We are celebrating Madison’s high school graduation with a mad dash trip across country, sharing as much of this beautiful country as we can. As usual, in planning I have been a bit optimistic. One friend asked about our first day on the road. When I shared our itinerary, he looked at me and said, you know most people would try to do that in three days, or a week. I grinned.
Madison’s first solo flight to the lower 48 was long but glitch free. We picked her up at the Atlanta airport and she had a list of restaurant chains she wanted to try. Chic-fil-A was on there so we took her to the original Dwarf House in Hapeville before heading to the mountain. It was her first time at the cabin but judging from her reaction, I don’t think it will be her last.
The RV was packed & ready to go. She added her stuff and we crashed. The plan is to arise at 6 and be on the road by 6:30 every morning. First morning out, check. Except. We drove past the woodshed on our way down Rosecreek when I looked around and said, where’s Rory? One looked at the other, I thought you had her. I walked back up the hill to the dark house and found her snuggled in her bed. She has no idea how close she came to not making the trip.
And off we went. Through the Ocoee Gorge where all whitewater & kayaking events of the 1996 Olympics took place. We have had a severe drought this winter so most places on the Ocoee River are sporting their rocky bottom rather than their famed whitewater. Arrived at Ruby Falls in time for our pre purchased 9 o’clock ticket time. Ruby Falls is the tallest & deepest subterranean waterfall (145’ tall!) open to the public in the US. You take a tour through an active cavern that ends where the waterfall explodes out of the ceiling. ‘Pretty cool’ was the response. I’ll take it.
On to Nashville where we toured the Country Music Hall of Fame. Madison knew more of the artists than Greg & I. We split up, saw what we wanted then headed off Broad for some Nashville ‘hot’ chicken at Hattie B’s. They cater to everyone’s ‘hot’ tolerance from Southern (no heat- Greg), Mild, Medium (Madison), Hot (Mary…my goal was to enjoy without heartburn—success…but I wouldn’t go any hotter), Damn Hot, and Shut the Cluck Up (I don’t even want to imagine).
To hope to see/experience even a portion of what I have planned we have decided 6 o’clock wake up; 6:30 pull out of campground will be the norm. (Yes, I know I repeated myself; it’s a big deal!) We were in the parking lot of GOG by 7. What. A. Delightful. Morning. Hike! There were cool sandstone formations and lovely vistas. Took a little longer than I had planned but it was worth it. On to St Louis and the Gateway Arch.
Madison & I were in line buying our tickets when I discovered that she was slightly claustrophobic and didn’t like heights. Oh boy. To get to the top observation area, you have to ride in a closed car with 4 other folks up to the apex which is 630’ above ground. She said she wanted to do it and do it she did! Took a while for the light headedness to dissipate but she has pictures & bragging rights.
Slept in a great little community RV park in Cottonwood Falls, KS with all the amenities. Up and at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve by 7. Well, now. Didn’t quite do enough research. I thought I had read that you could do a driving tour through the almost 11,000 acres of tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Nope. Bus tours. In the summer. We did drive a little of the Flint River National Scenic Byway and let Madison sleep.
Big shift this morning. We were supposed to have a long day of driving delivering us to Rocky Mountain National Park by early evening. When I checked the weather this morning there was now a winter storm warning with the expectation of up to 26” of snow within the next 24-36 hrs. Ixnayed that immediately. Pivoted and set our sites on Great Sand Dunes National Park much further south in Colorado.
That’s where we’re headed as I write this. I remember Kansas being flat. That has not changed. Hours and miles of fallow fields lying barren, newly turned dirt, fields of new, green shoots of grain, silos and cows. All. The. Cows. The GPS has tried to take us down some gravel, dirt paths but we’ve refused and are going to arrive (hopefully) to see a sunset on the dunes.
No comments:
Post a Comment