Safely Home! Today, in looking back over "roleerob's excellent adventure," I know lifetime memories have been created in my "Road to Recovery" trip here in the western United States. For ease of reference in the future, I would like an "Executive Summary" post to link back to, as needed. Perhaps, dear reader, you might enjoy one as well ... 😉
In thinking about the path forward, in the "next chapter" of my life, I think it will be helpful. There are many possibilities on the horizon. I think, though, in staying "grounded," we benefit from looking back and with that gain some perspective on future decisions.
Just taking the (considerable) time to put the "lead image" above together has helped me reach a deeper appreciation for what I probably already know, but haven't necessarily wanted to think about. And what is that you may ask?
It is very unlikely I will have the opportunity to take a trip like this again.
Whenever you have these types of opportunities in life, dear reader, if at all possible you don't want to let them go. You just can never know whether they will ever "come your way" again.
Where It All Began
This recap post will be focused primarily on linking to previous posts where many of the questions and answers, some of my reflections, etc. have already been "poured out" ...
I will simply supply a few "highlight" comments, for those of my readers who may not know about any of these individual posts. Hopefully this will provide them sufficient info to help them decide whether they might be of interest.
- Note: This post has been designed so that clicking on the post's lead image, as well as the post title link above it, will take you to the post.
So ... Where it all began ... "This story" begins with my resolute determination to get away from the unreasonably (key word) stressful environment where I was employed. The following post has all of the details ...
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- Day 0 - Saturday, 1 December 2018 - Reflections: My "Road to Recovery" Trip
"Plan your work and work your plan!" Here you will find the beginning - the outline of my plans and, more importantly, why ...
Image Source: Pixabay
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As part of a final decision to "relive some special memories" and to "create some new ones," I had decided to revisit where my professional career began - Tucson, Arizona. First, I had to get there ...
- Day 1 - Monday, 21 January 2019 - Ribeye, Colorado
On Day One, a great example of why I needed to "slow down" and not rush past opportunities.
Photo: "Town" of Ribeye, Colorado 😉
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The next day, I drove down into Arizona and "
American Southwest
One of many attributes of America is the great variety of landscapes you can experience. They each have their own special "flavor" making them distinctive from the rest. Very true of the American Southwest, the "heart" of which might be considered Arizona.
Arizona is a huge state that many associate with its vast deserts. In particular, the images of the Sonora Desert, with its saguaro cactus come to mind. While that is where most of the people live, more than half the state is to the north. On the way south to Tuscon and the Sonora Desert then, I had the opportunity to visit some new country ...
- Day 2 - Tuesday, 22 January 2019 - Navajo Nation and Canyon de Chelly
Making my way into the Great Southwest, in the "dead of winter," I created a new memory - in subzero temperatures ...
Photo: Looking down into Canyon de Chelly and out to the West
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- An upvote from ɹoʇɐɹnƆ pɐW ǝɥ┴! 😊
's Exponential! C² Featured Posts - January 24, 2109!
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- Day 3 - Wednesday, 23 January 2019 - Mogollon Rim, Copper Belt, and Sonora Desert
Going back in time, to the beginning of my career, I descended down through the Mogollon Rim, into the Sonora Desert and on into Tucson, Arizona.
Photo: South of Superior along Hwy 77 to Mt. Lemon and Tucson
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- Day 4 - Thursday, 24 January 2019 - Catalina State Park in Tuscon, Arizona
Recreated a special memory spent with my firstborn child, along a rare flowing stream in the Sonora Desert.
Photo: Pool in Romero Canyon, Catalina State Park
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- Day 5 - Friday, 25 January 2019 - Baboquivari, Sacred Peak in Arizona
Again, traveling back in time, revisited the site of one of the most strenuous single days of my life - climbing and descending Baboquivari, in one day.
Photo: Crested Caracara Watches Over Access to Baboquivari
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- Day 5 - Friday, 25 January 2019 - Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona
Revisited the very remote southwest corner of Arizona, to see the Organ Pipe cactus again.
