The wind has a snap of cold now and sadly we make our plans to head south and east. I say sadly because this year, as in our first year of travel, the west is burning and a portion of the south has been destroyed by hurricane Laura. We need to make travel arrangements in an increasingly dangerous and changing environment. We are heading home through fire…again.
California 2018
In 2018 we were trapped between the California Ferguson and Carr fires. Interstate 5 was closed to traffic. We waited while the Smoke Jumpers and Fire Fighters valiantly fought to contain the raging flames and protect lives and property. It was a scary situation. Waiting. Keeping tabs on the fire and making plans to get out safely when the green light was given.
We did make it out safely but the carnage was heartbreaking to drive through. The dead and dying wildlife that had tried to run for their lives. The beautiful forests, reduced to char on either side of the road. Saved homes appeared like islands within the black. These visions remain in our heads to this day. And when we passed through the same section of Interstate 5 the following year, were distressed to see how slowly recovery is taking place. Old growth forest takes more than one of our lifetimes to come back.
Route Home Through Fire
It is with a very heavy heart that this year we find ourselves in the same situation. So we cancel reservations. Take a longer route around. Hope that the fire doesn’t reach us on the new roads chosen. Hope that we make it to our next stop along the way home.
We have never been privileged to visit one of the forests that is burning. Our Google map is full of pins along the ribbon of highway that runs through it. Of things to do and see. Hot springs, hikes, waterfalls and noteworthy landscape. All places we had hoped to get to one day.
Lost Forever
All this destruction makes me think about how fleeting our lives are. My childhood playgrounds are gone. The Cedar Key sand spit, swimming in Lake Catherine on a hot summer day, pastures and woods that I played in are lost to construction and growth. And I have a medical condition that still threatens, though the threat is softer now. After all this destruction, caused by Mother Nature, human carelessness, there will be more that no one — but especially our beautiful granddaughter, Harper — will ever see and experience again in this lifetime.
It is true that you never know what is just around the corner of your life. Too much can change in a heartbeat. So, my friends, drink life up. Quit worrying about how nice your car is or how big your house, whether you have designer clothes or a fancy boat, or a purebred pet. These ‘things’ are not what matter to happiness. Experience everything you can, now. Use every opportunity you have to experience life. Be kind because we all need it. Consider how your actions may be affecting the environment we all need to survive and how your words may be affecting someone you love.
Too soon, what you would like to do, meant to do, dreamed about doing, but didn’t, can all go up in flames. There won’t be a home through fire.
Till next week…..
Always Grateful 👫
Post Script. I wrote this blog post before we left the PNW while making our plans to get out and home. We have since safely made it to Las Vegas where the smoke from those awful fires clouds the air. The sentiment expressed in this post was further solidified as we made our way through some very awful sights and yet another hurricane has devastated the South. Thank you to all the firefighters and first responders who keep us safe and everyone who kept us in their thoughts and prayers.