I love a road trip across the open spaces of the West. The time spent in my truck watching these expansive landscapes pass by out the windows with Emmy Lou or Carrie or Ian or whomever on the stereo is curiously restful and energizing. “Windshield time,” a friend of mine calls it.
It’s time unplugged, because I’m usually solo and I don’t use my phone to surf the internet or text while driving–for reasons that should be obvious, but clearly aren’t to the hordes who text while at the wheel. I let my mind wander from the balsamroot and lupine blooming gold and purple on the hillsides to the hawks wheeling overhead to the trucks passing by–what is that huge lumpy thing under the enormous tarp on that oversized load, and where is it going? My imagination soars over the horizon; my memory conjures other times when I’ve traveled this road or worked nearby….
Road trips are my dreaming time, my relaxing time, my solo time (unless I’m traveling with the Guy). But sometimes I overdo it, and I have to say that’s the case for this last one. Before I left Santa Fe last Wednesday afternoon, I took Rojita in for her 10,000 mile service. This morning I looked at her dusty odometer screen and realized with a start that I’ve driven almost 4,000 miles since then. In ten days.
No wonder I’m tired.
But what a trip it’s been! First, north to Salida, where Richard and I lived for the better part of two decades. That night, my dear friend Sheila Veazey opened her She-la-Vie hair and skin studio to give me the great haircut that only Sheila can. We spent two hours catching up and drinking Cava (Spanish sparkling wine), which may count as the best spa experience I have ever had. The haircut is insanely great too.
From there I headed north to Ring Lake Ranch, where the Guy works in summer with the horse herd. The spring wildflowers were in full show, and the peaks were still splattered with snow, which was seriously refreshing after months of brown and dry in northern New Mexico. But I had miles to go, so after a night there I pushed on. (And was in such a hurry that I left my laptop on the table in his cabin. Big oops.)
First to Cody, in far northwest Wyoming, where I had work. And then, on a hot Friday afternoon, I aimed Rojita north and way west on the long trek to my brother and sister-in-law’s land above the Columbia River Gorge in eastern Washington, a patch of meadows fingered with oak and ponderosa pine forest with views of the snowy cone of Mt. Adams.
The Tweit clan–four generations of us–gathered there to bless their new house, and to bury our beloved dead in one of those meadows under a gnarled old pair of Oregon oak trees, with the last of the golden balsamroot blooming around them, along with pale frasera, purple lupine, and other wildflowers. As we placed the porcelain jar with Richard’s ashes in one hole, and co-mingled our parents’ ashes in another hole, black-headed grosbeaks sang their robin-like songs as swallows dipped and swooped overhead.
The weekend was rich, with lots of time to catch up and be outside on the land, and only one major meltdown, which I figure is pretty good with all of us together. The less than pretty parts of our messy family relationships are bound to come up when we gather, and that’s healthy, I think. It’s how we respond–with as much love as we can muster–that makes me proud of my clan, even when we screw up.
From Klickitat County, Washington, Rojita and I headed back to Cody, only this time via the longer southern route across Oregon and Idaho, passing through Jackson Hole and down the Wind River to Ring Lake Ranch to retrieve my laptop.
With the high desert desperately dry this year, I thirst for water and green, and I savored both in the mountains of western Wyoming, and walking the trail along the river with friends in Cody.
From Cody, I headed south to Lander, Wyoming, for a weekend of teaching workshops at Wyoming Writers annual conference. And then, after that immersion in words and creative energy, Rojita and I made one more long push to return to Santa Fe.
What’s next for me?
On Thursday, June 10th, at 6 pm RMT I’m talking with Sharman Russell, author of Within Our Grasp, for the second Zoom-based conversation in my monthly series. We’ll be looking at how childhood malnutrition affects our economies, cultures, and the future of the planet—and also the very reasonable solutions for this global problem, as well as what it all has to do with living with love. The event is sponsored and hosted by Women’s International Study Center.
And on Friday, I hit the road again, headed back to Wyoming for my summer work. More on that in another blog post!
Michael Roberts says:
Your words are a refreshing balm for my soul. I read your daily posts on FB and thank you for framing my days and nights with natural wonder. Safe travels.
Michael Roberts
Susan Tweit says:
Michael, I am honored that both my FB posts and this blog essay are refreshing and inspiring to you. May you find your own natural wonders to soothe your soul on a daily basis. We evolved in the wild world, and our bodies, minds and spirits need that companionship and stimulation to stay healthy!
Kathryn Timpany says:
This is so fun to read Susan, as I lived in Southeast Washington for a few years as well as in Kirkland over the mountains and still have friends in Washington state. And I stayed it Ring Lake Ranch two different times, having driven solo from here in Sioux Falls, and enjoyed it so thoroughly. I have the same wandering spirit you do and the same desire to write. Since my illness curbs both of these now I get much vicarious joy through following you. Thank you!
Susan Tweit says:
Kathryn, What fun that the trails I’m taking are ones you know and have great experiences with! I am especially delighted that you’ve had time at Ring Lake–such a magical place. I hope that your illness will allow you to return in time. In the meantime, enjoy the vicarious trip. Although I may do a little less traveling for a while, because that was a lot of driving. 🙂
Bobbi A. Chukran says:
Susan, all that green is making me envious. Here in Las Cruces we are frying. I wonder, was the Zoom event recorded? I ran across your blog on Friday. Happy travels and stay safe! (Love the haircut, too. :))
Susan Tweit says:
The author conversation was indeed recorded, and the audio will be posted on the Women’s International Study Center’s blog sometime soon. And this fall, when I have time to get organized, I’ll take the audio from each month’s conversation to date and edit each into a podcast. Stay tuned for more info on that on my website in a few months.