Changes

Part of this RV lifestyle we are living is obviously lots of driving. We have put a considerable amount of miles on our faithful Priscilla already, and a lot of that has been travelling the same routes, getting from one spot to another.

On the last trip we made from Pueblo to Alamosa, both Didi and I were struck by both how much the landscape has changed and by how much we have changed. At the very end of April we were able to focus more on how we wanted this adventure to look like. Even though we landed in Mid-March, there were so many practical things that needed to happen that we were just reacting and taking care of business.

We have followed the route from Pueblo through Walsenberg onto Alamosa and then from there it has depended if we headed north or continued west. We have seen the ground completely covered in snow and some ski resorts still just operating, we have seen high temperatures and storms with strong rain, hail, and lightening, we have started at the base of a mountain with beautiful Spring day conditions to be met with an almost whiteout of snow midway up and of course rain on the way down.

Even in the last few weeks where we have mainly been based in-between Salida and Alamosa, but have to travel to one or the other for appointments we’ve seen changes. Last week as we headed over Poncha Pass we noted the Aspen trees were just starting to change colours for the Fall, a couple of days later, after a few really cool nights, the colours had deepened. It will be amazing to see at the end of this week, when we have to make the drive again, how much change has occurred.

As many changes that we have seen over these months to our environment, we’ve seen just as many in us. We have had up, downs, and some really low days, but our perceptions about the world are shifting too. We now give ourselves permission to stop and enjoy what we see around us, instead of driving with our ‘eyes on the prize’ and trying to get from point A to point B. We will admit we are tired, unfocused, unhappy and stop for a few days while we reground and renew. When we hit our happy places that allow us to be still for a few days we don’t just worry about when and where we will find jobs or what has to happen to get Priscilla ready for the cold months coming up, but we also allow ourselves ‘Art Days’ where we put aside the worries and focus on being creative. We are able to see the subtle changes around us because we aren’t so stuck looking to the future, things like the changing flowers, the amount of snow on the mountains, or the subtle changes to the Aspen trees.

We still aren’t settled down to one single place and we may never be, but we have learned more about ourselves and the communities we have interacted with than we ever would have if we had just driving to get someplace and not enjoying the trip a bit. It’s a lesson we will relearn over and over again and it’s a lesson a lot of us need to learn. Enjoy the journey as much as you can.