Preparing For A Road Trip – Important Stuff First

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 22739 – 977

Here’s the haps:

As I mentioned a couple of months ago, TNT completed her college courses with a 4.0 grade average. She is going to participate in the graduation ceremony at the college, cap, gown, walk (or possibly be wheeled) across the stage, the whole thing. She wasn’t going to at first, she got the diploma which is what she was working for but we encouraged her to do the whole thing and one of her other moms decided that she must have a party as well and is working on getting it set up for her. She done good and we’re all right proud of her. I am sure we will have pics, but until then:

“Well,” Says Daughter, ” since we are doing all this traditional stuff, then there’s something else we have to do.”
“What’s that?”
“We have to have a graduation trip.”
“A who’s-a-what’s-it now?” Quoth I, intellectually.
“You and Mom and I have all said there are some things we have wanted to do and see, we need to go do and see them.”

We recently had a miraculous blessing of sorts and at this point in time and life we do, in fact, have a rare opportunity to do this very thing. “Okay,” I said, “But I have to get a gnome.”
“A who’s-a-what’s-it now?” Quoth they as intelligently as I had done.

“A gnome. Remember my German friend, Be Kitschig? She recently did a piece on gnomes traveling around and I told her I would get one and take it out East and sing ‘Gnome on the range.’ Well, we could get one and bring it along as a mascot as we take pictures.” Let me insert my opinion of “gnoming”, which is where you take one of your neighbor’s gnomes along with you adventuring. If you leave a note and you return it and share the pictures, it’s cool. If you just steal somebody’s yard decorations you are no more than a common thief. We’ve had decorations stolen or vandalized. Just don’t do that.

So, I gnow you’re all anxious to get to gnow who will be traveling with us. I bought two separate sculptures. This first one I have gnamed Gnerb and Gnargaret:

But this next one is the one that really caught not only my attention but everybody else’s as well. I liked him when I looked at him the first time on Amazon and it said there were only 7 left. To me, that sounded hokey, like just so much hype so we looked around some more and talked about it some more and when I went back it said there were only 5 in stock. Friends and family agreed that he was too cute and it might be true so I ordered it. Sure enough, not much later that evening he was nowhere to be found, and even when I clicked on my order, he had already been replaced by a totally different one. I can’t even post a link to him because it’s like he never existed. The new one is still the same character but nowhere near as fitting as this guy:

So, we named him Gnoel and he will be taking our trip and having an adventure with us.

I debated on whether to tell you our plans so far, but I think I will, so you will know what you are looking forward to. Good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise. The Bible says you should always say (I paraphrase here), “If the Lord wills, I will go do this or do that because you don’t know what tomorrow holds.”

We have all wanted to go to see the Grand Canyon. We’ve talked about it several times but now, suddenly the idea is going to be a reality. What do we need to do? What route do we take? What do we see on the way?

Ever since the Seventies when the song, Wolf Creek Pass by C.W. McCall came out I have wanted to drive it. I have driven mountain roads and been through mountain passes including a different portion of the Continental Divide now but back then we would sing along with this and I barely even knew where or what Colorado was. Now I have lived here longer than any other place(s) combined and it’s home and only a few hundred miles from where I’ve always wanted to see. I tried once before, several years ago, but my car at the time didn’t have enough power to haul us all up there. At the bottom of the hill is a small town called Pagosa Springs. It is not in our plans to bash into the side of a feed store but it is our plan to get ice cream and shop for souvenirs.

Then we will go to Durango and the next day ride a steam engine to the town of Silverton, shop and eat and such and come back to Durango. C.W. McCall also did a song about that ride, too.

From there to the Four Corners monument which is where Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico all come together at a point. We will be in four states at one time.

Then off to the Grand Canyon and beyond.

Our plan is to take as many pictures as we can and share the good ones (and some of the bad ones, as well) with you.