Notes From The Road: Back In The Saddle

East of Las Cruces, NM.

 "The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say." 
J.R.R. Tolkien

That is one of two favorite quotes  I have concerning trips. That is, of course, only a snippet of a much longer piece. You can read all of it here. I like it because it speaks of adventure and the taking of journeys. But there is also another wise saying I love as much, if not more....

White Sands National Monument at Hwy 70

"The best part of a trip is walking through the door at home when it is over."

Mom

Yep, there sure is a certain satisfaction to be walking through that door at home once you've been away for awhile, isn't there? My Mom sure nailed that one, and ever since I heard her say that, I've taken it to heart. The going is great, but having somewhere to come home to is pretty dang sweet too. Maybe it is the best part. 

So, I am back at home now after another marathon 12 hour driving session yesterday and a 11 hour one the day before that. Most of yesterday can be summed up in the following image...

Somewhere in the Flint Hills, Kansas

Wet, dreary, windy, and cold. Once again, it was 30 degrees when we left Southwestern Kansas, and it was 70 degrees when we pulled up to the front of the house back in Iowa.

I opened the door of our vehicle and was immediately embraced by the warm dampness of the air. Wow! Was that a shocker after being in arid climates for over a week, and much cooler temps the past few days. Weird. I had to come North to get that.

At any rate, the scene is sure different here since I left. Glad to be back. Now for a few days of kickin' back and relaxing here in Iowa before I wade back into the full on "regular routine" of shop rat, writer, tester, father, and husband all at the same time.

Oh yeah! And this blog should shape back up into the regular bicycle oriented spew that you regular readers have come to expect outta me. I apologize for the past week plus in the "change of scenery", but that's all over with for awhile.

Thanks for putting up with my non-sense and gallivanting around the countryside. Vacation is over- back to the business at hand......