Photo: Organ Pipe Cactus
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- Upvote from ɹoʇɐɹnƆ pɐW ǝɥ┴! 😊
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After a long Day 5, I spent the night in Yuma, Arizona, on the border with Arizona and California. My time in the American Southwest was over and I was heading to the ocean. What a contrast! Could there be a bigger one? 😊
Pacific Coast of California
To reach the ocean, I first had to get by a massive sand dune and then across a portion of the Mohave Desert of California.
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- Day 6 - Saturday, 26 January 2019 - Reaching the Ocean
On a transition day, I traveled through one of the hottest parts of the United States, below sea level at times, to reach the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: Imperial Sand Dunes of the Mohave Desert of California
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- Upvote from
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- Upvote from ɹoʇɐɹnƆ pɐW ǝɥ┴! 😊
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- Day 7 - Sunday, 27 January 2019 - Sabbath Rest and Morro Bay, California
Experienced a wonderful "reset" day, on the Sabbath, to "slow down" even more, in preparation for a week along the Pacific Coast of California.
Photo: Famous Morro Rock of Morro Bay, California
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- Day 8 - Monday, 28 January 2019 - Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California
Recreated a visit, 40 years earlier, to the greatest example of wealth and power I have ever experienced.
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Source: California State Parks - Hearst Castle
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- Day 9 - Tuesday, 29 January 2019 - Monterey Peninsula of California
Revisited one of the most beautiful instances, where land meets the sea, on earth.
Photo: Looking South at Carmel Bay
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- Day 10 - Wednesday, 30 January 2019 - Redwood Hill Farms and Sonoma County, California
"Brought to life" a long-held desire to visit the source of one of my most important dietary products. Which helped with my full recovery from grave illness in 2009 to overall fine health today ...
Photo: Wonderful Goats of Redwood Hill Farms
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- Upvote from ɹoʇɐɹnƆ pɐW ǝɥ┴! 😊
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- Day 10 - Wednesday, 30 January 2019 - Sonoma Coast State Park of California
Created a new memory, in the 2nd half of this special day, seeing a spectacular section of the Pacific Coast of California.
Photo: Sonoma Coast of California
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- Day 11 - Thursday, 1 February 2019 - Mendocino, California
Created a new memory, seeing an even more spectacular section of the Pacific Coast of California.
Photo: View from the Main Street of Mendocino, California
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- Day 12 - Friday, 2 February 2019 - Redwood Forests of Northern California
Created a new memory, both walking and driving under these magnificent trees - the tallest, as well as some of the oldest, on the face of the earth.
Photo: Redwood Forest on Trillium Falls Trail
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To begin Day 12, I took my last pictures of the Pacific Ocean, in stormy wintry weather conditions. By the end of Day 12, I had left the Pacific Coast of California and was in Grants Pass, Oregon. On into the Pacific Northwest!
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest, in many ways, is my favorite part of the country. Our immediate family has a lot of history tied to it, although most of us no longer live there. This trip revived many memories and stirred thoughts of perhaps living there again, at some point in the future.
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- Day 13 - Saturday, 3 February 2019 - Rogue River Gorge in Oregon
Experiencing another great example of why I need to "slow down" and not rush past opportunities.
Photo: Rogue River Falls in Roger River Gorge, Oregon
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- Day 13 - Saturday, 3 February 2019 - Crater Lake National Park in Oregon in Winter ...
Created a new memory, trying to reach one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. In the "dead of winter" ...
Photo: was here! Almost ...
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- Day 20 - Saturday, 9 February 2019 - Oregon Scenic Byway to Pendleton
After a few great days with my siblings at Sunriver Resort in Oregon, I was off to a little town I had long heard of, but only "whizzed by" on the freeway, in the past.
The town? Pendleton, Oregon. The focus? Their famous woolen mills and the products made from wool.
To get there, I drove through a very interesting part of the State of Oregon, which I had never seen before this trip.
