The Fruits of Gratitiude

On Sunday, we packed up after 10 days in San Marcos. We headed east to spend Thanksgiving with  Marlene's Brother, Sister-in-law, and Dad in College Station, Texas. We pulled into the 12th RV Resort after an uneventful drive. We will be here for the week before heading south to Galveston.

When we cross the causeway into Galveston, we will close the loop on our travels for 2023. We left there on February 6, 2023. Since leaving the island, we have traveled through 10 States and driven Koko 7,403 miles. We spent 330 nights in 52 different campgrounds and one night in a hotel. According to my iPhone, I have walked just over 900K steps. Marlene has surpassed 2 million steps. We have added 23 new bird species to our life list and checked off several bucket list items, including Multnomah Falls and La Brea Tar Pits. In addition, we rode the Durango-Silverton Trail, climbed the Moki Dugway (look it up), and drove HWY 101 along the West Coast. We visited Joshua Tree National Park, Glacier National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Redwood National Park, Lewis and Clark National Park, Northern Cascades National Park, Minidoka Internment Camp, Bears Ears National Monument, and El Malpais National Monument. We have toured Tribal Cultural Centers for the Ute, Anasazi, Wanapum, Makah, and Yurok people. I have over 13K pictures in my archives from the year. This is just a fraction of our experiences.

It is fitting that we mark this moment during Thanksgiving Week. As I look back over the year, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. As I pondered the year, this quote kept echoing in my mind.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” ~Epicurus

My cup is overflowing, and the tidal wave is too much to contain. What do I do with the abundance? The joys of traveling are not just about following our dream. Being grateful is not enough. To enjoy its full impact, we must go beyond gratitude. I ran across this quote from Robin Wall Kimmerer in her book Braiding Sweetgrass:

“But I think we are called to go beyond cultures of gratitude, to once again become cultures of reciprocity.”

Gratitude inspires us to embrace grace, good humor, openness, tolerance, respect, and patience with ourselves, others, and the universe. These fruits of gratitude are meant to be shared with every person we encounter along the way. In doing so, gratitude spreads from spirit to spirit, and we can leave a translucent wake of joy behind us. We have been incredibly fortunate to have traveled in the wake of others and hopefully created a wave of gratitude during our travels.

In this spirit, I share some photos of Marlene and me from our journey through 2023. Thank you for traveling along with us. I hope you have been inspired to get out and do a little wandering on your own. Please check in as we head to Galveston through Christmas and then to the Rio Grande Valley for the winter. I will keep posting and sharing the joy of wandering along our neighborhood along the Gulf Coast and in South Texas.

Grandma and "The Boys" before leaving Galveston!

With Good friends, Mark and Linda, at Texas Wine Cooperative in Stonewall.

On the Edge of Texas in El Paso

On the trail in Texas

At Chiricahua National Monumnet

Marlene at the wheel of Koko

A Super Bloom along Route 66

In Joshua Tree National Park

At the Graumann's Chinese Theatre

On the Friend's Couch at the Friends Fountain at Warner Bros. Studio

Strolling Pismo Beach

In the Redwoods

The Heart of San Fancisco

The Seattle Family at a Museum

Whale Watching in the Juan de Fuca Straits

Marlene yanks the alarm chain in a mine in Idaho

Along the trail in Montana

Glacier National Park

A Recovered river in Washington

A Lava Tube in Idaho

Zion National Park

On board the Durango and Silverton

With our nephew, Johnny, and his husband, Ben

Another Class on 71 grad from SMHS, Monty

Marlene's Dad and Brother

Our Nephew Will and Grandnephew, Jericho

On the trail above Bryce Canyon

Our 2024 Journey begins next week in Galveston. We will head out after Christmas for the Rio Grande Valley and then begin our loop through the Midwest at the end of February. I hope you will come along with us.

Happy Holidays, my friends!

Bob