Day 2

What should have been an average day of driving turned into a very long one. The few days before the trip had been quite hectic for many reasons and Amy and I were quite exhausted. We didn't get the early start we normally get. The kids got up and played on the playground while I drained tanks and got the trailer ready for the next stop. We will be "dry" camping for 4 days. This means there are no RV hookups and you must pack in your own water and run from battery power etc. It is important to drain all holding tanks and bring plenty of fresh water before such a trip. We got on the road and toughed out the four boring hours to Albuquerque. We were going into the wind and our fuel mileage suffered as a result. We made the kids do old school things like crossword puzzles etc. For lunch we stopped at a community park Northwest of Albuquerque that had a swimming pool. Amy took the kids swimming while I cooked up a lunch and made breakfast tacos for the next morning. The kids had a good time and were worn out afterwards. We continued on our afternoon trend of listening to NPR podcasts. Story Corps in particular. Everyone in the vehicle was captivated. I realized why I am enjoying the series so much. It is basically small slices of humanity in oral format. Stories of life and living that would otherwise never get told. For example, the bank robber who meets up with his victim 15 years later and asks for forgiveness or the piece on the children who survived the Oklahoma City Bombing and how it has effected their lives. These small pieces of humanity and stories of the human condition have a way of energizing the soul. The journalist that founded Story Corps basically had the idea that ordinary people could conduct interviews with each other on some aspect of their lives. There was a traveling interview booth and now an app where you can record interviews and submit them electronically. The result are these interesting stories that would have otherwise never been told. After listening while walking into the campground I couldn't help but wonder what sort of stories could be buried deep in those we walk amongst that will eventually die with them. Tomorrow will be a good day, everything gets better up here. http://www.npr.org/series/4516989/storycorps

Day 1- back at it

Here I sit. A full 3 years has passed since the last blog entry. The space has been filled with life and the rat race. Since the last blogged adventure, we had a fourth child, moved homes, and watched the children grow. Other road trips were taken in the interim, however it did not seem like I had it together enough to write the blog. I decided to make it a point to do it this time. It was interesting to prep the trailer that started it all. Now she is showing the signs of wear, paint pealing, wood warping, but inherent in her is the memories we hold dear. Memories this family will never forget, and so I continue to patch her up. As usual with the strange bipolar life I lead with a high stress job filled with stress and tragedy, coupled with strange circadian shifts and rigors of raising 4 young kids, the draw of the adventure pulls yet again. The wanderlust that was always inherent in me lives yet. As I get older and witness more tragedy and the pressures, confines and people of our society, I feel trapped and must taste the freedom of the open road yet again. It rekindles the life in me yet. As life progresses we get wiser, we meet and get to know new and interesting people and things. Despite all this, many people I meet and get to know make me sad. It is as if the confines of our society and views have extinguished their flame. I am reminded of a time I visited the Waco zoo. I remember standing in front of the Tiger exhibit and watching the tiger pace. The tiger is a magnidficent animal, a poweful, athletic, apex predator, full of life and energy. I watched this tiger pace in an endless circle around its cage. I watched the muscles ripple as it walked, head down, in a sort of monotnous drone around the cage. It saddened me tp see and animal that had so much potential and beauty inherent in it pacing that way. It is in the way my eyes have opened and enabled me to see situations and people around that have succumbed to this caged mind as the tiger found himself. If there is one thing I have learned it is the finite quantity of our time on this earth. I will not spend it caged. The trip this year is shorter than most as I had to split my off time this summer to allow us to visit Barbados later in the summer. We will ultimately end up in Southern Colorado hiking and camping in the mountains. Texas has been inundated wiith mass amounts of rain this year and has caused some major flooding. Although we escaped unscathed, such weather and its unpredictable nature can make traveling and towing a trailer quite interesting and downright treacherous. The forecast today was questionable and showed the chance of some sever thunderstorms. The wind that accompanies such a storm is the major concern, as it can catch the trailer like a sail. Fortunatley, we arrived in Amarillo unscathed. We seemed to just miss most of the storms along the way. The children did quite well on the drive. We handed out books to read and listened to NPR podcasts. There is a series called Story Corps where people from around the country conduct interviews about various topics that have come along in life. It is quite interesting and held the attention of the children quite well. Old fashioned radio storytelling. It was interesting to see how green the usual route out of Texas was with all the rain. Luckily the kids are for the most part exhausted, and fell asleep quite easily. Tomorrow to Durango.