Only 2500 Miles to Go

Outside the R&R Hall of Fame

Every trip, vacation, or conference has what I call a mindset arc.  The first two-thirds are filled with anticipation and excitement.  The last part is often filled by thoughts of closure, going home, and memories of the first part.  And so it is with us.  Like a horse heading to the barn, we’re on our way home.

Today is perhaps our last layover day, where we enjoyed revisiting the fun Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.  Unless something really catches our interest, we have five to seven days of straight driving across the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest and home. 

Red = eastbound; blue = return trip so far

It’s been over three weeks since our last post.  Since then, we’ve traveled hundreds of miles, explored the colonial Williamsburg area, visited our friends Nati and Jasmine in Pittsburgh, spent 11 days in the Berkshires with daughter Skyler, and camped and biked on an island on Lake Champlain.  We were either too tired, too busy, having too much fun, or didn’t have a decent cell phone connection to post more frequently.  So, here are just a thoughts and photos with captions. 

The highlight of our trip was spending time in Becket, MA with daughter Skyler, her partner Spencer, dog Ry-Ry, daughter Feruza, and their friends.  We got lots of projects done on the house and trailer but also chilled, hiked, biked, swam, paddle boarded, hot tubbed, and above all, ate. Her friends are so fun!  The only low point was saying goodbye to Lucy, Spencer's 14-year old adorable Jack Russell shortly after we arrived.  

The Becket homestead, and the
mother of all 200-foot back ins.

Dinner on the back screened
porch with Spencer and Skyler

Playing on Little Robinhood Lake
with Feruza and Skyler 

Hazel,  just before chickenpox

Hazel, Shanti and Alan from London couldn’t join us due to British Covid travel restrictions.  And as it turned out, Hazel came down with chickenpox about the time they were originally planning to fly to the States.  Fortunately, we get to see them for six weeks, staring in late July when we fly to London.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was so worth a second visit.  We last saw it in 2016, and many of the exhibits have changed. While other museums we have visited also are educational and interesting, this one is downright fun and high energy.  No need for morning coffee before entering!

The back side of the R&R Hall of Fame

 

The front and two wannabe rockers

With over 5,700 trailer miles on the odometer so far, we still have 2500 miles to go, and so we haven’t completed the arc.  Even though we have a lot of boring terrain to cover, we enjoy the process and our time together on the road and in camp. The cicadas hatch and fireflies at night have been a special treat. It’s fascinating to see how the landscape changes.  We’re definitely out of the dense East Coast forests, and now have better vistas of farms and horizons.   Before long, we’ll be enjoying very expansive vistas of the dry American west.

 

A rails-to-trails on a causeway on Grand
Isle to Burlington VT.  A bicycle ferry shuttles
cyclists around the gap, but we couldn't take it
due to predicted high waves and winds

Grad students Nati Zavala and Jasmine Williams (newly
married last week) in Pittsburgh. The city was a very
pleasant surprise.

Historic Jamestown settlement near
Newport News, VA.

PS:  Today marks our 10th anniversary of owning an Airstream.  Other than a home, no other purchase has changed our lives and circle of friends so much.  We bought it for our 34th wedding anniversary.  Tomorrow marks our 44th.  What a fun ride!

Thunderstorm on Grand Isle State Park, VT

What We Can, While We Can!

Route 66 and Beyond

At the Biltmore Estate of George Vanderbilt

Greetings from North Carolina!  We’ve been on the road for 18 days and 3,600 miles now, and are finally into the groove of driving a lot, laying over for a couple of days, then driving more.  Best of all, we’re still enjoying each other’s company. 

We’re on our way to Becket, MA in the Berkshires where daughter Skyler owns a vacation home with us.  Feruza from nearby New York will join us for a weekend.  Unfortunately, Shanti, Alan, and granddaughter Hazel had to abandon their plans to join us, due to the UK’s Covid restrictions regarding international travel.

