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I am heading out today to start making my trek back home.  Of course, it is not a trip I can make all in one day, so I decided to stretch things out a little and take a slight detour to Holland Ranch.  It is a campground that has AirStream trailers for lodging.  It puts me on a different track than I would normally take and offers the smell of adventure.

Check out the Holland Ranch website here.  I will be staying in the Route 66.   They are motorcycle friendly!

A few weeks ago, we had occasion to ride thru Big Bend National Park. WOW! This is one ride you have to do on 2-wheels before you really get it. You think it’s beautiful riding thru in a car, but coasting thru on 2-wheels just takes the experience to a whole new level that cannot be done justice in words.

As we approached the Panther Junction Visitor Center at the base of the Chisos Mountains, we were eye-gazed at the rain-storm passing over the mountaintops. Our timing couldn’t have been better if we had been deliberate. We arrived at the base of the Mountains right after the storm passed over—literally within minutes! We just could not resist the temptation to escapade into the freshly wet mountains where they revealed secrets that can only be appreciated in the aftermath of Nature’s glory. We were greeted by breathtaking waterfalls that only happen when it rains and the most peculiar trees and plant life we have see nowhere else.

The ascent into the Mountains felt like a slow subside into a cave of peaceful monstrosity, where switchbacks on narrow roads left our only option to be intensely present in the moment and savor all She had to offer. The return to civilization felt like being awakened from a coma, seeing familiar things for the first time and in the creep of the moment remembering how precious they are to you.

Now the truth—we had never intended to ride up into the Chisos Mountains, only to take the long way around to the River Road via Big Bend. That’s an easy temptation on a motorcycle—to take the long way around. Well, we certainly got more than we bargained for, like one of those gifts that unexpectantly rewards you for practicing peace of mind.

As we turned back onto the highway and headed west, the attitude adjusting feelings we experienced remained on high for the River Road. This is the road that follows the Rio Grande between Lajitas and Presidio and it is famed for its hairpin turns, stomach dropping elevation changes and its breathtaking backdrop of a river dividing two countries. We were not disappointed, so don’t let my lack of commentary trip you up. It’s just that everybody writes about this road and everything they say is true. You just have to ride it for yourself.

We could sum this up as a day of adventure, but the word ‘Adventure’ really does this day a disservice. Perhaps, ‘spiritual experience’ might be a little more fitting.

We just got back from a road trip thru Alpine, Marfa and Ft. Davis. WOW! It was so therapeutic to be out on the open road again! Look for our travel logs in the February issue of Good Times magazine, The Arts & Entertainment Guide for West Texas covering Travel, Dining, Art, Theatre, Music & more.

So many of you have been asking about my trip and when I was going to post about it. The truth is I got back last Friday (a day later than I intended, but that’s a story for later) and it has taken me this long just to process all the things that happened. They say hindsight is 20/20, and as I continue to reflect on my trip, in hindsight I am in awe. One saying that has come to be my favorite just because I see it so much in my life is “God did for me what I could not (or sometimes in my case would not) do for myself”. And this trip is no exception.

I have to say the trip getting there could not have been more perfect. The weather was perfect, no hitches, close calls—nothing. Just good ole’ riding time. The worst problem I had going was about an hour in start/stop traffic between Tomball and Humble. The trip getting home, however, could not have been more eventful.

However, in life’s grand form, it was the return trip from which I learned the most. It was a barometer of how much progress I have made in handling unplanned challenges—one of life’s gentle reminders that you can plan, but you can’t plan the results. It was an experience that, first hand, taught me that life’s challenges really are gifts in ugly wrapping paper. It was the realization that what happens to me is not always about me. In fact, most of the time, it isn’t about me. If only we could get a glimpse of the front side—the pretty side of our life’s tapestry—we would see that everything really does happen for a reason. But most of the time, our view is of the back, where the threads are messy, tangled and knotted together.

And so it is, that living life on life’s terms requires a certain amount of faith. Faith that we are always exactly where we are supposed to be, even if we don’t like where that is. And trust—trust that we have all the tools we need to deal with the situation at hand, even if we think we don’t. And open-mindedness—an open mind to clear the forest, so we can see the trees. So we can see the opportunity in what is going on around us, what is happening to us. A great friend of mine always says God gives her brilliant opportunities disguised as impossible situations. Well, that makes two of us!

So in an unexpected way, I have come to realize that it was the return trip that strengthened my faith. My faith in the goodness of life. That there really are decent people out there. Faith that no matter what comes my way, I am equipped to deal with it. And faith that life really does have sweetness to offer, not just problems.

I hope you enjoy my story! Check back later in the week for Life Parallels posts. That’s a new category we created for posts that have to do with our discoveries about how motorcycling relates to life.

The Trip

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