Whoever You Are

Whoever you are, 
 I hope you don't have to travel far… 

It’s interesting how kids simply say what they feel or tell it like they see it. Sometimes they speak about things you don’t want to know and sometimes it’s just to figure out a situation. That’s what happened the other day.

It was spring break and a trip was planned to Utah, hopefully to meet the newest grandson. The littles were on spring break too so we decided to take the boys if they wanted to come. The minute we asked, the youngest started packing!

We had an additional passenger as well. One of the men working for my husband has a daughter in Colorado who is very sick and in intensive care. He’s out there and since it’s on the way to Utah, he asked if his friend could hitch a ride with us. We had room so it was no problem at all.

It was dawn, the truck was loaded and we headed off. First stop was to get the boys. We went in, they inspected our guest, and I told them Miss Dorothy was coming with us. All seemed fine, and we bundled into the truck again and set off on the journey.

Ready to go!

We rode along for miles, gazing at the mostly non-existent scenery when Caleb asked, “Mamye where did you find Dorothy? Where’d you get her?” We all laughed and I told him we were taking her to meet her friend. That seemed to satisfy his curiosity and he went back to his games.

It was McDonald’s for lunch, because it was quick, there was a place to park the truck with the trailer attached and there was a playground to let two little boys blow off some steam. After their romp we stuffed ourselves back into the truck for many more hours of travel.

Not long after, Caleb looked over at Dorothy and said, “Who invited you?” Again we laughed, because he wasn’t being rude. He was only trying to figure out who this lady was that he’d never seen or heard of before, in the truck beside him.

More than halfway to our destination and weary from the ride, we stopped for the night at a local hotel. The hours passed too quickly and we happened off again. We were meeting Dorothy’s friend then continuing on to Utah. About an hour later we arrived at the designated meeting place. Suitcases were switched and Dorothy went with her friend. Caleb leaned over to me and said, “Aw, she’s gone. I liked her!”

Out the windshield...to Utah

It was interesting how he’d gone the full circle. After he figured out, from as much information as he had, that Dorothy was okay, he liked her and was sad when she was no longer with us on the trip. His honesty and acceptance was refreshing. She’ll remember the trip and that little boy, whoever you are.

Boys acting silly.

As I ride down that long lonely highway without you,
I can't keep myself from wondering about you...

Finally! Baby George made his appearance. And if I may say so myself, he’s perfect! He has dark, silky hair, and he’s a sturdy baby at 8 pounds, 5 ounces and 21 inches long! I’m sure there will be more about him along the way!

Complete awe.

Fresh from the oven!

Three generations.

Feed me Seymour!

Here’s his blanket, ready for him to come home to. I think I may have enough yarn to add a teddy bear!

George's rainbow.

And for baby George, whoever you are, and wherever you go, I wish great things. I love you sweet baby boy!

My baby boy's sweet baby boy.

And I know heaven is in your smile.
Whoever, whoever you are…

Life Is A Highway

I wanna ride it
All night long…
If you're going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long…

Road trip! We’re packing for yet another quick trip of 2000 miles in five days! We’re going to Utah this time to see Ty. I haven’t seen him since October and we both miss him. I’ve never been to Utah so I’m looking forward to it.

We left the house at 3:30pm. We made a couple of stops then took off for Utah. Yes, it was a very long ride. We stopped as needed and did pull over and rest for about an hour. Alan did most of the driving but I didn’t sleep. He has this annoying habit of running over the Mallory strips and scaring me as soon as I doze. A Mallory strip is what we call that bumpy area that lets you know you are running off the edge of the road. Mallory’s dad had a big part in creating these bumpy patches, hence, Mallory strips. Some states have them on the edges of the road and in the middle so I got it from both sides. We drove into Vernal about 20 hours later, 10:30am the next day. Actually on our time it was 11:30. We unloaded, had lunch then rested. Alan snored as soon as his head hit the pillow. I went into Mom mode and started straightening up Ty’s room and doing laundry. I couldn’t sleep but did manage to relax some.

Ty and his roomie took us to eat lunch at a local restaurant. They are both petroleum engineers and just moved to a new apartment. I’m a people watcher. While we were waiting for our food to arrive I noticed that every girl who came in had puffed up hair. It was like there was a sale on Bumpits and everyone bought one! I finally mentioned it and Ty told me it’s actually called the “Vernal Poof”. It’s ‘the’ hairstyle to have. Isn’t that funny?

The advantage of driving all night is that you get there. The disadvantage is that you are exhausted when you do. We took it easy and looked around at some of the local sites. Vernal is located in the Unita Basin which is famous for its dinosaur fossils. Alan had an appointment to get some new seat covers put in the Dodge. We dropped the truck off as we looked around. The Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum was right across the street from the seat cover place. I didn’t go in but I did walk over and get some pictures of the outside dinosaurs. I know the littles would love to see it!

Dinosaurs in Vernal

Camo Seatcovers

Lots of hiding places!

Utah is a very pretty place. At least where we were it was. But it sure didn’t seem very spring like! It was cold and the mountains still had snow. We drove around and saw some beautiful scenery. We went out to the mountains and saw an operational mine. They do a lot of reclamation to restore the land so it wasn’t a barren ugly mess like I expected. Their tailings pond boasted that it was crystal clear. There were streams and a lake. Everything was crisp and fresh looking. It was really a nice change from the dry, ugly dessert we come from.

Reflections on a lake

The view from the top...Utah

Looking down from the mountain in Utah

Up high with the aspins...Utah

Too soon it was time to head back. We decided to break up the trip home into two days. The countryside through Colorado was real eye candy. There were many snow topped mountains. We saw literally hundreds of elk. We saw deer and wild turkeys. We tried to stop in Silverton. It’s a quaint little village with lots of shops and restaurants but it seems everything is closed on Monday. Seriously, even the gas station/convenience store was closed. There were kids, bundled up, playing outside. I don’t know what they do if someone who actually lives there needs something! We also went through Durango, where we spent our honeymoon. It’s changed so much neither of us could even remember where we stayed. We wondered if the place was still standing! We drove on to Santa Fe and spent the night. After a good night’s sleep we headed home the next day.

Silverton, Colorado

An old mine office in Colorado

Rocky Mountain High...Colorado

A tunnel in Colorado

The rest of the trip was uneventful except for the depressing changing scenery. Soon it was no longer cool with temperatures in the 80s and higher. The mountains were replaced by wide open spaces. The green trees and snow turned into sand dunes and mesquites. We agreed that even though it’s home we sure live in an ugly place!

I started a crocheted shawlette called Summer Twilight Shawlette on the way. It was with the Madeline Tosh yarn I got in Dallas.

Madeline ToshYarn

Wound yarn.

It’s not big and I was sure I could finish it on the trip. Turned out I did. Twice! It was really pretty but it was the size of a doily! It was more like a collar than a shawlette. I made a few of the shells on the final row and decided to take it all out and make it again, with a bigger needle.

Started shawlette...the first time.

On a hook two sizes bigger than what the pattern recommends I started again. What a difference! Now it looks like a shawlette even before it’s blocked. I finished it, again, and this time I’m happy with the results. Now I just have to block it!

Finished product...unblocked

Even though the road trip was long, it was fun. We saw a lot of things and enjoyed our own company. Now it’s back to work for a couple of days. But we’ve already decided we’ll get back in the car and head off again, somewhere, soon, going through all these cities and all these towns. We’ll make the journey and we’ll go the distance. And we’ll enjoy the ride.

Well, life's like a road that you travel on.

There's one day here and the next day gone.

Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand.

Sometimes you turn your back to the wind.

Life is a highway, I wanna ride it

All night long.