June 28th – The first day of my Journey

June 28th – The first day of my Journey


The drive of 431 miles to reach Chimney Rock, NC was much better than I expected. Granted the outside temp was average of 99 degrees all the way, but I didn’t get lost once (a miracle in my world) and I arrived 1 hour sooner than mapquest estimated I should. My daughter gave me a GPS system all the way here it kept telling me to make a U-Turn, I swear she was in the GPS system wanting me to come back home. I obviously ignored the GPS and thanked myself for being wise enough to print off a mapquest all the way to NM!

As I started to come to the end of the highway and start the cork screw journey down the mountain to Chimney Rock (yes been here several times with my kids) I actually started to wonder if I was doing the right thing in this whole relocation, camping journey. I even went as far as asking the universe to give me a sign, then I immediately felt bad for doubting and told the universe never mind, I’m good! I think the universe felt my faking it with the last statement because within 5 minutes of me putting that request out there all of a sudden lightening was bolting across a sun filled sky. In a matter of minutes, the skies opened up and a torrential downpour ensued, all the while, not a cloud in the sky, the sun shining so brightly in my eyes I couldn’t see the road.

As I turned off the highway onto the decent down the mountain on a road named Bat Cave Rd. the rain stopped (it lasted all of about 5 minutes) and the most hugest rainbow I had ever seen stretched from the horizon up into the sky… I knew that they had given me validation in that moment. I thanked them and breathed out a sigh of relief.

That was not enough for my team, they reminded me of the name of the road, and many months ago they talked about “caves” and I thought I was supposed to go do prayers in caves… little did I realize they would give me the validation I really needed on a Cave Road! I love that amazing universe that is always there for us.

As I neared the campground it seemed nature was out in full force. I was greeted by a large turtle on the side of the road with his head point straight up to the sky. Then I seen a large family of wild turkeys crossing the road, then a large turkey buzzard was feasting on something unrecognizable in the road. If that wasn’t enough, there was an opossum who I think thought about crossing the road, then changed his mind and scampered into the woods. I was in heaven.

Then came putting up a tent (something I never did all by myself before)… and with ease it went up! Next was the air mattress, when I purchase an electrical air pump I assumed you plug it in and it works…. No not even! You plug it in, wait 8 hours then it works! So the first night of camping was spent on the ground. My air mattress is a double sized (as in tall) twin, I don’t have that kind of air power in my lungs to blow it up the old fashioned way. I love the earth very much, but man she had no give. My body hurt when I woke up in the morning! First mission, blow up that air mattress!!

I laughed my butt off when the air mattress starting to increase to actual size and my tent appeared to shrink in size. The tent clearly stated it sleeps 2-3, I realized they just forgot to put small children, it really only sleeps 1 adult. The air mattress blew up to leave 6 inches of floor room and I literally slept in the dome part of my tent with feet and head touching the sides of the tent. Let me tell you, tall twin size mattresses need anchors on them because they have tremendous sway when you turn around at night. Often I wondered when I will be tossed on the front of my tent by the mattress swaying forward from me turning around.

Until I write again...

Lisa