Photo: Mount Bachelor near Bend, Oregon. As Viewed from Sunriver Resort.
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- Day 21 - Sunday, 10 February 2019 - The Blue Mountains and the Palouse
On a bad wintry day, drove through part of one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States.
Image Source: Pixabay
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- Day 23 - Tuesday, 12 February 2019 - Lewiston, Idaho and the Famous Lewis & Clark Expedition
With a slight improvement in the winter weather, I took advantage of the opportunity to drive up Lewiston's "Spiral Highway" to capture some images of this historic area.
For some needed perspective, on this and future posts, I have provided the Steem blockchain with a brief overview of some famous early American history.
Photo: Confluence of the Clearwater (Left) and Snake (Top) Rivers
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- Day 25 - Thursday, 14 February 2019 - Saint Maries, Idaho and Lake Couer 'd Alene
In an unplanned portion of the trip, I decided to take the slow "road less traveled" route up through the central part of the panhandle of Idaho to the southern end of one of the most beautiful lakes in the country - Lake Couer 'd Alene. And the historic little town nestled there along the banks of the St. Joe River - Saint Maries, Idaho.
Photo: Mural in the Little Town of Saint Maries, Idaho
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- Day 27 - Saturday, 16 February 2019 - Palouse Scenic Byway and Farmington, Washington
Having always had a deep respect for the farming way of life, I enjoyed a special day, on "the road less traveled" down through the eastern edge of the Palouse Region of Washington. Near the border with the State of Idaho. In winter ...
Photo: Entering Tekoa, Washington on the Palouse Scenic Byway
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- Day 29 - Monday, 18 February 2019 - Northwest Passage Scenic Byway. In winter ...
The Lewis & Clark Expedition came down through this country, on their journey to find the best way to the Pacific Ocean, in 1805 and returned back up through here in 1806.
On a wintry day in February 2019 - over two hundred years later -
Photo: Wintry Day on Clearwater River on U.S. Highway 12 East of Orofino, Idaho
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As detailed in this last post, late on Day 29, I crossed Lolo Pass into Montana. And, with that crossing, I left the Pacific Northwest. On the "home stretch" of my "excellent adventure," I was back in the Rocky Mountain West ...
Rocky Mountain West
While I wrote above that the Pacific Northwest is perhaps our family's favorite part of the country, I have spent more years of my life in the Rocky Mountain West. Over my remaining "number of days," it is an open question whether we will remain in this region or move back to the Pacific Northwest.
Barring some unknowable circumstance in the future, one or the other of these two regions is most likely where I will spend the rest of my life.
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- Day 30 - Tuesday, 19 February 2019 - Big Hole Valley in Montana. In winter ...
On the "home stretch" of my trip, woke up to subzero temperatures and snow with low cloud cover, but pressed on through a step back in time into this remote and historic valley in Montana.
Photo: Big Hole Valley, Montana
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- Day 31 - Wednesday, 20 February 2019 - Final Day - "Home Stretch" in Wyoming
Waking up again to subzero temperatures and snow with low cloud cover, I knew this would be my last day "out on the road." No matter what ...
Photo: Hoback River in Wyoming
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Thankfully and blessedly, I arrived safely back home toward the end of Day 31. There's an old saying, at least here in America, "there's no place like home."
Yep, no doubt about that! 😊
Gratitude and Paying It Forward
One of my earliest posts on the Steem blockchain - Observations: Gratitude and the Simple Things - was on my mind, as my "road to recovery" trip came to an end. I combined that with one of my favorite sayings ...
"When all is said and done, a lot more is said than done ..."
... and made a decision to do something, instead of just think about it. Which resulted in the following post:
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- Safely Home - Tuesday, 26 February 2019 - Gratitude and Paying It Forward
I elected to reinvest whatever "profit" I had received from my R2R posts back into the Steemisphere, i.e. "back into the business."
By rewarding the communities and individuals who had contributed the most significantly to them ...
