The Road Is Calling Me

I combined a client call this week with pleasure. I traveled in my rental car on Monday to Sedona, AZ known for its artists’ community and red desert rock formations. The scenery took my breath away! I noticed a scenic route on the map so I decided to take it south through Jerome to Phoenix. The map did not tell me that the road was a series of hairpin turns and switchbacks through the Arizona mountains. Of course there were no guard rails, no road bream, in other words no room for driver error. At the end of the “scenic road”, I ended up in Prescott. I found the nearest brew pub to settle my nerves and checked the map for an interstate highway. Wednesday, I headed east to the Superstition Mountains to hike a short desert trail. I ended up on another one of Arizona’s “scenic roads” and turned around after two miles. These roads make the climb to Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington a piece of cake. Thursday night, I explored Tempe – shops and restaurants – civilization.

All the while as I explored these new places, I kept thinking about how Ed would navigate those turns in our RV and where would we boondock for the night. I thought about how much fun it would be to hang out at the Mammoth Grill on AZ Route 88 (one of the "scenic routes") in Apache Junction for a night of cold beers, listening to the bar band, and not have to drive 30 miles to the Hampton Inn. This mini trip reminded me of how ready I am to begin the unhurried wandering that will come with the commitment of the full-time lifestyle in our motorhome. Soon I will be wandering through Mexico and the Central American countries not the USA.