Road Trip Pictures ~ Giants

Since my original intent regarding this blog was to keep it centered on recovery, not about attracting readers, not about pictures, tutorials, awards or giveaways, I'm feeling a little conflicted about posting pictures from my recent solo road trip. On the other hand, who would want to see them if not the few who have followed my quest, my journey of 4,046 miles, here on this blog?

At least I must post pictures of the wind turbines, my new lovers, the giants who bewitched me as I drove both east and west. So here they are, along with a few pictures of the oil drilling business, also mentioned in my posts here and here. All pictures are click-to-enlarge.

giants in the dawn, first day on the road
Washington state, East of Ellensburg
see the car?


each giant stands 351 feet tall
and weighs 223 tons
rotor blades, I call them wings,
are 129 feet long
and weigh 7 tons each


hauling a wing
me chasing, stalking
lead and follow cars
wondering about me
passing them
lurking at the next town
waiting for another photo op


24-wheel trailer!
would you say
this tower is big and heavy?
base is 13 feet wide
compare to size of red truck


as big as a building


old-time oil rigs
reminding me of birds pecking
in horse pastures and farms
scattered across northeastern Montanna


new oil developments
building rigs like these
black, noisy and
nearly as high as wind turbines
laying pipes
employment boom
hotels and motels
all display no vacancy signs


heading east from Shelby, Mt
going to work
there's oil to be drilled


more oil fellas
going to work


nearly all the cars
at the motel
looked like this
oil workers
looked like this too
motel posted a sign on the door
"take off your boots
before entering"


miles and miles
of pipelines
being laid
farms and oil wells


ah, the beauty
and nearly silent whisper
of wind turbines
dawn patrol
this time near
Cut Bank Montanna


walking among them
filling me
with joy and wonder


newer designs
turn more slowly
safer for birds


breakfast at
Hwy 2 Cafe
Cut Bank, MT
my favorite
restaurant meal
huckleberries
on hot cake
no syrup needed
bacon crisp


antique plate collection
all around the room
chalk drawing
of my beloveds

Road Trip Report ~ I'm in LOVE!!!!

time on my hands
don't feel like reading
or knitting
or beading

solitude of being
produces much thought
so two posts today

I'm in love
with many lovers
all of them giants
all of them majestic
all of them powerful

in early morning light
I walked among them
their sweet voices
whispering love songs
their arms outstretched
dancing in circles

enchanted and in awe
filled with gratitude
under their spell
I took picture after picture
could not stop
could not get my fill of them

there on a dirt track
through the rolling hills
of middle Montana
just west of Shelby
there I fell in love
(as though I weren't already)
with the wind giants
immensely tall
white
slowly turning
wind turbines
generating power

much later
after tearing myself
away from my lovers
I ate breakfast
at the Hwy 2 Cafe
a charming little place
with a vast collection
of antique plates
on the walls
also pastel drawings
one of them
depicting my lovers

taking a picture
of the drawing
generated a discussion
with three old timers
having breakfast
at a nearby table
one of them is 101 years old
and still quite spry

I love these wind machines,
I tell them
yes, they say

I tell them I wish
for money to invest
in the company
that manufactures them

NO
says one of them
emphatically
too expensive
much too expensive
hydro's the thing
invest in hydro

yes, I say
the infra-structure's expensive
but after that
wind is free
and there's no harm
to the environment
(maybe to a few birds
maybe not)

hydro, he says firmly

his buddy says
he's a retired commissioner
of the local hydro-electric company

well then
he knows a thing or two
about power

never-the-less, I say
wind is everywhere
wind is the future of power
and dagnabitall
I'm in love with the giants

****

Sorry I don't have a way to download my pictures while on the road... so for now it's just word pictures... but never fear, once home, I'll select some to post. Question: better to insert them in the previous posts at relevant points OR better to put them all in a new post???

