Through the Mountains

Today was a wonderful last-full-day-on-the-road. We will be home tomorrow; I suppose that is good, but I do like traveling, and I especially like traveling with R.J. I could easily keep going for another week or two! We drove another 400+ miles today. Well, R.J. drove, but I was definitely support staff for the ride. We found a state park in Arkansas that was pretty much right on our route, about three hours into a seven hour travel day. It seemed like a great idea to stop and do some hiking (and eat our lunch) there, so that was our plan. We started out at about 7:30 a.m. The landscape was wonderful – lots and lots of beautiful mountains and winding roads. Everywhere we looked, it was breathtaking. First thing in the morning there was also a little “mist in the mountains” that just added layers to an already beautiful landscape. I was so looking forward to the Gulf beauty on this trip and really enjoyed that, but this beauty kind of took me by surprise. What a great blessing on a long travel day!

A winding mountain road

The morning mist in the mountains

"Winding Stair Mountains" kind of says it all.

The state park we stopped in was in Arkansas

 Our state park stop turned out great as well. We arrived at about 11:00 and found a short hiking path. We would have loved to hike longer, but the travel requirements of the day prevented that. Still, it felt so good to get out and stretch our legs in the beautiful scenery. We saw a school group on a field trip there, looking like they were having a lot of fun. We hiked and then pulled our lunch out and ate it while sitting on a rocking bench on the porch of the visitor center.  It was perfect. After our lunch, we got back in the car and headed north.

The trail we hiked

The trees are just getting their leaves here.

R.J., on the trail

Blossoms everywhere. It is spring!

A view of Lake Fort Smith

And a picture of me!

This would make an amazing field trip!

All too soon we were out of the mountains and heading toward Kansas City. Spring seemed to be receding before our eyes! Watching spring go in reverse was a bit painful, but I did love the temperatures in the 60's. Can we just keep this level of spring and take it with us to Minnesota? 

Little bits of purple, again, as spring disappears

The green is disappearing from the hills.

I wrote a spring poem on our way down here. Since I didn't get it in my blog then, I'll put it in here now. I do love this season, although I prefer it in forward rather than in reverse!

The Arrival

By Elizabeth Traff

Spring arrives almost imperceptibly,

A subtle greening…

Is it there, or isn’t it?

 A single bud, opening,

A single leaf, unfurling,

A single flower, blooming:

One plus one plus one

Equals a beginning,

Equals an expectation,

Equals hope.

Spring sets the table.

It waits for the sun.

It waits for the rain.

It waits for the warmth.

It is ready.

Then, in a magical week…

The sun comes.

The rain comes.

The warmth comes.

Spring explodes

From the end of every bare twig,

From the bulbs resting in the ground,

From each blade of grass.

It brings a kaleidoscope

Of vibrant colors,

Of powerful scents,

Of abundant life.

Yesterday, it wasn’t spring.

Today, it is.

The world is brand new.

The world is ready.

The world is HOPE.

The rest of the travel day wasn’t nearly as exciting as the first part, but there is much to be said for an un-exciting travel day. We made it to the Kansas City, Missouri, area at about 4:30. We are staying in a My Place hotel with a full kitchen in it. It’s our first time to use that chain, and the room is very nice. We love it, and another benefit was that the hotel was right across the street from an Outback restaurant. We decided to take advantage of that and walked over there for our last supper on the road. It was a delicious meal, as it always is, and a nice splurge after eating sandwiches for most of our time on the road.

Our home for the night

The bed area

The kitchen area

Onward and homeward, tomorrow! Thanks for traveling with me!