What Happened Next

From Bend, I thought about where to go next--more mountains, more coast or more desert? We spent some very happy time at a quiet lake where Gloria loved playing with the other kids, and I knew most of them would be going home soon. She got more homesick rather than less. She began asking about starting school.

I suddenly decided we were done--for now. It was time to go back to Texas and let Gloria try kindergarten and be with family. We could travel in the summers and see if that was enough.

We drove through to Utah, stopping for some very hot hikes in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. We sledded at White Sands in Alamogordo and watched the bats flow out of Carlsbad Caverns.

And we were home in very early August signing up for school and setting up playdates. It was strange, but good, for quite a while. We moved into a smaller home, and I dreamed of the next time we would be ready to travel for long, slow, uninterrupted spells.

We went skiing in Durango at Christmas, toured nine National Parks over our first spring break, including a lovely couple of days at the Grand Canyon. I personally was blown away by Montezuma Well, a large sinkhole surrounded by puebloan ruins that was so peaceful, the bird calls you heard along the rim disappeared as you walked along the water's edge.

Last summer, we traveled to Clearwater for the Fourth of July and took a summer trip to Estes Park. Now, just back from our second spring break trip (skiing without frostbite warnings this time and some time travel along Route 66), I'm desperate to hit the road for another lengthy stretch.

So this summer, unless work conditions make it impossible, the girls and I will love back into our beloved Rosie, the 16 foot Taylor Coach that was our home in the spring and summer of 2007.

I'm sorry that I let the blog lapse for so long, but I'm back and really longing for something new to write about.

I'll come back to put up reports on our more recent trips--along with pictures--in the next week or two.

Keep studying the atlases!

Misty