Thursday before my family embarked on our road trip to my family’s cabins in Colorado I was inundated with a TO DO list that required not just impeccable multi-tasking skills but a sheer will to be satisfied with getting done what needed to get done and ignore the things that weren’t top priority – hence this blog entry was delayed so we could make it out of Houston by 5:30am departure Friday morning.
I’ve planned and mapped out a detour on our way to Twin Lakes, CO so that my boys could visit some of the same National monuments that I experienced when I was their age. First stop – CARLESBAD CAVERNS (as Neal told the boys “It was named for this boy named Carl and when they rode they through on their horse and buggy he was being bad so his parents stopped and named it Carl IS bad Caverns). 🙂 The boys got a kick out of that and the 9 hour ride on Friday went without a hitch. What I didn’t take into account was the fact that the LAST tour into the Caverns went in at 3:30pm….we didn’t make it in time. 🙁 We drove 4 hours out of our way to go to the caverns and we didn’t get to see them. BUT the boys, being the great kids that they are, took it in stride and said that they were fine just seeing the bats come out at night. We grabbed dinner and then made it in time for the ‘show’. Presumably 400,000+ bats were to fly out of the mouth of this cave all at once. (At least when I was 10 and we were there I swear that’s what I remember!!! ;)) But…we sat and stared….then were (as Neal puts it) ‘crop dusted’ by a young man in front of us who let out some natural gas to go with the show. We waited some more…and low and behold some bats flew out of the cave. There were quite a few but it was getting pretty dark and you couldn’t make them out until they were high above. People all around us were restless and agitated and began to leave. Neal and Seth went up to the top of the Ampitheater to see if they could get a different view while Ryan and I stuck it out. Suddenly we hear a very loud (because no one was talking except for in hushed whispers) southern drawl, “Excuse me sir, did you just flip me off?” Everyone gasped and turned around… I was so afraid to see this woman talking to Neal! 😉 Just kidding! Who knows WHY a man would flip off a woman at a Natural habitat viewing of bats??? At any rate, that was our show. Wa – wa- wa….:(
I endured a tremendous amount of ribbing from my family for getting them up SUPER early to drive 9 hours to be crop dusted and hear a Jerry Springer throw down. BUT, I will say I DID have a ‘Just Show Up’ moment… when we checked in the woman behind the counter was super frazzled but very friendly. Instantly I recognized her but I couldn’t figure out from where or why. When we realized we missed touring the cave the boys wanted to swim so I had to ask her for pool towels. I couldn’t help but mention, “I think I know you from somewhere but I can’t place it.”
She smiled and said, “I know! I was thinking the same thing when you checked in but I don’t recognize your name.” We then went on with what we do and she and our aren’t of the same denomination yet we are both Christians but it couldn’t have been from that avenue. Nor are we anywhere near living in the same region but I can PROMISE you I know her. At the same time we both said, “Maybe we are spiritually connected.” We both looked at one another stunned and then laughed. She then said, “I’m serious…if you only knew me you would understand.” I laughed as well and nodded. “Yep, I do get it.”
So, of course, as wherever I go I bring books so I brought her a book and gave it to her. Who knows…maybe one day we will actually connect again, if not here, then maybe in Heaven. 🙂
Thankfully today I redeemed myself with WHITE SANDS, NM….we had a blast sledding down the white sand dunes!! Now we are in Santa Fe, NM where we went to Saturday night Mass at the St. Francis Basilica and then we will get up to go to Twin Lakes, CO in the morning. We don’t have internet in CO so this will be the last entry for nearly a week and a half.
Pictures and hopefully more ‘Just Show Up’ ROAD TRIP moments to ensue!
Enjoy the rest of this DOG DAY summer!
Blessings
Shannon