I am stuck in the purgatory between thought and action. In my case now, this in-between place is manifesting in my making lists. These are the type lists that are never ending; the type of lists that becomes trees, with many branches; the type of lists that keep going and going…. prolonging my packing. It’s just that two weeks on the road, away from work and home, feels a bit like reckless abandon. And I suppose my list making - as opposed to the act of just throwing two weeks of our lives into suitcases - might be serving to mitigate the discomfort of my perceived recklessness. And might be providing me with some sense of emotional preparation. A part of me feels like there should be a ritual – running around our house and kissing the ground five times, maybe – to help honor this act of leaving our home and heading out west for a while. To create more of a space between the transition of home and adventure, between belonging and longing. Leaving people and places, transitions in gen...
We left Hanappe Ranch around 9:00, driving through the vast land of nowhere before reaching Badlands. It was a long driving day - I drove so John Mark could take a rest - and we encountered a brief wind/rain storm about two hours east of Badlands (in South Dakota) as we pulled into a gas station. The wind was so much that we could hardly open the car doors. We waited about ten minutes in the car, checking the weather to be sure there were no tornadoes (which there weren’t), then ran inside for a few minutes. The wind had apparently busted one of the doors to the gas station. According to a woman at the gas station, this was nothing 🤷♀️. As we were driving through South Dakota’s wide open spaces, I had the thought that this land could cause the opposite of claustrophobia- with nowhere to hide. From tornadoes. We arrived at Cedar Pass Lodge around 8:00. Our playlist consisted of a lot of Pink Floyd…which was perfect for this drive. We also listened to some Juluka, Sine...
Yesterday was a driving day. We left Detroit around noon , and headed toward Portfield, MN. Destination:Hanappe Ranch. We figured we would likely need to stay somewhere along the way. And after hitting Chicago at rush hour, and being re-routed into the city for a bit, it was clear that stopping at a hotel for the night would be the best option. Even with the added hour we gained from entering Central Standard Time. We drove a few hours more, stopping at a truck stop/ rest area Panda Express for dinner, before driving a bit further. About 9:45pm, we noticed signs for hotels at exits to this town called Wis Dels. We figured we would stay at one of the hotels, and proceeded to take the exit….only to be greeted by about a billion water parks. Much to Nora and Hazel’s expressed disappointment, John Mark and I responded with a big, “No,” when they suggested we go to a water parks. We survived their demands - Thank-goodness, because if we gave in to everything thing they dema...
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