I’m not a hiker. I never have been. Never been a runner either. Hell, I’ve hardly been a walker in my life. Closest I’ve gotten to any regular outdoor activity was before I got my drivers’ license when I had a bike that I rode everywhere. As soon as I got a car though, phew, forget it!
November 7-8, 2020
It seems it’s been a while since we’ve gotten out of town. My last post was in early September. We did make a short trip up to Gunnison, CO, in early October but I didn’t take any pictures and it was a rather uneventful trip, so I didn’t bother making a post about it. However, that means it’s been nearly a month since we’ve traveled. Unacceptable.
So we made a fairly last minute decision to take a quick, overnight trip to Ruidoso.
September 3 – 7, 2020
We took a trip through Colorado at the beginning of September, mainly looking for tiny towns where we might want to move to at a later time.
August 29, 2020
Brandy and I woke up early on Saturday in anticipation of visiting the farmer’s markets in downtown Albuquerque and in Los Ranchos on Rio Grande Blvd. We got to the market downtown and it was PACKED. Way too many people for our taste, so we bypassed it and went straight to the market in Los Ranchos. There was hardly anyone at that one so we got out and browsed around a little. We wound up with some gigantic squashes, a watermelon and a cantaloupe. We started heading up Rio Grande with the expectation of heading home when Brandy said, “Let’s drive to Taos.”
So we drove to Taos.
August 22-23, 2020
With the coronavirus still running rampant with no end in sight, planning trips has been difficult. Lodging is sparse to non-existent and attractions may or may not be open at any given time.
What the coronavirus won’t do is stop us from looking for an ideal place to live when we decide we’re ready to move.
Ottumwa and Dyersville, Iowa, Rankin and Chicago, Illinois
July 17-25, 2020
The car was packed and ready to go by the time Brandy got home at 3:15. We finished up some last minute things, said good bye to Ash and left at around 3:45.
We drove up I-40 to Tucumcari, then hopped on to the 54, which took us through the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma before reaching our destination, Liberal, Kansas.
We stayed in a little roadside motel called American Inn. We were asked if we wanted a smoking or non-smoking room, which I cant tell you the last time I’ve been asked that. We requested a non-smoking room, entered the room and it smelled like cigarettes.
Ah, well.
We’ll be leaving for our trip to the Midwest this Friday after work, hoping to be on the road around 4:00-ish. We’re planning on driving in to Liberal, KS, about six hours away, then finishing the trip Saturday, another ten hours or so, into Ottumwa.
I’ll be meeting a pair of Brandy’s friends when we get up there. I’ve heard some crazy stories about her friends already; I can only imagine how bonkers it’s going to be with the three of them together.
We’ll be in Iowa until next Tuesday, the 21st, then we’ll head out to Dyersville for the Field of Dreams movie site, then the Farm Toy Museum before heading out to Rankin, IL. The protracted baseball season makes its very delayed debut on Thursday so David and I will have that to keep us occupied.
We’ll stay in Illinois until Friday, Getting us home from the 2 day drive on Saturday evening.
We’re going to be in the car for a long time on our trip, but each of us getting to see friends that we haven’t seen in a while will be nice.
I’m going to do my best to keep better notes of where we go and what we do so my post-trip write up will be more accurate and detailed than my recollection of our trip to Colorado. Hopefully I’ll have the recap up before August 1. But no promises. 🙂
Until then, I leave you with a word from Nicholas Sparks memoir Three Weeks With My Brother:
“Never forget that anticipation is an important part of life. Work’s important, family’s important, but without excitement, you have nothing. You’re cheating yourself if you refuse to enjoy what’s coming.”
-Phil
No. It’s Iowa.
On the agenda for our next trip is a trip to Iowa to see Brandy’s parents. On our way out of Iowa, we’re going to swing through Dyersville, home of the Field of Dreams movie site.
Carved out of the corn fields of the century-old Lansing farm, the site holds the diamond where the 1989 Academy Award nominated movie was filmed. Since then, the site has become a tourist attraction, including the farmhouse, which offers tours daily.
And the surrounding areas
June 4-8, 2020
The Western Slope of Colorado is a region that contains many counties and much of the water that can be found in the state. Nestled in the Western Slope is Gunnison County, home of Gunnison, Almont and Crested Butte, CO.
Admittedly, I’d never heard of these places before I met Brandy. She’s a fan though and we went on our first major “couples trip” last weekend.
Before I go into my planned trip, I’m happy to say that my permanent pass for the Air Force Base is ready and I’ll be picking it up in the next day or two.
Secondly, I’m going to say, I love working for Presbyterian. Despite losing money by the elimination of elective surgeries during the COVID crisis, they’ve continued to pay all of their employees even if there’s no work for them (caveats included though.)