Leaving before daybreak, I got past the Minneapolis area ahead of the rush-hour congestion. As I crossed into Wisconsin, I noticed there now was a little color in the sky. In the next half-hour the sun would rise through a light fog, a glowing red-orange ball surrounded by a misty gray sky. What had been a winter gloom was now transformed into a scene like a Japanese print, and a colorful one at that. Shades of pastel pinks, purples and oranges covered the landscape and the next couple hours passed rather quickly for me as I mentally took pictures while driving.
By the time I stopped for lunch in central Illinois, the sun had finally broken through the thin clouds and it had warmed up enough to where the snow was seriously melting. It was like one of those days at the end of winter when you finally know that spring can't be too far away. The afternoon went by as I drove further south and the sun got lower in the sky. It was not long after 4:30 when it dropped beneath the trees. Just before it set I passed by a lake, noting its orange reflections on the broken ice and the long shadows cast by woods on the far side.
Darkness fell before I left Illinois and the nighttime drive through Kentucky became unremarkable. I was really putting on the miles now towards the day's destination in Tennessee.
The next morning dawned clear as I left Nashville. An hour out, I crossed the Cumberland Plateau, a climb of several hundred feet, followed by an awesome descent. Coming down the grade I looked upon the spectacular vista of a large piece of the southern mountains spread before me. Row upon row of forested ridges filled my view, each one receding a little fainter into the distance.
Enjoying the view of springtime in the Appalachians, it seemed at this point that I had truly left winter behind.
The road through Georgia witnessed red clay and pines. It remained hilly and stayed so through Atlanta, even while driving past the office towers and corporate centers that make up so much of this bustling city. finally flattening out an hour or so below the city and, as I headed further south, the landscape opened up once more and I noticed there were fewer trees and more farmland.
It had become another long day on the road by now. The sky had grown dark before I reached the Florida border, and the rest of the drive into Jacksonville was spent in this silence.
After enjoying a great day in Jacksonville catching up with an old friend, I was back on the road for one more full day of driving. While it had been cloudy the day before, the overnight rains had cleared the sky. Heading south under a brilliant blue sky, I was now enjoying the legendary Florida winter that has lured snowbirds for at least three generations.
As much as I was enjoying the experience, after three days of travel I seemed to want to hurry up this process. Unless I seriously sped, it was going to take a full eight hours to get to, literally, the end of the road, and, if I stopped for lunch, I'd never make it before sunset. And, as much as I really wanted to be there before sundown, there were some downsides to pushing myself beyond the reasonable. Not paying attention to where I was and what I was experiencing was a most important one.
In the end, I chose to live deliberately, take the time needed to see where I was going and get there that much richer from the experiences gathered. While I didn't make Key West before the sun set, I did manage to get a great photo of "just another evening in paradise" only a few miles from my final stop. It's at the top if this blog.
After all, life isn't so much about the destination as the journey.
1 comment:
If I wanted to contact you about purchasing a print, what would be the best way to get in touch with you? Thanks!
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