Road Trip Report from Shelby, MT

first move of the day
turned the wrong way
from the motel
and drove about 30 miles
back the way I'd come
the day before

ooooops!
I'm not supposed to
be driving into the sun
in the morning...
that's the evening's bane

then I started getting bored
and hungry
yep
the old eat from boredom syndrome

walked past greasy, personal pizzas
at a gas station hot "food" counter
had to have it
not healthy
but not on my abstinence list
been thinking about pizza
but this isn't good pizza
but I'm hungry
ok, ok, ok
ate it in my car
while driving
not mindfully
burp
ugh
darn

old highway church
with Native graveyard in back
old, old graves
and some new ones
very primitive
wooden crosses
humped dirt
plastic flowers
feeling a little sad
and lonely there
trucks and cars passing
their drivers giving no thought
to the souls resting there
just above the highway

the big pink church
farther along the way
once Catholic
now abandoned
today with a huge crowd
gathered in the Native graveyard
next to the church
more than 100 cars
parked along the highway
and the little road to the church
I stopped
but didn't want to intrude
later I inquired at a
Native-run visitor center
in the next town
a tribal elder
an original land owner
a woman respected by all
92 years old
had died
was being laid to rest

respect for elders
what a wonderful concept

for the rest of the afternoon
I played cat and mouse
with some wide-load trucks
pulling 16-wheel
flat bed trailers
hauling parts for wind turbines

unbelievable
huge
gigantic
dwarfing
all other vehicles
on the highway
I'd pass them
drive ahead
pull off the road
get out of my car
camera in hand
and try to
take pictures of them
as they went by

then I'd do it again
being dissatisfied
with my pictures

tomorrow
the mountains
whoooopeeeee
Glacier National Park

tomorrow
another day
another opportunity
to make healthy food choices
to not eat in my car
to eat mindfully
whoooooopeeeee

On the Road Again....

yep
on the road again
solitude of being

driving west
this time not on the freeway
slowing down
way down
for small towns
and farm equipment on the roads
pulling over
to view a grove of birch
white bark gleaming and
yellow leaves twittering
in the magnificent sunlight
stopping at little visitor centers
asking
is there anything I should see
in these parts

hard to say goodby
sad to leave Mom's room
blowing her kisses
her sweet little stuffed kitty
clutched firmly in her arms

my brother asked me to stay
said they'd love to have me
through the weekend
when they'd be off work
and we'd have time to play

but solitude of being
was calling me
the call stronger
than the desire
to stay longer
in the warmth
of my extended family

pausing for a moment
indecision
on the fence
stay or go

then I knew it was time
time to get in the car again
and head west

Graced by Bison - Solo Road Trip Report #2

414 miles today
Billings Montana to
Bismark North Dakota
freeway semi-empty
except for when passing
two cities of size

eastern Montana
seems hard hit economically

highlight of the day
was not lunch
at the half-way point
200 miles east of Billings
I veered off the freeway
into a small town
and drove around hoping to find
for a cozy-looking cafe

lady in the grocery store
told me to go to CCs cafe
and gave me directions to get there
oh, delight, I thought
home-cooking
regional delicacies maybe

waitress recommends
roast turkey with all the goodies
said people drive there from all around
to have turkey on Sundays
ok... I'll try it, says I

should have had
cottage cheese and an apple
from my cooler...

stringy, dry, over-cooked turkey
string beans out of a can
mushy, way over-salted dressing
white air bun
barely tolerable salad bar
with wilted lettuce
I passed on cherry cheesecake
for dessert

oh well... the waitress was nice
I gave her a really big tip

highlights of the day
were the lovely rock outcroppings
along the rolling hills
of eastern Montana
blazing sunshine
and stopping at a rest area
with a herd of bison
grazing right there

nursing baby bison
and big-headed bulls
yikes they're intimidating
needless to say
I stayed in the car
to take pictures
but was so close
I could hear them breathe
and chew the grass
could smell their musk
could look them in the eyes
what a thrill

***

Thanks for comments... I feel like you're with me in a way and that's a blessing!

