As we made our way south this fall it began to occur to us, our travels are becoming a succession of reunions. In 13 short months we have met a number of people whom we make it a point to see when our paths cross. Throughout our summer time in Iowa, we reunited with everyone we volunteered with in Texas, when they passed through. It helps that Saylorville is a major camping area centrally located in the United States.
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Lindsborg group[/caption]The first stop on our southern reunion tour was Lindsborg, Kansas for their Bi-annual Swedish Festival. The main draw is my Aunt Pat, who has traveled from Denver for over 25 years to attend with friends she brings from Colorado and others, like us, who meet her here to take in the event. This year, our second time, we joined her, my cousins from Leavenworth, her friends Rick and Diane (veteran Hyllningsfest attendees) and new friends of hers Nataliya and Johnnie Johnson, attending for the first time. We spent 48 hours completely immersed in Swedish food, music and culture and interesting people. We’ll take away more good memories of time spent with my aunt. We stayed on an extra day and visited a Motorcycle history museum in the area and experienced the town when not in festival mode.
We left early Monday morning with me in the driver’s seat. My first time driving the new motor home out on the road with the car in tow. Compared to pulling the 5th wheel it is much nicer. After 200 miles a construction zone, accident scene and some heavy traffic around Wichita we were both satisfied that I had a comfort level in the pilot seat and I turned the driving back over to Champ so I could dive into the morning crossword in the newspaper.
We set up camp at Chickasaw National Park mid-afternoon. After 3 days in the area we highly recommend it as a stop for anyone traveling through. There is rich history to be experienced at the Chickasaw Nation Cultural Center. We spent half a day there and learned a great deal about the tribal nations’ history, migration story and culture, including watching a traditional Friendship Song and Stomp Dance. One could easily spend a couple of days visiting all of the historic buildings and sites related to the Chickasaw in the surrounding area.
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Little Niagara- Chickasaw NRA[/caption]Travertine Learning Center at the park was also a gem. We went into the Visitors Center to talk with the ranger and get the trail maps and when Champ was out of ear shot I got the low down on the local reptiles, knowing this is an active time of year for his least favorite creatures. I took point and kept a close eye on the edge of the trails and the over-hanging tree limbs. Despite the ranger saying they had daily reports of sightings, we had a snake free walk the two hours we were there. The natural springs, and waterfalled creeks make for a beautiful walk in the woods.
If you are like me, your vision of Oklahoma is wide open planes, oil fields and ranches. This area is very un-Oklahoma like in terms of terrain. The campground is beautiful and well maintained. It is also 15 miles from town making for the best night sky I’ve seen in years. Something about a clear night sky when I can see the Milky Way makes me feel closer to the people I love when I’m away.
After a stop at Waco Lake for a few days, we reunited with the staff at Balcones NWR where we spent most of last winter work camping. We stayed for a week in trade for 3 days work. Jennifer tasked us with checking the 12 hunting blinds, make repairs as necessary, sweep them out and weed eat around them and the gate entrances to the various areas.
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Champ doing the high work[/caption][caption id="attachment_390" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Weed eating at a Hunt Blind[/caption]We saw three tracts of the refuge that we did not see last winter and enjoyed revisiting familiar areas. The work was physical but welcome after a couple of weeks of R&R. The weather was gorgeous all three days we worked outside.
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Dub Lyon[/caption]We were happy to see that Dub, a long time, dedicated local volunteer and fixture, at the refuge is still getting around and staying active. The other reason we added Lago Vista to the route was to see Peggy and Lloyd, who we became friends with last winter. We had the opportunity to spend three evenings at their home and they made it out to the refuge to check out the new living quarters. We also got a bonus and got to see another couple, Joy and Paul who we saw a Taco Tuesday each week. We spent 7 great days before saying goodbye, once again to this special group of people.
Three and a half weeks on the road has ended in Mathis, Texas at a beautiful RV resort where we will spend the next two months playing and being retired. As is the case in these parks, we have already met several couples who Volunteer in the summer in northern locations. 24 hours in, I have been recruited to lead a beginner yoga class once a week. My solitary morning yoga routine is very satisfying, but it will be rewarding to have the opportunity to share it with others as a social event.
We are looking forward to a reunion with our friends John and Cathy soon. By the time April rolls around and we find ourselves packing up for the trip back to Iowa we will undoubtedly leave with more new friends and more people to add to the list of reunions to look forward to as we add months, years and miles to this wonderful lifestyle.
I'll sign off with a quote I saw the other day that resonated with me:
"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable" ~Mary Oliver
Until next time...
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