GATEWAYS TO THE UNEXPLORED

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 240

Country roads. I love 'em. Honestly, when I was a prissy little suburban punk, I feared those dusty, gravelly roads. But since moving to the country, I’ve learned to enjoy them for what they are: gateways to the unexplored.

When we lived in the Husker state, I’d often say to my sweetie that I needed to gets me a big, ol’ pick-em-up-truck; ‘cause flying down dusty country roads in a little economy jobby is akin to punishment. Besides, when you’re creating a dust storm behind ya, why not make it big? “Sweetie, can we purty-please trades in me Forte for a F250?”

So far, she’s not given in to all my begging and SPCA eyes, and all my hotty-handsomeness and all. Move over, Tom Cruise. My Jedi mind tricks have failed to work also. Ughh… maybe someday, huh? (Y’all wanna help a fat friar out, and put in a good word? Hahaha!)

Speaking of small sedans going all NASCAR on dusty roads, I had to laugh this afternoon how filthy my car got. It wasn’t all that bad when I left the garage this morning. But after zinging around the countryside this afternoon, that all went out the window. Time for the backstory.

If you’ve been reading my posts lately, you know I could use a bit of R&R. I’m grateful the church is generous with my vacation time. However, except for a weekday here and a weekday there, I haven’t taken any time to just let my brains spill out and rest the body.

Even then, those two “vacations” last summer didn’t seem like true times of respite. Both times last spring and summer we ventured out East to celebrate our daughter. I’d do it all over again: graduation and wedding. Who wouldn’t, right? And while those trips were fun, they weren’t restful, especially the last one in July.

Including those two trips, it seems most of our vacations these last five years have all been event-focused. A trip just to have fun and let the brains go blah… I need one of those. My little jaunt this afternoon was in prep for one… I hope.

Back to that R&R — this afternoon I took a few hours unscheduled just for me. For a few hours I zigged and zagged around the local geography looking for “targets” to photograph against the Milky Way. My friend Stacy told me about Red Rock Falls and urged me to check them out. Advice taken.

Wowzers, that huge, jagged fortress of Red Rock and the water cascading down it are like a hidden gem. Had I not gotten off the beaten path as Stacy suggested, I would’ve had no idea. Even from a Google Earth view, the falls' location isn’t obvious—being surrounded by farmland, massive groves, grasslands and all. Even then, when I got there, I was wondering, “where’s Niagara?” All’s it took was walking 100 feet, and bam! Watch your step, Jason!

After some time snooping over the ledges and checking some compositions with my astro-app, I strolled back to my Flintstone mobile. That black car was covered from front to back with dirt. Ha! I laughed so hard. I figured since it was good and dirty, why not add some more.

For the next hour, I went up and down every country road north and south of the county line looking for interesting subjects to frame. A dead tree here, giant hay bales there, even something that appeared like a memorial made from large rocks — all mental notes in my noggin for that time of planned R&R.

Honestly, that little adventure off the beaten path was just what I needed today. I’m thankful I made a split decision and took that time. I didn’t ask permission; sometimes it’s better just to ask for forgiveness.

Thank you, Lord; and thank you also, New Hope. Those three hours were like plugging in my phone to get it above the red line. Now, I have a few compositions in mind, and what’s more, they’re not far from the front door.

Soon, though, I plan on heading out west to no man’s land, South Dakota, to a ghost town riddled with rusty old cars and falling-down edifices. All’s I need is a new moon, the church and wifey’s blessing, and I’ll head out onto the gateway of the unexplored.

What are you grateful for this day? Drop us all a line and share your story.