We’ve done the I-80 and I-90 cross country more than enough, so this time we thought we’d take a roundabout southern route.  We started off on backroads in OR, CA, and NV. By the time we got to AZ, we followed the path of the Historic Route 66, mostly paved over by I-40 all the way to where we are now.  Still, we could see traces of American past and think about the Joads (from the Grapes of Wrath) while traveling through desolate north Texas and AZ. Brother Mark drove from Casa Grande AZ and we enjoyed a 7-mile hike with him in Sedona.  

I-40 out of Las Vegas all the way to the Arkansas border was stressful, with crosswinds and mostly trucks out of CA going 75 mph, but overall it’s been interesting to see how the landscape transforms from flat dusty barren rockscapes to the verdant hillsides of TN and NC.  I used to think the rudest drivers were from MA, but they are actually from NC.  Such nice, friendly people turn into complete jerks when we’re trying to merge or change lanes.

Somewhere in SE Nevada

We’ve stayed in Forest Service campgrounds, RV parks, and Harvest Host wineries, a farm, and a wildlife park.  Some were tolerable, but most were nice. 

Mina, NV.  Only one other rig there.

Our Harvest Host Campground in Arkansas.
We even had use of his showers in “the Barn.”

One of our highlights was staying in Arkansas with a Harvest Host hay farmer for free, who hooked us to to utilities and bought us pizza.  We had four hours of delightful conversations visiting his home and viewing his massive John Deere collection.

Pete and Cheryle, hosts in AK

What we've noticed since last September, is that camping is now cordial again. The fear of strangers in masks has abated somewhat. So many people at rest stops and campgrounds talk to us and want to see our Airstream. Nothing like that happened last summer.

Memphis was good, but for the fact that the I-40 bridge over the Mississippi was closed due to a recently discovered crack.  (Infrastructure spending, anyone???).  So we had some massive grid-lock delays getting into town from our camp on the Mississippi in Arkansas.  But Graceland, a walking tour, and above all the National Civil Rights Museum made it all worthwhile.  From the start of slavery in the 1600s to 1968, the museum encompasses the Lorraine Hotel, where Dr. King was assassinated.  One of our best ever museum experiences, especially being where history took place.   We don't see how anyone can go through that museum unchanged. It was a very emotional experience.

Dr. King was assassinated on the balcony
Visitors can actually see his room as it
was in April 1968.

We ate well, in the big carnivorous barbeque scene in Memphis, but it was devoid of vegetables and healthy non-meat alternatives. Glad to be back to our own cooking!

The Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway were stunningly beautiful, especially at 15-35 mph. 

Somewhere along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Pretty impressive.  We didn't know the
South had such high elevations.

Forrest Service campground outside
Asheville, NC  Nice campfire with
hobo stew (foil-wrapped veggies, etc.)

With 7 miles left, our Jeep’s electronics had a nervous breakdown.  No gauges, only a warning that said “Don’t turn off engine or shift, as you may not be able to start again.”  So, on Memorial Day,  without turn signals or brake lights we made it down 8% grades and onto I-40 to a dealership in Asheville, NC.  A kind salesman on duty directed us to a level spot on the dealership lot where we could camp until things opened on Tuesday morning.  But after we unhitched and pulled forward three feet, it started right up again with everything back to normal!  So, onward to a very nice Forest Service campground for two nights.

Yesterday, while JP (the name of our Jeep) was being looked at, the dealership’s shuttle driver took us a long distance to the Biltmore Estate, built by George Vanderbilt in the late 1800s.  It was like having our one locally-born tour guide coming and going.  (He said his name was Mack, but I think in the thick local dialect it was really Mike).

The estate and tour were definitely worth it.  Best of all??  All the mechanics had to do is a simple reset of the system and remove the after-market WIFI module we had added two months ago. Kind of like turn your phone or computer off, then start it again.

The spectacular and over-the-top
Biltmore mansion.

What’s next?  We’re heading to Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown  tomorrow for a couple of nights, then on to Pittsburgh to visit our long-term mentee and only ‘son’ Nati Zavala and his fiancé, Jasmine.

