We spent a half day touring the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park last week.
It’s spectacular
We arrived in Holbrook on Friday, the 29th. Our hope was to do some billable work, see the park, then head to Albuquerque where we’re connecting with friends.
We didn’t know that wind could be such a stumper
It blew us all the way from Mesa, then continued to blow us around till Easter Sunday. Then the rain, mixed with snow, arrived to dampen our ambitions. It left us with one day to see this park or we’d miss it entirely.
There was ice on the truck when we ate breakfast that morning, it didn’t bode well for our plans
Let’s talk about wind and RV life. 50-70 mph winds are nothing to dismiss. As I lay in bed trying to distract myself with a book, the RV rocked from side to side. I ended up moving to the living room, while tossing out the idea of finding a hotel to ride it out.
It actually scared me
Bruce wasn’t having it. He went on one of his trusty RV sites, and asked what to do. The reply was immediate! Fill up your water tanks as much as possible, close things up and ride it out. One person said they’d made it through a hurricane that way.
He did and we did
All day Saturday we watched enormous motor homes arrive, to escape the road for the night. The park office was so busy they could hardly keep up. Over 30 RV’s took advantage of the accommodations in order to escape driving in the wind. We saw Semi-trucks parked in restaurant parking lots, at gas stations and even along the road just waiting it out.
Sigh…
I’ve asked myself a few times, “What in the SAM HILL Are we doing?” It usually passes quickly, but this time, not so much. I did take a vow that we need never come back to this place, or to this elevation again.
6500 feet leaves me a tad breathless. Glad we saw it, glad to be leaving!
However…I came across a quilt store right in downtown Holbrook. I spent a lovely hour checking out their collection of fabrics. Cowboys, Native American, Route 66, cactus and succulent patterns filled some of the shelves. Unique, artistic fabrics that I hadn’t seen in other places. There were a few classic country prints, but the more artistic and vibrant ones captured my $$.
In the back part of the store was a hand operated, long arm quilting machine. I’ve been using local long arm quilters, to quilt the tops I’ve pieced along the road. All of them are computerized, requiring a minimal amount of guidance during the quilting process. But this was a machine from a bygone era. It had to be guided through every stitch. The gentleman who operates it gave me a quick demonstration. I manipulated it easily, but if I ever own a long arm quilting machine, it will have a computer!
It was a lovely serendipity to a weekend of scary weather
As we left Holbrook for Albuquerque, the scenery spread out in front of us like a painting.
It brought to mind an old hymn by Fanny Crosby,
“He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, that shadows a dry thirsty land. He hideth my life in the depths of his love, and covers me there with his hand, and covers me there with his hand”
Fanny was blind, yet she so accurately described a ‘dry thirsty land’, along with the rocks and clefts. You could imagine hiding in them for safety and protection. I was moved that her hymn came to mind. It helped me see the desert in a new way.
I’m not a huge fan of desert landscape. It had to grow on me when we lived in AZ. I awaited, with great anticipation, the brief time when the desert bloomed. Blink and you’ll miss it. I’m all about flowers and color, all the colors everywhere! I want to put flowers on all the spiky plants. But these mountains, with their crevices, colors and majesty were incredibly breathtaking.
For most of this stretch we’re traveling highway 40. It merges at times with historic Route 66. The highway system provided a wonderful adventure for people who wanted to see the USA (in their Chevrolet). It was exciting and new. Today we take highways for granted, lament the traffic, and forget that if we didn’t have them, none of our goods would be delivered to us.
Being on this route feels like a nod to our own journey
April is our month to make our way back to Illinois and Michigan, and spend the summer near our loved ones. As we continue to map out the future, we keep updating our goals and plans. Living without knowing where the future will take us, is almost too much freedom! Our prayer is for guidance as to our next year’s work. In July we’ll mark one year of life on the road. Hard to believe.
But for now, let the adventure continue!
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