Has It Really Been Two Years?

Kerrville Schriener Park

We celebrate two years on the road full-time this week. We moved into Koko on July 22, 2022, while we cleaned out our apartment in Houston and prepared Koko for our first excursion to the American Southwest. Our first stop was in Kerrville, Texas, on July 31, 2022, at Kerrville Schreiner Park. Two years later, we are camped at the Detroit/Ann Arbor KOA beside Lake Ford in Ypsilanti, MI. This week, I will catch you up on our travels from last week and offer a few reflections on our grand adventure thus far.

Finn Road Campground

We began our week with a drive from Kalkaska County, MI, to Essexville, MI, on Lake Huron. This drive took us through the beautiful countryside of the Mitten, slang for the Lower Peninsula. (Yes, it really does look like a mitten.) We arrived in the Thumb (Yep, more Michigan slang). We set up in a beautiful Township Park adjacent to the Quanicasse Wildlife Area. This marsh is on the shore of Lake Huron, which we first saw when we crossed the Mackinac Bridge. Our campsite backed up to the wildlife area, and we enjoyed the birds, squirrels, bunnies, and bugs. The bugs were not too bad since the township sprays every week to keep the skeeters in check. But the birds, squirrels, and bunnies were delightful. Marlene did a lot more walking than I but here are a few shots from our walks in the Wildlife Area.

Song Sparrow with worm

Red Wing Blackbird

Quanicasse Marsh and Lake Huron

Goldfinch

Fawn making their escape

Yellow Warbler

Eastern Kingbird

Time for a nap

Purple Loosestrife

Who is watching who?

This week, I spent most of my time taking it easy and doing some reading in my current book, The Nature Fix, by Florence Williams. She is sharing her findings after interviewing scientists around the world about the healing power of nature. I read a little and pondered a lot. Read a little more and pondered a great deal more. My week was not only relaxing but soul and mind-filling. I returned time and again to the words of Walt Whitman that inspired me as we began this journey.

 

Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road,

Healthy, free, the world before me,

The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

 

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,

Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,

Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,

Strong and content I travel the open road.

 

The earth, that is sufficient,

I do not want the constellations any nearer,

I know they are very well where they are,

I know they suffice for those who belong to them.

 

(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,

I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,

I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,

I am filled with them, and I will fill them in return.)

 

Despite my occasional bout with depression that showed up this week, nature shows me the way to healing and I reaped the bounty of the “good fortune” that resides within all of us!

 

Sacred Rock of the Anishaabe

Before leaving Kalkaska County, we saw the petroglyphs at Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park. We have seen petroglyphs all over the Southwest. The Anasazi and Navajo people have left these “stories in stone” at sacred sites throughout the deserts and mountains of the Southwest. But, we were unaware of any petroglyphs in the Midwest until we discovered this park in the middle of the Thumb. These were etched over many centuries by the Annishabe People and their descendants (Ojibwa, Chippewa, and Potawatomie) into this sacred rock that was once on the shore of the Cass River. Their descendants still return to the rock and leave an offering. At the same time, they remember and share the stories of their Seven Fires that continue to burn in this journey. The park also has a 1.2-mile trail along the river that offered a renewing “forest bath” before we hit the road.

Morning Glory

The Archer

An Offering of Herbs

The Dancer and the Eagle

The Seven Fires of the Anishaabe

Various Petroglyphs

Holes where people have cut out petroglyphs.

A Sacred Offering

The Place of Power for an Ancient People

The North Fork of the Cass River

Ebony Dancer Dragonfly

Cardinalflower

A beautiful rock

 

On Friday, it was time to leave our little slice of nature and head to Ypsilanti and the Detroit Metro. I envisioned this as an urban campground when I booked it last Fall. And I was a little sad to leave the trees and water behind. Our drive was supposed to take 2.25 hours, but the Michigan DOT thought it wise to reduce I-75 to one lane outside of Flint to fill potholes along a two-mile stretch. This created a 1.75-hour delay. I have never been great at crawling along in stop-and-start, bumper-to-bumper traffic. It was one of the reasons I retired early. But I have dealt with it better in the last two years. But this experience pushed me beyond the limits of my patience. When we got to our campsite, I was NOT a happy camper! And then our campsite unfolded before my eyes.

 

Detroit/Ann Arbor KOA

I booked a back-in site next to the lake for seven nights. But I was not prepared for what I saw after arriving. The picture says it all. This is a KOA and is filled with families. But it is large enough for people to spread out. Lake Ford (named after Henry, not Gerald) is small and does not allow motors. Instead, people paddle their kayaks and row their boats over calm water. The water park and playground in the distance offer the cheerful sounds of children at play. The site was level and roomy, with full shade throughout the day. I fell in love, and immediately, a plan started to form. It came to fruition when the Office extended our stay by four nights. We will save the time and expense of making a zig-zag across Southern Michigan to Elkhart, IN. Instead, I will listen to children laughing, birds singing, the wind rustling the leaves, and the water silently rippling across an azure lake under an even more azure sky. This is the perfect way to celebrate two full years on the open road!

 

We began this journey with the phrase, "Not all who wander are lost.” These words are from The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien and are the second line of the song of Strider, the Ranger who protected Frodo on his journey to destroy the ring. These words, along with  John Muir's "sauntering" and Walt Whitman's "open road,." have been part of every mile I have walked and driven over the last two years. In my first blog post, I reflected on our wandering with these words:

 

“Wandering emphasizes the space between where we are and where we intend to be. It is all about the in-between, the places where dreams emerge and grow. Wandering is living on the edge of time that offers surprise, wonder, and awe. It is all about the unknown, the mystery that surrounds us every moment. When we are wanderlusting, the destination and direction are not as important as the adventure of the day. We were ready to let wanderlust take the lead in our lives.”

 

These words are even more true today than they were on that cold February day along the Gulf Coast in 2023. Our wanderlust still itches, and we are still scratching. We have experienced untold beauty, speechless wonder, awe, deep surprise, and joyful delight. There is no way I could ever pick one or two or even a dozen favorite places. Every experience, for good or ill, has become part of the fabric of our lives and live on as cherished memories. The road continues to call us, and we will answer that call every morning!

 

Here are a few random statistics from our first two years on the road.

 

We have traveled 16,705 miles in Koko.

 

We have made 102 stops in Koko (including three hotels) for an average of seven nights per stop.

 

We have all but eight nights in Koko.

 

We have visited 12 lighthouses and seen several more.

 

We have visited at least 14 zoos and aquariums, 87 museums and historical Sites, and 69 national parks, refuges, and monuments.

 

We have 110 Selfies on our phones taken in restaurants along the way.

 

I have taken 50,004 pictures with my Canon Cameras (70D and R6) and 4,894 with my iPhone.

 

I have written and published 79 blog posts since February 2023.

 

We have visited old friends and family members across the country.

 

Lastly, we have accumulated two lifetimes' worth of memories.

 

The road continues to shape our lives in unexpected and meaningful ways. We are fortunate to have the means, the health, and the companions to make this journey. We are glad you are on the road with us and look forward to sharing our adventures as we start our third year, scratching our itch to wander.

 

Travel well, my friends!

 

Bob

 

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