lllooovverrr, lover loverrr

sorry.  that’s just jerrod niemann’s infectious song that’s taking over country music stations across the nation.  heard it probably a billion (5) times during my road trip.  oh!  the things i listened to for 8-10 hours a day with my eyes on the pavement:

1. NPR.  there was a lot of NPR.  and when it didn’t exist, i listened to whatever right wing conservative talk radio host that was popular in that region.  and a lotta christian radio.  hallelujah hollaback.  so i’m lumping all that stuff together.

2. music.  yeah, i thought that i’d play it off my laptop because that’s what i normally do on road trips- i can make a big fat playlist (gigs that don’t fit on my 2 gig cell phone memory chip) and let it roll, but surprisingly, i did not do this.  didn’t find it necessary.  so i would alternate between plain old radio and my cell phone’s memory chip.  not too heavy on the cell phone though, as i wanted to maintain battery for “omg” situations.  so a loooot of country music, which i don’t mind at all and love quite a lot (lover loverrr), and the occasional quirky alt rock when i passed through more metro areas or college towns.  which was rare.  and then horrible pop music like my bff Ke$ha.

3. qur’an.  i downloaded the whole thing to my laptop shortly before leaving and would play it for a couple hours on end periodically.  it was nice to have with me.  because while i brought along my mini paper qur’an, i certainly didn’t get much time to read.  i suppose i could’ve tried while driving, but i think that would have been silly.

4. silence.  that was necessary at times.  sometimes just a few minutes.  sometimes hours.

this is a wal mart parking lot somewhere in colorado.  oh, that?  that’s my husband.  y’all- tell me to my face that’s not an awesome truck.  just, well just look!  it’s bright freaking yellow.  and i’m no expert but that looks like an original paint job to me.  and if it’s not, it is in my head.  because i want to believe it.

that is in crawfordsville, indiana.  where’s that?  darned if i know, but it was good to me.  the weather was nice, the people were too, and the KOA was sufficiently deserted, with people off in the distance in case i needed to start shouting and running from something like a bug.  i don’t know.  it was my first night alone.  and i was under the impression that i was scared of the dark.  til i realized the kampground is full of lights from the main building, RVs, and other stuff.  but this picture was twilight, and i was cooking dinner, and being a quiet fool- dropping things and getting something from the car every 30 seconds that i forgot the first (and second and tenth) time.  don’t feel like i was being hardcore- i had an electrical and water hookup about 10 feet away from the left of that tent.  there weren’t even bugs besides gnats to bother me.  it was cushy camping.

this is misleading.  because it’s not in indiana.  but it is inside the tent.  which was for the vast majority of the time, very cozy.  i like my $100 two person (scoff) REI tent.  some would say that’s too much to pay.  some are my sisters and brothers.  some’s faces can shut it.  but yeah.  i don’t go light on the comfort…ers.  and do you see that?  it’s magical internet.  in my tent.  the internet at KOAs ranges anywhere from barely there to full on bandwidth for all (aka, it’s a small grounds with only a couple people using it).  i’m sure in summer the internet’s much more difficult to catch.  thank goodness i was traveling in the off season.  because i need me my internet.  srsly.  i know i know- addiction.  but i was moving around so much for 2 weeks that i just really wanted that feeling that i was still somehow connected.  and internet is the answer.

but it’s ok to be disconnected sometimes.  especially when you get to see amazing, awe inspiring things.  things that make your heart beat faster, and your jaw hang for extended periods of time.

at least, that’s what happened to me.  this is south dakota.  and this is where i learned the meaning of ‘big sky.’  i’ve heard that phrase in reference to the west before, but it didn’t click til i saw those clouds.  and that horizon.  i can’t explain it but to say the horizon IS bigger.  it’s huge.  it’s fantastic.  it’s endless and you’re surrounded by sky.  i know this picture doesn’t do the feeling justice, but those clouds?  those clouds are free.  this sky is freedom.  i hope i’m not making this sound exaggerated; i’m serious about this big sky business.  even if it’s just through a windshield.  see, i’ve got a crappy camera, and no skillz, so i gotta give you whatever snapshot i can.  and if it’s not that good, well, you’ll just have to check it out for yourself one day.

and, sigh, i’m gonna say it.  and i mean it.  right about the time i took that picture is when i realized that america is beautiful.  funny thing is, i already knew virginia was beautiful.  still know it.  but though i’ve heard and read descriptions of the rest of the country before, it’s just something i had to see for myself.  i think that’s the primary reason i wanted to do this.  just to see.  and see i did.

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