Here’s a link to a few curated photos, more or less in chronological order.  Enjoy!

“What We Can, While We Can!”

Ps:  Here are a couple of gratuitous photos of Hazel, now 14.5 months old.

Ron & Kathy

Rwk777@gmail.com         Kathyek@gmail.com

Grandparenting in the UK Countryside

At the wildlife park with Shanti, Alan, and Hazel.

 After 13 months we finally got to meet and hold our granddaughter, Hazel, in person.  What a joy!  Even with regular FaceTime visits over the past year, it took about four days for her to warm up to us to us.  She was born just as the London lockdown started, and, other than her parents and day care providers, she has had little contact with adults.                                                          

Helping unload the dishwasher

Playing in our front yard

                                                                

Shanti, Alan, and Hazel.  It's been so nice 
to hang wih them!

Besides becoming fully vaccinated, a few stars aligned up two weeks ago to make his trip possible.  First, the UK government permitted London residents to leave town and the quarantine rules were changed so that we could do so with family members and for only five days—provided we get regular Covid tests.  We’ve had three so far, including the one required the day before we could board the 216-passenger jumbo jet with just 10 other passengers and eight crew.  

No problem with overhead storage!
We moved back a cabin to stretch out
on the empty middle seats for a good
sleep.

 

Shanti and Alan found a delightful three-bedroom home in the countryside about an hour from London near Marlborough.  Actually, our place is a former stable next to a 16^th Century mansion.  Very comfortable!  It even has an adjacent barn with a piano, foosball, ping pong, and is a refuge for me to practice drumming on my practice pad without driving everyone else crazy.

Our stable

The area is laced with public paths through farms, pastures, and villages. Shanti is working remotely. Kathy and I are just chilling and having fun with Hazel.  What a 25-pound bundle of energy—almost too much for us oldsters who thought we were in shape.  

Our yard

The 'barn'

View from our bedroom

Yesterday morning we received our negative Covid results, releasing us from our five-day quarantine.  We celebrated by grocery shopping at Waitrose (kind of like Whole Foods) and buying unique products, cheap wines, Moroccan blueberries, French cheeses and fabulous breads.  Shanti took the day off and we drove to a wildlife park in the beautiful countryside.  We also visited a monolithic site similar to Stonehenge. 

Stonehenge Light (Avebury) without
hoards of tourists

Hazel identified a lot of “dogs” at the zoo, including some with stripes, horns, manes, humps, and long necks.  Some could even fly.  Tomorrow Alan will drop Kathy and me off for a 10-mile walk along a canal tow path.  On Saturday we depart for four nights in London, where Kathy and I will get a chance to experience their neighborhood and see Hazel’s amazing day care facility.  

So, life is good! We're so glad we upended our other plans and made the trip.

“What We Can, While We Can!”

 

Zoo playground (Hazel
has her mother's childhood
fearlessness.)

Feeding Grandma

On a public path near our place

 

Celebrating our quarantine release

Bed time story

'Little One' does a commendable job of
keeping up with the elders!

PS:  My Thanks to our most wonderful son-in-law Alan Hampson for most of the photos.  That's why you don't see him in many of them.  

R.I.P. Karen

Karen Baxter Kelemen self portrait

We like purpose-driven travel, whether it’s for an international service project or something as simple as visiting family or learning more about our world.  Driving 1400 miles to Denver, Colorado for our sister-in-law’s memorial service was a new reason for us. 

Karen Baxter Kelemen, 66, died unexpectedly in her sleep March 21, just days into Colorado’s lockdown.  It was hard on my younger brother Neal and 26-year-old nephew William.  Karen was racked by severe pain from a nearly fatal auto accident at age 22.  Yet, she powered through it to become a mother, writer, youth pastor, musician, and accomplished artist. She was such a beautiful person, inside and out.  (See her definition of success at the end of this post.)   In 2001, she wrote:

Pain says, PAY ATTENTION

There is its gift,

Sometimes it is gnawing,

Like wild dogs breaking bones to the marrow.