Image Source: Pixabay
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I would like to take the opportunity here to express my appreciation again for the amazing diversity of talent we "see" all around us on the Steem blockchain. Without the combined efforts of many of these gifted Steemians, e.g. 
Postscript on "Road to Recovery" Trip
Tying up some "loose ends" in this "executive summary" (uhhh ... right
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The Little Truck That Could
It would not be right to wrap up my "road to recovery" trip recap without mentioning my little truck. From four-wheeling in the rugged Mogollon Rim of Arizona, across the very rough roads to the base of Baboquivari, through way too many snowstorms, it just ran and ran and ran ... 👌 Without fail! 👍
A lot of history has been covered in these posts. And in our history books and in the "good ole" days, we read a man was heavily dependent upon a good horse.
Well ... Here's my horse! 😉
My great little 2003 4 X 4 Ford Ranger just turned over 150,000 miles, as I was getting close to home. Once back home, I have taken it in for a "check-up" and it was pronounced "fit" and ready to go again! 👍
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Perceived Value
Even a casual "passerby" would hopefully recognize and appreciate that I have put a lot of work into these posts. In so doing, as would presumably be the natural tendency of most of us, I have my own thoughts on which of them are "masterpieces" ... 😉 ... and which are "not so much" ...
So ... Of course my "masterpieces" got a correspondingly higher amount of Steem support than my "not so much" posts. Right? 😧 Yes, well ...
Some time ago, I wrote about this in my “Flying Start” post - in the "understanding perceived value" portion of the "adding value to the Steem blockchain" section. It is just part of life. It was a helpful reminder for me, to keep my efforts "in here" in perspective ...
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There's No Place Like Home
Safely back home for a few days now, I have been asked more than once about the experience. And what new insights I might have about the "next chapter" of my life. I will most likely be writing future posts about those reflections, so I don't have anything more to say on that right now.
But, I thought I would end this post with one thing I know for certain. As much as I enjoyed my time "out on the road," I was definitely ready to come back home. As much as I will never forget the "adventure," I am not a "nomad" at heart.
The Steem blockchain has an enthusiastic traveling community and many of them appear to be "professional" travelers. My hat is off to them and I enjoy "seeing through their eyes" whatever part of the world they may be bringing to us. In my own small way, I have a contributed somewhat to their efforts.
It saddens me a bit, feeling as though the last six weeks has brought me closer to a new group of Steemians, to realize I cannot realistically expect that to continue. That is, I will not be able to continue making contributions to that part of our Steem community, from my "comfy chair" in my home ... 😞
That said, I am thankful for the "time we had" and I will do what I reasonably can with my stake, to be supportive in the future.
Conclusion of "Road to Recovery" Travelogue Series
In finishing this "executive summary" post, it is has really helped me reinforce the scope of the undertaking to even consider a trip like this. Over a span of about six months, it went from initial conception, to detailed planning, to execution.
In 31 days, I drove 4,984 miles through a part of 8 states - Colorado, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. I recreated some special memories, as well as experienced some new ones - starting in the American Southwest, then out to the Pacific Coast of California, up into the Pacific Northwest, and back home in the Rocky Mountain West.
In bringing the original vision for what "might be" to life, I have a renewed appreciation for the natural wonder of this world and all that has been created in it. As well, I have renewed my respect for the rich diversity of this great country which has reminded me of what I wrote in one of my original Steem posts - Observations: Gratitude and the Simple Things:
"The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me."
For whatever remains of my "number of days," I have been blessed with this wonderful opportunity to relive and create lifetime memories. And the posts about this trip "immutably enshrined" on our Steem blockchain will always be part of them. Thank you for going along with me, dear reader, on "
Until "next time," all the best to you for a better tomorrow, as we all work together to build our Steem Community! 👍 😊
Posted using SteemPeak and “immutably enshrined in the blockchain” on Friday, 1 March 2019!
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- Image sources, unless otherwise noted: My trusty smartphone!
