Road Trips

 

A road trip for me is a large part of life.. it is life. 

When I was a kid, we went on road trips all the time.  Short ones, but long enough to get me excited. Then when I got older, they got longer and longer, until lately.   

It was cool driving from Darwin to Alice, in a rental, in March two years ago.  By ‘cool’ I mean.. far out.. groovy, because actually it was pretty hot.  Darwin to Alice is 1496 and a half kilometers of almost straight highway from the Tropics to the desert.   I had rented a mid sized car, because when I booked it, it was just going to be Paula and myself.  But, I found myself, four other women, a s*&t load of luggage making the journey,  and there was not a word of complaint!  

My almost-in-law family is pretty amazing.

Years earlier I had driven from Darwin to Cairns, alone, only to find the man that I thought was waiting for me there, didn't actually want me in his life any more.  2356 kilometres.. only to leave my car and hop on a plane out of there. 

Driving to Mexico with just Paula, was a lot more fun.  We had all the ‘stuff’ I had collected over about ten years, and were taking it my house there.  We were in my car, the Ford Escape my sister had insisted was mine after my father died.  It was loaded.  Paula had to work Saturday, so we left a bit later than we would have normally, from Creston- in the snow.

It was dark before we stopped the first night and we were still cold – and still in the cold and snow. The second night we stopped before it got dark, had dinner, and we were still cold, but still heading south, which felt, well, amazing.  The third night it was warmer, and by day five we were swimming in the hotel pool and on day six, were at my house in Mexico.  Six days of sitting in the car, looking out the window at the changing landscape.  Nothing makes me happier.

Driving through the US is always amazing.  While the first bit is a lot like Canada,  B.C. actually, that is amazing in itself.  The mountains and lakes, ever green forests and thick undergrowth, are picture perfect for days.  Then there is Salt Lake City, which goes on for miles, which is not so lovely, but it is the doorway to places like Bryce Canyon, Zion, Moab and the Antelope underground passage through the earth.  Continuing on you go by the Grand Canyon and the Mojave Desert.  Beautiful Beautiful. 

Crossing the border into Mexico isn’t a big deal.  We had to find the place to stop and get the visa.. for us as well as the car, but other than worrying about it, it really was not a bit deal. 

And then Mexico.. the people, the smells the chaos.  They were working on the new highway when we went through this last time.  It is too bad in some ways, as you miss the Mexico I remember.. the one full of crazy drivers and people selling stuff.  But, it will make an enormous difference to how long it takes to get home in Ajijijc.. 

The tolls starting popping up a few years ago.  That was great.  And there were the Green Angels on the toll highways making sure everything was alright.  At least that was how it was on the interior toll highways.  The new one along the coast seemed to begin okay.  But then small groups would pop us asking for change instead of paying the toll.  Then last time, they demanded money.. the toll roads were no longer toll roads.. they were opportunities for Cartels or any group that could, to take advantage of drivers along the road.  I no longer felt safe. 

But, it was an adventure.

Today, a road trip usually means a drive to Kamloops or Vernon, or even just to see Rea in Salmon Arm.  Not quite the same adventure.  But, the pandemic has changed the shape of most aspects of life.  As a traveler, it has asked a lot of me as well.  Challenged me to re evaluate what it is that makes me happy.  What I can do to keep life interesting.

Kurt Vonnegut said he was told that you didn’t have to be good at any one thing.  You could do a lot of things, poorly.  Doing, is what makes people interesting.  I guess I am interesting.  I remember a fellow in Alice telling me that people must think I am pretty interesting.  When I asked him why they would think that he told me "you hangin with a big black fellah from Humpty Doo.. " He is right.. that is interesting.  Lately, I am not feeling too interesting.. so.. the plan is to still take road trips, but instead of renting a car or taking my van, come spring, I will ride my bike.  Sure it is an e-bike, and some people figure that is cheating a bit, but, it should be interesting- a different sort of road trip.  They could go for hours, or even days.   

So, the road trips shall continue and I will take the necessary steps to keep things interesting.  That's all.