Where Have They Gone?

After watching a television show that dealt with the consequences of our choices, I began to wonder where have all our choice gone? Where have they led us? Should we worry about which road we've chosen after time has passed? Can we deal with those choices? Could we really change anything if we wanted? Are we doomed to follow a path already laid out in front of us long before we were born? I'm not talking predestination or original sin here. It's just that our lives are what we've made of them, and now we've got to face all the consequences or make the best of really messed up situation. Now that I've blogged myself into a vicious circle because I was obviously going to write all this long before I knew it...

It's a Brand New Day

I can't believe it's nearly fall! I could almost burst because I love leaves and cool weather. The drought around here has made everything so dry that the trees have lost their luster and the leaves are beginning to die and fall off. It may not be much of a colorful fall. I can't wait to open the windows and turn on the house-fan. Let the cool air flow! Aaah!

We're Moving Along!

Hi guys!

We've finished week 2 of the semester! Let's get those blogs out there. I'm trying to update mine every week. I may start posting some poetry or other work. I have a wealth of short stories that I can share, but not tonight. Like many of you, I'm quite tired after being out three nights this week. I want to encourage all of you new writers to keep writing. Don't give up. You may have to submit again and again, but it's worth the effort! So keep on blogging! I'll be looking!

Traveling Westward

One hundred and fifty years ago, people from the East felt the urge to go westward. Some time later, as people settled out west, newspapers declared it was America's manifest destiny to go west. Well, my husband and I felt this urge in May, so we drove west. It was a long journey and odyssey, but we did and returned--5200 miles round trip!



We met in Winston-Salem (I had been on a retreat there) and drove to Tennessee for our first leg. Nothing fantastic but it was late when we arrived in Clarksville. The next day, we started at 8:00 and drove toward Missouri. We stopped in St. Louis for a quick view of the Mississippi River and the Great Archway to the West. WOW! We continued our trip, with a face smack-down accident for me (I fell at a rest stop!), but onward to Lawrence, Kansas. There was one beautiful sunset there!



The next leg took us through Kansas. I put on a "Dances with Wolves" fanfare as we drove the long flat drive--with few cows or buffalo in sight. We edged on towards Colorado for our first stop in Manitou Springs at the foot of Pikes Peak. The Rocky Mountains appeared as if by magic in the distance as we drove toward our destination. We spent the night in a Victorian house turned bed and breakfast (Victoria's Keep). We had a good night and a splendid breakfast. We took a cog train the next day up to the 13,000+ peak. It had snowed two feet there a couple nights before. It was quite amazing to see all the snow in May! We spent some time in the "Garden of the Gods" park later before ending our day.



The next day we drove toward Flagstaff, Arizona. Our ultimate destination was the Grand Canyon. But the day was first spent in a long trek through New Mexico. The land was flat and there were dozens of trains with their shipping cars stacked double, edging their way slowly across the landscape. It seemed as if they were log-jammed. We made it to Flagstaff that night and stayed in a cabin there. It was incredibly cool and quiet.



The next day we felt too tired to go to the Canyon, so we decided to drive around and explore the area. My husband chose Monument Valley as our destination--a "short" two-hour drive. That was an amazing drive with such flat, desolate territory. The Valley was more amazing, and it was if we had driven into a John Ford western. That Saturday, we drove to that giant hole in the ground--the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful, ancient (though not really), very deep, very high and quite colorful. We drove along the northern rim to go back and saw more wonderful scenes!



That Sunday we worshipped in Sedona--a small town surrounded by red stone canyon. The busy town was a bit too touristy. We spent the afternoon back at the bed-and-breakfast we had moved into. Now we gettig ready for our last leg--Carlsbad Caverns.



We knew it would be a very long drive to Carlsbad, so we took a more leisurely drive through New Mexico. We stopped and toured the painted desert and petrified forest. Even though it was hot, the light breeze and unusual scenery made it worth our side-trip. We spent the night in Albequerque and headed out early the next day. We stopped for pizza in Roswell--no aliens there! The landscape was more desolate than that in Arizona; later, we realized ths had been the nuclear testing grounds, thus the deserted towns we passed through. Finally, we arrived in Carlsbad. We stayed in a hundred-year old farm house. This was truly an oasis in the desert.



That Wednesday, we went down into the deep caverns of Carlsbad. It was a damp and gray day, so it fit the mood. There were a few school kids around, but otherwise it was a lonely, dark descent into the cavern. Once there we saw the incredible stalagmites and stalagtites. We could only see the color through our digital camera! That night it rained, and the streets were flooded in Carlsbad, but we survived and enjoyed this quaint town--by the way, the best "Southern" barbeque restaurant was there, started by folks from West Virginia1



We began our two-day trip home and drove as fast as we could through New Mexico, the pan handle of Texas, and into Oklahoma. We spent the night in Oklahoma. The next day we drove through Arkansas and into Tennessee. After a night in Tennessee, we headed home to North Carolina. We were finally home after meeting our "manifest destiny." And like Dorothy said, there's "no place like home"!