Sometimes it is insistent,

Like someone pounding on the door who just won’t go away.

Sometimes it is unbearable,

Yet, somehow I endure.

We are consoled by her sky paintings which now grace our guest bedroom.

Skyscape Oil

Skyscape pastel from solo gallery show
at SOHO West

The socially-distanced service was simple and beautiful in the small park in front of Neal and William’s home.  And it was a nice opportunity to visit with siblings, cousins, and friends we haven’t seen in a long time.

Simple, distanced, and beautiful

The Bros and nephew William

Getting There

We lucked out getting there and back.  We departed Salem on Labor Day, heading east in the smoke and high winds against a bumper-to-bumper stream of Labor Day traffic.  Some of that traffic was undoubtedly evacuees of the Metolius River campground where we had planned to stay our first night.  We pushed on four more hours to Paige Springs campground in SE Oregon near French Glenn.  

It was too windy and smoky to eat outside.  We wondered if the smoke and winds were going to follow us all the way to Denver.  But overnight the winds shifted, and we awoke the next day to clear blue skies.  Unfortunately, that wind change was catastrophic for so many Oregonians and the communities we had driven through on Monday.  Without cell coverage, we were oblivious to it all and hiked 12 miles round trip to the confluence of the Donner and Blitzen rivers. 

Our  Paige Springs camp

Where the Doner and Blitzen Rivers converge

 

On that same day, much of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming were hit with up to 10 inches of snow—not a good omen for Karen’s memorial. We drove through snow and camped in mud at Rock Springs Wyoming, but when we arrived Friday afternoon, the weather was perfect.

Somewhere between Bridger and
Evanston, WY

Rock Springs fairgrounds.  That town
has to be the armpit or anus of Wyoming

Following the memorial service, we camped just outside Rocky Mountain National Park with my younger brothers, Mark and Neal.  RMNP was my very first camping experience at age 7, and I fondly remember that trip vividly.  My last time there was in 1968 when I climbed 14,259-foot Longs Peak with Mark and sister Sandra.  I couldn’t believe the crowds, but then in this era of COVID I guess I should.

Moraine Valley, RMNP

Bear Lake.  (Mark's Photo)

Longs Peak in the distance, elevation 14, 256.  From
Trail Ridge Road, at over 12,000 feet, the
highest paved road in the world. It was cleared of
snow just a day before we drove it

Three of the four bros and kathy.
Near Trail Ridge Road visitor center, elev. 12,000

The last evening there, our Uzbek daughter, Feruza, and her boyfriend from New York had dinner with us while on the way home from a Utah camping road trip.  It was so nice to see her in person, if only briefly. And it was the first time Mark and Neal got to meet her.

Kathy, Feruza, and Ron

Getting Back

Our original plans were to take our time getting home, savoring the golden aspen foliage, and possibly driving north along the coast of California on Highway 1.  But I got a hernia in late August following an epic morning at the gym.  Although surgery was scheduled for October, it was getting worse.  So, we called the surgeon and got the date moved up to the 28^th and took a direct route home.  Just as well, as the fires in California made the Highway 1 route no longer possible.

As we drove through dense haze in the Columbia gorge, we couldn’t see the river.  Fortunately heavy rains started in the Willamette Valley the night before cleaning the valley air.  By the time we got to Salem, it was a steady deluge, and the damp air smelled wonderful.  Once again, we lucked out!

Hazel

This was the month we were supposed to be in London providing day care for our six-month old granddaughter, Hazel.  But the COVID upended everything for everybody, and compared to many, we still have it very good.  We hope you do, too.

Hazel's first book

Solid food fun!

"What We Can, While We Can"

OR

"What We Could, While We Could"

(It’s still WW² either way.)

Karen’s definition of success 

(and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s)

To laugh often and much,

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children,

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends,

To appreciate beauty,

To find the best in others,

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition,

This is to have succeeded.To know that even one life has breathed better because you have lived.

 

       Karen Baxter Kelemen

     By that measure, Karen  was a huge success!  R. I. P. Karen.