. But a 6-piece set of 1½ inch multicolored glasses caught my eye. I thought Mom would love these, so I spent my two dollars on them. When we got back in the car, I presented them to Mother. Mom gratefully took them and placed them carefully in a bag under her seat.

When we got home, she placed them in front of her curio shelf along with the Tom and Jerry Punch Bowl and plates from our travels. In the middle of all these memories sat a six-piece set of 1½ inch multicolored glasses. After she died in 1997, we cleaned out her home. Those glasses still sat among the treasures of her lifetime. It has taken me 50 years to realize that the gift she gave me, starting that day in Tucumcari, is more than I gave her. Her gift to me was a lifetime of gratitude for my being part of her life. And, until the day she died, I have no doubt that she looked with joy at that 6-piece set of 1 ½ inch multicolored glasses. By the way, the picture is of a Curio Shop in Tucumcari that has been there since the 1940s. Yep, I have no doubt that it is the same one. I felt it the moment I stepped through the door. I was surrounded by a lifetime of love in the Teepee Curio Shop on Main Street, Tucumcari, New Mexico!

On our first night in Tucumcari, the sun decided to dazzle us with a glorious sunset. As our remaining days on the road grow shorter, we also lose daylight for exploring. We lose a couple minutes each day as we move through Autumn. But we lose daylight with every mile we journey South as well. Every minute becomes more precious than the last. But I resist the urge to hurry up or skip over something that may not be as exciting as others. I do not want to waste our lives with haste. I would rather savor every moment just as it is. Each moment holds a gift for those willing to set aside their hurriedness to listen carefully to the music of the day. Sunsets fade so quickly unless we allow ourselves to become lost in them. When listening, they go on forever. Each moment is a little different from the last. Each moment yields to another, creating a symphony painted before our eyes. The vibrant sounds of crimson, orange, gray, and blue echo in my spirit and render the moment as a sacred gift of time. A Tucumcari sunset had a life lesson for an old codger sitting in his RV. “Who’d a thunk it?”

Tucumcari is the home of the New Mexico Route 66 Museum. The Museum sits behind the Convention Center and is marked with the Route 66 Monument in the picture. The Museum celebrates all things Route 66, from the classic cars that traveled the highway to the images of travelers and tourists enjoying the sights and sounds of America's Highway. They tell the story of how it followed an old cattle trail and, with each new improvement, saw an increase in people traveling West. It was the First Transcontinental Highway that was paved from end to end. The ubiquitous Neon signs along the way advertised Diners (complete with soda fountains), Motor Hotels (invented for Route 66), and Gas Stations with giant green dinosaurs, red stars, and red, white, and blue chevrons. It showed pictures of Model T’s and Model A’s making their way through deeply rutted roads. There were gas pumps with glass containers on top and appliances from the 1940s and 50s that traveled the roads in trucks from Los Angeles to Chicago. Travel “back in the day” along the US Highway system was a marvel that allowed our large country to feel a bit smaller because we could jump in the car and “See the USA in a Chevrolet.”

After lunch at Del’s Diner, we drove to the Tucumcari Historical Museum. We love local museums. I always learn something, and it is a joy to see most communities' pride in their history. This Museum is like a walk through your grandparent's attic and barn. It is a mishmash from the early 20^th Century when the town was in its heyday after the railroad established a siding nearby. There are the usual rooms dedicated to the veterans and the war efforts. A haunting picture of a young man in uniform was the town's first casualty of WWII. He was on the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941. There are uniforms from the Indian Wars era, Fort Bascom and WWI, WWII, Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan. There are also rooms offering glimpses of life throughout the 20^th Century. They highlight cowboys, bankers, doctors, society ladies, and children from  the Tucumcari Schools, where the High School mascot was the Tucumcari Rattlers (Colors (Purple and Gold.) Then, I came across a picture of a very familiar face. As I read the caption, I discovered it was Wishbone, the cook on the Rawhide TV show. The actor, Paul Brinegar, was from Tucumcari. He was the center of Tucumcari’s Rawhide Days annual celebration. The show spent one Summer filming in the town and the area. We discovered that the town hosted a glider school during WW II. Every town has a story to tell. This Museum could have told the story better. But there was enough stuff for the attentive patron to hear the voices of the people and feel the joy they take in their hometown.