Solitude of Being - Road Trip Report #1

on the road today
(day three of my solo road trip)
from Missoula
to Billings
both in Montana

not so far really
but add a 5 hour detour
to Yellowstone National Park
and you have a 13 hour day
mostly behind the wheel

had lunch in Livingston
(yum
no problem with overeating
while on this solo trip
at least not so far
yay)

noticed signs to Yellowstone
how could I resist
the north entrance
just 52 miles south of
my main west-east route

went there as a kid
don't remember much
just Old Faithful

arrived at the park at 5 pm
and took the north loop
which took me past
thermal hot springs
boil and bubble
meadows
yellow leaves everywhere
buffalo
big horn sheep
a herd of elk
one black bear
a fumarole
(am I spelling that correctly)
a tumbling waterfall
towering rock formations
geologist's and naturalist's paradise
photographer's too
heck
everyman's paradise

frustrating a little
not enough time
or daylight
to take pictures
every 10 feet
like I wanted to

feeling giddy about this day
a day full with
solitude of being

a little sad not to be
sharing it with my husband
who would love Yellowstone
as much as I
yet at the same time
grateful for this day full with
solitude of being

Notes on a Road Trip

haven't driven solo
across the country
for a long, long time
not since my thirties

used to make it from
Seattle to St. Paul (MN)
in three days
driving 12 or more
hours each day
and sleeping my car
singing to keep awake
eating pre-made
peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches
kept in a shoebox
free-spirited fun

next Monday I'll be 68

next Wednesday
I'm leaving the island
headed east
to see Mom and family
in St. Paul
not flying as I've done
the past few decades
driving this time
alone
there and back
whoooopppeeeee

time to think
about my marriage
about my seniorhood
about nothing and everything
time to see what I'm made of
time to find the me in me
maybe I'll sing
Bob Dylan and me
singing our hearts out

not so rushed
like in my thirties
motels
not sleeping in my car
a cooler
not a shoebox
a cell phone

taking the freeway
eastbound
fastest way
probably 4 days
but OK if it's 5

homeward bound
I plan to dawdle
taking the northern route
blue highways all the way
two lanes and slow
stop to look
at anything interesting
stop to stretch
stop to breathe
stop to smell
stop to photograph
no hurry at all
feeling my feelings
being me

Words of Optimism

For the past few months, I've been following the blog of an amazing young man, Matt, who walked across the entire USA from coast to coast. His blog is I'm Just Walkin'.

On August 25th (day 152), he completed his long walk and posted a picture of the celebratory cake given to him by the Rockaway Beach, OR Chamber of Commerce. I wish he would turn around and head right back to the east coast, walking a different route (or even the same). I don't want it to end. Ever. Period.

His pictures have heart, the heart of a nation and a people. His pictures give heart and optimism. My appreciation, respect and admiration for Matt is boundless.

Today, I am reflecting upon his initial thoughts regarding his journey... Here they are:

I’ll need months of contemplation and reflection before I can fully and coherently discuss everything I’ve learned on this walk, but I think the two most obvious lessons are these:

1) Have some faith in this world. Things aren’t as bad as they tell us. We may all have different political opinions and different religious beliefs and different cultural norms (I’m a liberal atheist Jew. Did you know that? Does it matter?), and many of us probably couldn’t stand to be around each other on a regular basis, but most of us would, as it turns out, extend a helping hand to a stranger in need. I walked 3100 miles across this country and didn’t encounter a single person who tried to hurt me, or steal from me, or damage my possessions. Maybe this isn’t a place that needs to be feared. Maybe it’s a place that needs to be explored, and appreciated, and celebrated.

2) There’s beauty everywhere. Keep your eyes open, and keep your mind open, and you’ll be amazed what’s out there, right under your nose, just waiting to be discovered. You don’t need to go to the Best This or the Most Spectacular That; just take a stroll around the neighborhood. I blindly followed directions from Google on my walk, making no effort to see anything special, and look at everything I found that I thought needed to be shared with the world!

Matt, you make me happy! Your words of optimism are just what I needed to hear while preparing for my road trip (by car) across half the country and back! May I too take those few extra moments or hours (or even days) to explore and savor the land, the things nature and people put on the land and the people along the way.