December 2012 Road Trip - Pre-trip Thoughts and Planning.

"...and in the end, it isn't the years in your life that matter, it's the life in your years".  Out of the many, many quotes I love this one has got to be the most profound to me.  Just like my road trips, life is more about the ride than the destination. It's what you do along the way that matters most...the places you see and the people you meet.  As I have aged this quote has taken on a more significant meaning than I ever imagined.  Probably the biggest turning point for me was losing my Dad in 2010.  It was not something I was prepared for.  All the memories of our summer vacations came rushing back.  What I wouldn't give to take one more trip out west with him...eating lunch on top of Capulin Mountian...gazing at the mighty Tetons...sitting around a campfire while the entire universe of stars circled overhead...listening to John Denver as we drove along the wide open spaces of Wyoming...playing those road games to pass the time...him telling me "pull my finger" and knowing darn well what was going to happen next (but I did it anyway to get a good laugh).  I could go on and on.  All of this came crashing down on me with one simple phone call.  My life has never been the same.  By the time he passed away the fire inside me to travel (which had ALWAYS been there) was beginning to rise again.  I had taken several trips before then but that fateful day in April 2010 had turned my inner desire into a raging inferno.  Injecting "life in my years" took on a whole new meaning.  A month after his death I took a road trip and followed the path of the past to get to Colorado (I've posted about this trip previously - see entries from May 2010).  My personal life, however, has taken much longer to get back on track.  Another story for another day.  Fast forward to October 2012.  I knew that I would, as I have done for awhile now, leave town between Christmas and New Years.  One of the perks of my job is that we shut down during this time and that fits in just fine with my desire to travel.  I have recently taken a couple trips to Kentucky and Tennessee, which is unusual for me because my inner compass always points west when I'm planning a trip.  The areas out east are incredible, and I absolutely loved the adventures out there, my heart still aches for places in the west.  I knew I would head that way, but I know to plan and proceed with caution when going that way in the winter.  The weather in and near the mountains can be very unpredictable and dangerous this time of year.  With this in mind I began my search for places I wanted to go.  I knew for sure that I would follow the same route we have taken since our first trip in 1975 (for the first two days anyway).  I've blogged about Hwy 287 previously.  It calls to me like the ghosts call to Zak in Ghost Adventures (one of my favorite shows). During my research I found out there is a ghost town (which I LOVE) just a few miles off this main drag in Texas.  For so many years I've passed near this place and didn't know it existed.  Coincidently, it is near a natural feature in the topography that I always remembered seeing but never did any research on. Visible on the south side of the highway between Chillicothe and Quannah, Texas are 4 natural "mounds" in an otherwise pretty flat landscape.  I was alway curios but I never thought of this highway more than the path to greater things like Capulin Mountain and the Rockies of Colorado.  A quick review of the maps, some research on the town of Medicine Mound, Texas (on the website www.texasescapes.com) and I knew it was going to be a must stop.  Any town that has an abandoned gas station with old rusty pumps immediately goes up high on the list of must-sees.  But I also knew to get there with enough daylight to take pics, I would have to leave VERY early in the morning (traveling in winter to get pictures requires a lot more planning due to short days...ugh...cause I don't really like to plan out my trips that much!).  Every other day of the year I am not a morning person, but when I'm leaving for a trip, my alter ego kicks in.  Anyway, I didn't plan any other stops for day one because I knew it was going to be a very long day of driving. So I looked beyond day one and tried to figure out what to do once I got to Raton, New Mexico.  This city, which is just south of the Colorado border, had become a point where I had to make a decision based on the weather.  Heading north into Colorado requires going over Raton Pass which could close at a moments notice due to snowfall.  Leading up to the trip I had checked webcams at the top of the pass and have seen it completetly covered in snow.  So...wanting to survive this trip and not be found off the highway a month later living off of grass and drinking my own pee, I planned out two routes from Raton...one heading north into Colorado and then back east (on the backroads of course) through Kansas (I REALLY want to go to Dodge City!) and south back into Texas for the ride home.  The other heading south from Raton, cutting a path that would take me from the very north all the way south to the Mexican border (mostly backroads of course), then through El Paso and all of the nearly 900 miles of I-10 that would get me back to the Louisiana border.  Along both routes I had picked a few places to stop and see that I hadn't seen before.  I also chose mostly backroads and tried to stay clear of the interstates as much as possible (although that 900 miles through Texas would have taken me a lot longer on backroads, which I would have LOVED of course but time wouldn't allow this time).  So with plenty of internet time to look at Google Maps and various travel websites associated with Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas, the anticipation was driving me nuts!  I'm always ready to leave.  Knowing that I'm heading not only to places familiar, but those gems that I have yet to see, puts a smile on my face and an extra pep in my step.  I have to admit I get giddy sometimes...like Larry the Cable guy in a Bass Pro Shop.  As the day draws near for me to go, I start looking at the maps and do what I always do..."hmmm do I have enough time catch this too?  What if I take this road instead of that one? Should I get Obierto or Jack Links beef jerkey?  Do I have enought Lemonheads?".  In the end, because of this being a winter trip, I decided to pretty much stick to my route plan based on what the weather would hold for me.  This is a bit of a departure for me but I wanted to get the most out of the time I had.  In the last few days I had my camera gear ready and the truck detailed and spotless (which is one of the things I have to do before I go...clean truck and all my stuff neatly placed inside...needless to say neither one of those things stay that way for long).  I'm ready to go...can't hardly sleep the anticipation is like taking a caffiene pill while funneling coffee and a couple six packs of Red Bull.  This man is ready to add that extra life to his years...3:30 am comes early...and I'm READY!!