Roads

 We love to road trip. In our 49+ years of marriage, Delores and I have travelled some very rewarding and challenging highways. This Labor Day we added The Dragon (Highway 129 at the Tennessee/North Carolina border - also known as the Tail of the Dragon) to our list of roads conquered. We actually stayed within the 30 mph legal speed limit most of the time. The same couldn't be said for the many supercharged cars and loud motorcycles who apparently took the challenge to drive the 318 curves in 11 miles as fast as mechanically possible. They can claim the title of dragon slayer. We had no such aspiration. This highway is known for its daring drivers and terrifying crashes.

In fulfilling our bucket list item of visiting every state in the USA, we have driven SAFELY on some amazing roads. This blog is about my sharing our favorites.

For scenic beauty a road tripper couldn't beat the Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain NP that takes you up to 12,000+ feet. The last time we summited that road we not only saw the awesome vistas but several bull elk resting in the meadows just beyond the highest point.

Going to the Sun Road in Glacier NP is incredibly breathtaking as well. The result at the top is to view the mountain goats and big horn sheep that frequent the area.

The figure 8 road (upper and lower loops) of Yellowstone NP are a favorite. This offers a lot of scenic variety from mountains to flowering meadows and thermal features to waterfalls. Its real claim to fame though is that there could be and often is a very large mammal or group of mammals around the next curve. We have been surprised by bison, elk, moose, black bear, grizzlies, big horn sheet, mountain goats, deer, pronghorns, et al. I have visited this park 18 times and hope to return in 2021. The secret to seeing the wildlife is to get on the road before the sun wakes up and stay there until the sun goes back to sleep. Take plenty of food and water for the day; because, in this time of pandemic, many sources for those staples are closed. It's simply a waste of  critter-spotting time to have to return outside the park between the hours of dawn and dusk.

One of the most challenging roads of my life was the Dalton Highway -- 500 miles from Fairbanks to Deadhorse, AK. The Ice Road Truckers drive this road on ice in the winter. I conquered this road of mud, gravel, pot holes and frost heaves on my 12,800 mile solo road trip from my home in Columbia, Tennessee, in May of 2011.

Those are a few of the more memorable roads of our travels. We have been on parts of Highway 95 on the east coast, Highway 5 on the west coast, and the famous Route 66 across the country. Additionally we have driven the length of Highway 1 to Key West. We hope for more of the same in the years we have remaining to travel.

One road I do not aspire to drive is the infamous Death Road in La Paz, Bolivia. You can Google that for some terrifying images. 

Best of luck as you travel the roads of your life. Be safe in the realization that wildlife along the forests and meadows of Yellowstone can offer as great a danger as the motorcycles you encounter on the curves of the Dragon's Tail. Wherever you drive, take your time and smell the roses along the way.

Photo of The Dragon from carthrottle.com

I Believe...😌

😌 Blogger describes this emoji as a relieved face. I think it's more of a "Thank you, Lord" face. Yesterday I blogged about my total frustration with a photo book website. They had changed so much that I couldn't figure out even where to start in spite of having used their site over the last decade to design nine books. I was trying to create two pictorial documentations of road trips we took last fall to the Canadian Northwest and the Northeastern USA. The changes were so radical that I was at a very frustrated place. 😡 This was the pouting-face emoji I used in my previous blog to describe my feelings.

I closed that blog asking God 🙏 to send my guardian angel to guide my technological efforts as I investigated a different photo book website. God did it...again! With his help by the end of the day, I had created two photo books with no frustration, no pouting, and a real sense of fulfillment. He promises, "Ask and you shall receive." He even threw in a 70% off coupon code. It was like getting two books, shipping, and tax for the price of one book. Don't even try to convince me that was a coincidence! The posted deadline for taking advantage of that offer was midnight May 12, 2020.

photo by Zoltan Tasi on unsplash.com

I've always believed in God, in guardian angels, and the power of prayer. After yesterday's events, more than ever. God took me from  😡 to 😌 in a few short hours. There's a country song that's been a favorite of mine for two decades. Angels Among Us was written by Don Goodman and Becky Hobbs and first recorded in 1994 by the group Alabama. The lyrics express my sense of relief and even victory over technology and change during these recent happenings.


Feel free to sing along. You might even find a recording of it on YouTube. There are about a gazillion.

Angels Among Us

I was walking home from school, on a cold winter day. Took a shortcut through the woods,

and I lost my way. It was getting late, and I was scared and alone;

But then a kind old man took my hand and led me home. Mama couldn't see him,

Oh, but he was standing there; And I knew in my heart, he was the answer to my prayers

Oh, I believe there are angels among us; sent down to us from somewhere up above.

They come to you and me in our darkest hours; to show us how to live,

To teach us how to give, to guide us with the light of love.

When life held troubled times and had me down on my knees,

There's always been someone to come along and comfort me:

A kind word from a stranger to lend a helping hand;

A phone call from a friend just to say, "I understand."

But ain't it kind of funny at the dark end of the road,

That someone lights the way with just a single ray of hope.

Oh, I believe there are angels among us; sent down to us from somewhere up above.

They come to you and me in our darkest hours; to show us how to live,

To teach us how to give, to guide us with the light of love.

They wear so many faces, show up in the strangest places;

To grace us with their mercy in our time of need.

Oh, I believe there are angels among us; sent down to us from somewhere up above.

They come to you and me in our darkest hours; to show us how to live,

To teach us how to give, to guide us with the light of love...to guide us with a light of love. 😇

Change! 😡

😡 Blogger's Emoji file of smiley faces states this is a pouting face. I'll admit it's my frustrated look. I seem to implode frequently especially when I'm surprised with Change.

I take comfort in the assurance of Hebrews 13:8 (NIV), "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Not so much Wal-Mart's online Photo Center! 😡

In retirement fall has become my favorite season of the year. We have taken some great road trips during the fall these last three years. For nearly a decade it has been my habit to create a photo book of these trips. This year that plan was delayed...a lot. First I returned home in October with a hacking cough that persisted for several weeks. Unobligingly I shared it with my wife. Her bout lasted about three weeks as well.

After all that cleared up we took some shorter road trips. We went to Gatlinburg and then North Carolina in December with our daughter and grandchild. This past January found us in New Orleans celebrating out 49th anniversary. following that trip, my old nemesis procrastination reared its ugly head followed by this pandemic and its quarantine.

During these last two months of safer at home, when I seem to have all the time in the world, procrastination returned with a vengeance. Yesterday I conquered it and spent several hours at the computer intending to start my fall 2019 photo book. That adventure didn't go so well.

I have created all nine of the previous volumes online at Wal-Mart Photo Center. We'd become like old friends over the last decade. I knew how to make the book: cover, layout, design, adding photos, the whole ball of wax. That candle melted at both ends when I discovered that WM had adjusted every phase of their photo book template. I couldn't figure out anything. Looking around proved fruitless. Pushing buttons got me nowhere. Change! Inevitable but dastardly 😡!

Today my goal is to investigate Snapfish. It's a rival site that children of mine have used and recommended in the past. The beauty of it is that IF Snapfish has changed, I won't even know it. I pray God will send my guardian angel to guide my keystrokes and make the process simple and rewarding...like it used to be. Before the CHANGE 😡 !

photo from brandongaille.com