Having exhausted the sights and sounds of Tucumcari, we had time for a Chill and Chore Day, when our most common chore is laundry. Life on the road is all about living our lives. Everyone must deal with chores in a mansion, house, apartment, townhouse, or RV. Dirty laundry is part of life! Granted, it is much easier in a mansion, especially if you have servants. Life on the road is much like apartment living without a washer and dryer. Accommodations must be made. First, find a decent place to do our laundry, whether in the campground or not. Next, get an ample supply of quarters. (However, a few laundromats use credit cards or pre-paid cards.) Finally, ensure that you have everything you need at the laundromat. (Yep, experience is talking on this one.) While folding clothes at the campground laundry, one camper suggested that we could shower with our clothes on. I think he was joking! But "Dealing With It" is what life is all about, whether we are on the road or not. We find a way, regardless of our chosen (or unchosen) lifestyle. Chill and Chore days remind us that this is not an endless vacation. It is our chosen way of life, and we are grateful to have the choice. So, where are the quarters? We have some living to do!

Our drive from Tucumcari to Canyon was a challenge. We had clear skies, but a cold front had slipped through to the south, bringing a cold North wind. For the last 100 miles, I had to fight a 20-30 MPH crosswind. These RVs have the same surface area as many 18-wheelers and about a third of the weight. They catch a crosswind, requiring concentration and a steady hand to stay between the lines. Then comes an 18-wheeler that gives us a nudge as it passes us at 75+ mph. While the drive was not too long, I was exhausted when we finally pulled into the Panhandle Lodging RV Park south of Canyon, Texas.

 

This campground seems filled with people who work or attend school here in Canyon. It has limited amenities and offers a place to park and hook up to the water, sewer, and electricity. We will use it as a base to explore Palo Duro Canyon and other sites in the area after we get over our colds.

 

We went out for my birthday on our first night in Canyon. We are back in Texas, so I ordered a Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, and Cream Gravy with a side of green beans cooked with bacon. Yep, it mostly feels right. I can’t say the same for hitting my 70^th birthday. 70 feels different! Since we hit the road in August of 2022, we have always felt at home. Koko is home, no matter where we park. But I do not feel at home with 7 decades of living behind me. Age has never been a big issue for me. (Well, 30 was a little rough, but I was in the hospital then.) But being 70 means I am old! For me, 70 has always been old. I have spent a lifetime caring for old people in their 70s and 80s. I could play mental games with being in my 60s. My 50s felt like being a grown-up. But… This birthday is helping me to understand that our wandering is not just a journey through the wide-open spaces of America. It is through time as well. And to be at home while wandering requires more than just accommodating to a changing place. I will also need to learn to live with and embrace the changes that time brings. The future will offer many opportunities to learn to live with the changes that time will bring to my life. Unlike changing places, I can’t just park and stop the changes wrought by time. It should be an exciting journey! I have much to learn now that I am old.

 

One of the things I have learned in the last 15 months is that Texas is not home anymore. But… it is Texas. Tears rolled down my cheeks the first time I left Texas to move to Missouri. I felt an overwhelming sadness that tempered my excitement as we crossed the Red River. Texas is where most of my memories were made. It is where I grew up and the homeland of our families. I have relatives and friends there. But home is more than all that. It is about a place where you can lay aside your worries and rest easy. It is where I can recuperate from illness and recover from difficult times. It is where my life partner sits with me, and neither of us needs to say a thing. It is the place where joy and peace find me. It has been a long journey to get here, a lifetime! But I am at home in Seattle!  I am at home in Tucumcari! I am at home in a Rest Area in Utah. Will we ever return to live in Texas? Maybe! But there is no more going home to Texas. However, I will bring my home with me for a visit.

 

Speaking of looking ahead, I have been getting down to the nitty-gritty of sketching out our path for 2024. With the changes in the RV industry since COVID, I have to make reservations as much as a year in advance to get to the places we want to visit. The sketch allows me to make those reservations that are essential and make sure there is room for getting there without too much-hurried driving. So, in broad terms, we will be heading north from the Rio Grande Valley in March. We have booked our way through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, hoping to visit with friends along the way. Initially, we had planned on a trip through the Midwest, but then I thought about returning out West and picking up the National Parks we missed this year. But that road did not "have heart" (to quote Carlos Castaneda.) Therefore, I returned to our original plan and built a route through Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, and then back to Texas before possibly wintering in Florida or Southern Georgia. At this point, it is a sketch with reservations through June of 2024. This should set us up to return to the East Coast in 2025 if the RV gods still smile down on us.

 

Yep, our wandering involves so much more than changing places every so often. Time offers us challenges that make the journey more than a walk in the park. What will happen? No one knows. And I really do not want to know. The mystery and unknowns are essential elements of the road ahead. I hope you are with us as we forge ahead on this journey. Thanks for being our companions who share the bread of life with us!

 

Bob