Road Trips

Until just a few months ago, my husband was an owner-operator. This meant he had a big blue hole on shiny chrome wheels that he poured money into. But that’s another story for another day.

Over the years, when I felt the urge to wander around the country some, I’d pack a bag and hop aboard for a week or two, vacation time and circumstances permitting. When the girls were younger, both did the same when summer vacation turned into summer boredom or the need for adventure became too strong to ignore.

Last time was for a couple of weeks over winter shutdown for my day job. Had a lot of fun seeing the St. Louis arch in a snowstorm, upside down cars in Iowa – a result of the same snowstorm – and frozen farms in Nebraska.

 It's hard to see - but yes, The Arch is there

The Rockies are breathtaking in the winter in more ways than one, and western Kansas is still flat – except where the snow piled up. I finally got to see Texas Canyon in Benson, AZ, where our younger daughter loved to play as a child, and lots of wild antelope and coyotes.

Our daughter still remembers playing on these very rocks as a child.

It’s really not a bad way to travel if you don’t mind the close quarters and constant rumble of the big diesel engine. With the very necessary coffee pot, microwave, toaster oven, crockpot and refrigerator, it’s much like having a micro-kitchen very close at hand. The desk makes a perfect dining table, too.

Over the years, we’ve had some truly awesome candle-lit dinners under the stars in places I’d not have ever thought I’d be, and without anyone for miles around us. I remember one particular evening we pulled off a remote country road and grilled out by the bright light of a full moon, with the hood of the truck nosed up to a “Welcome to Texas” sign…

My husband can be quite the romantic.

It’s also a great way to find quilt shops in places I’d normally not be, and fabrics I don’t find here at home. I never ever leave home without my pathetically worn and dog eared copy of The Quilter’s Travel Companion, especially on cross country trips. Just thinking of the opportunity to visit some of my favorites in Overland Park, KS, Omaha, NE, Denver, CO and more, makes me misty-eyed.

Yes – my best beloved took me fabric shopping in his Western Star. I only had to promise not to fill the entire truck with bolts of fabric. It worked out well.

Its’ been a while since I’ve felt the urge to wander, but it’s starting up again, niggling in the back of my mind and softly whispering in my ear. I keep hearing what sounds like Moda, Red Rooster, Joel Dewberry, French General over and over and over.

So – once again, I am forced to admit – I am a fabric-aholic!

A frozen Nebraska farm