On the Road Again

On the Road Again     

I play that Willie Nelson song on the first day (and on many other days) of any long trip, and often sing along at the top of my voice.  If my windows were open, I would probably scare other drivers!  But it sure is fun to be on the road again, with a very distant destination in mind.  I'm off to Alaska again!

Last week I spent some time near Houston for my grandson's high school graduation, and another grandson's confirmation.  IN between the two events, I spent a few days camping on Galveston Island.  That wasn't the plan, but Brazos Bend State park, famous for it's alligators, was closed because of flooding. So Galveston it was. I did find a few alligators, but most of them were very shy and sank below the surface of the water as I approached (in the car).  This one stayed put long enough for me to get a photo. I also caught up with an old high school friend that I hadn't seen in many years – that was a lot of fun.  

Alligator

The park on Galveston island is also home to a lot of birds, many of which I had seen before, but this Scissortail flycatcher was new to me.  He has an amazing long tail. 

Scissortail Flycatcher

After a few days at home, I started out for Alaska, with a few stops along the way. First up was Canyonlands National Park.  I'd been to Arches before (it's just down the road from Canyonlands) but this was my first time here.  It's quite beautiful in its own way, not as many rock formations, but much wider vistas. I even managed a short hike to Mesa Arch that was described as easy and mostly flat at the Visitor Center, but their flat and my flat are very different.  It seems they think about 150 feet elevation gain is nothing, but then they don't have COPD and hike with an oxygen concentrator.  I'm proud to say that I made it, although for a while I had my doubts.  I even have a photo to prove it!

The thing that surprised me most was that the landscape was grassy instead of desert. I'm not sure if it had recently rained a lot, or if this was its normal appearance. 

I did spend a couple of hours at Arches just to remind myself what it was like.  I also wanted to get my National Parks Passport stamped!  My Seattle grandkids gave it to me two years ago when we were camping at Glacier, and I have been getting it stamped wherever I can. It's fun to look back at the stamps and remember those places. 

Balanced Rock at Arches

Arches

Beautiful formation at Arches

Before I left Utah, there was one  more thing I wanted to see – Dead Horse Point.  It is an overlook of a horseshoe bend in the Colorado River and I'd seen many photos of it, but that's just no substitute for the real thing. So at 7 AM the next morning, I was at the lookout taking the obligatory photos. But really, it was much more; trying to imagine the history of that place was very sad.  Back in time, horses were brought there and left, and because there was no water, they died, thus the name. I'm not sure what the reasoning was, I just know it was a beautiful place with a very sad history.