A Cross Country Journey

A few more miles under our belts and a slightly greater understanding of it all.

Stop 1: Mojave National Preserve

No new life here. Just acres of dried up, shade-less, overheated death that mixed with curved, almost haunting rock formations, in order to form a beautiful scene especially as the sun sets and rises over the mountains that have dealt with so much that they have developed character and face-like formations. First day driving, first gorgeous camping spot, first day actually camping in the bus instead of sleeping in it on the streets of LA, first fabulous day in what would become a three-week high.

Stop 2: Flagstaff, Arizona

3 days, 2 happy people, 1 functioning bus, and a very long drive ahead.

Stop 3: Leasburg Palm State Park (Southern NM)

13 hour drive, over a hundred degree heat, too hot to drive, too hot to think, too hot to feel anything but sweat, thirst, and the desire for an ice bath. Time to stop. Found shade. Found showers. Found peace. In retrospect, New Mexico was beautiful, the subtleties of the desert, the adapted way of life of the animals and the people there, the calm and cool that the bright red sunset brings. But at the time the heat and steam off the road only led to a slight loss of logic, fear about the future of the bus and us for the remainder of the trip, subdued dinner conversations, an early night, and early start the next morning.

 

Stop 3 1/2: Boarder Control, El Paso, TX

Added the the quiver of stories one can tell for the rest of their lives.

Stop 4: Guadalupe Peak, TX

Highest point in TX. Well worth the drive.

Stop5: South Llano State Park, Junction, TX

Stop 6: Walker Ranch, Austin, TX

Stop 7: Rice University, Houston, TX

Stop 8: Days Inn Parking Lot, Middle of Louisiana

The goal was to get to New Orleans or at least to a state park or campground on the way to New Orleans, but sleepiness and hunger struck and the darkened side of a Days Inn parking lot is where we ended up. Not accustomed to sleeping in parking lots, especially not of hotels I'm not paying for, in cities I don't know. A dinner of crackers with peanut butter and apple sauce eases our hunger and the smiles on both of our faces almost surprises me. Sleeping in a parking lot, exhausted and with a make shift dinner do not normally add up to smiles

Stop 9: New Orleans, LA

We end our short stay in New Orleans with a neon-sign lit dance to a man playing jazz saxophone on a side street. I can't help but think that we should have planned more time at each place, but despite my thoughts its time to move on.

Stop 10: Truck stop, Southern Alabama

The bus looks small and comedic next to the huge tractor trailers in the massive parking lot behind the gas station that acted as our bathroom for the night. Fall asleep as the back-up warning beep of trucks surrounds us and I'm almost praying that we do not get backed into.

Stop 11: Cheaha Mountain, AL

High Point Alabama. You don't even have to get out of your car because you can drive all the way to the peak. Instead of staying at the motel at the top with the pool, gorgeous view, and restaurant, or the expensive camping cabins, we decided to continue to camp in the bus and enjoyed a camp fire, marshmallows, a cold Texas beer and another flawless night of the trip.

Stop 12:Woodall Mt. MS

The intimidating 806 ft. peak was the next destination. After an eye opening drive through Birmingham the day before, it was pleasant to see, instead of two dogs massacred on the street [Shot through the forehead no more than an hour before], an old woman who could barley find her voice, a man with difficult-to-understand Alabama accent and a helpful woman who directed us to the highest hill in Mississippi. The dirt road curved beautifully up to the top and we finally stopped to bus and walked the rest. Another phone tower, absolutely no view, some left over milkshakes and poison ivy greeted us at the top. But the addition of a "Honk if your Happy" sign and the promise of another real campsite kept our spirits up and we continued our drive.

Stop 13: Pickwick, TN

Stop 14: Nashville, TN

The keyboard-shaped Country Music Hall of Fame welcomed us to Nashville, then there was the building that reflected the sky, and then there was the main street. Cowboy hats, cowboy boots, southern accents, country music, and saloons. Artsy printmaking shop willed with prints about country music, horse shows, and generally the south. Stumbled across lunch and a BBQ cook off set up. Stumbled our way into the Charlie Daniels Museum, then into Charlie Daniels Band tickets, then into meeting Charlie Daniels. Not to mention a cowboy from Israel, a few people from Cleveland, and an interesting detour through Nashville due to difficulty reading the map. Great day, long night, couldn't wait to sleep.

Stop 15: Edgar Even State Park, Buffalo Valley, TN

Stop 16: Clingman's Dome, Great Smokey Mountains National Park, TN

Stop 17: Kingdom Come State Park, Black Mountain, KY

Try to reach the highest point in Kentucky. Road signs are misleading, but a surprise visit from a local Kentucky couple leads us in the right direction and eventually, we reach another high point. Enjoy the rain, enjoy the campsite, enjoy the happy honks (although sadly few and far between) enjoy the open mouthed stares, the waves, the way the bus makes me feel, the way the camping makes me feel, the way the trip and the company make me feel and try to appreciate the way the end of the trip is making me feel.

Stop 18: Middle of West Virginia

Destination: Baltimore Maryland. Back to school, routines, and lack of motion, but with a feeling of accomplishment and a better understanding of the country we live in.

Epilogue: The bus has sadly since been sold in order to help pay for school, but the new owner is a young kid David, who has plans of continuing to fix it up and continue its legend by driving back across the country through Canada. I can only hope he has as good of a time as we did.