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By Editor Becky Watts
ZEBULON - I highly recommend taking a cross-country road trip. It's a chance to get a snapshot of America as you travel, and there are numerous opportunities to meet a lot of nice people. The sights that we got to see on our trip to Nebraska and back were almost as fun as the adventures that we had with friends and family out west.
Some of the memorable sights that we saw along the way included roadside tributes to those who lost their lives along the highways, crosses in memory of the babies who are aborted every day along with information for those who find themselves in need of help with an unexpected pregnancy, the "MODOT Sucks" sign put up along Highway 60 by someone who was obviously unhappy with the Missouri Department of Transportation, and the numerous American flags flying proudly in the breeze. And the number of campaign signs declaring that their candidates were worthy of election--and some even "NRA endorsed"--were everywhere.
It was obvious as we drove that much of the South and Middle America was suffering from the high temperatures and drought conditions. Many trees were dry and crispy along the way. Some were even dying along the road. We saw farmers bringing in their hay out of the field in order to sell it as well as fields of corn without irrigation where the farmers had to be praying for rain on corn that was drying up before their eyes.
There were more small businesses than you could imagine. And we saw first-hand that business in America would not exist without our trains and our truckers who carry products all over the nation through our system of interconnected roads and highways.
Some of the great people that we met along the road included Beth at the Exit 14 River Road Texaco in Hamilton, Alabama, the folks at the Gunsmoke Travelpark west of Dodge City, the Iraqi Freedom Veteran with two Great Danes at the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, Missouri, the gas station owner in middle Missouri who was running his gas station/video store/car repair/ convenience store on a cash only basis, people visiting from Las Vegas at the Dalton Brothers Hideout in Kansas as well as the nice lady running the Hideout, and the veteran at the first gas station in Nebraska who handed a fellow veteran a help bracelet in case he needed it or came across someone who needed that hotline number. I even saw a Kimberly King for Senate sign in Kansas that gave me a chuckle as I thought of my friend who has never thought of running for office around here.
We even caught a glimpse of the devastation left behind by tornadoes as we traveled the interstate. It was eerie to see the broken matchstick trees and abandoned houses in the fading daylight in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Branson and Joplin, Missouri are still cleaning up over a year later too. It reminded me of Sunnyside and Barnesville and where the trees are just gone along I-75 as you travel to Macon. The destruction of a tornado is hard to miss once you have seen it up close and personal. A prayer was said for those who were still picking up the pieces and living their lives the best they can after the storms as we continued on our way.
Here are a few observations that I gained as we traveled across the country. Sunflower seeds should be dipped in anything but salt. There are a lot of classic rock and roll and 70's and 80's stations across the Midwest. Wind and solar power are being harnessed out west in a big way. There is nothing as sweet as the smell of rain in a drought-stricken area. And, to steal a phrase from Dorothy, there is no place like home.
We thoroughly enjoyed time with friends and family even though it is never long enough. It was our first trip out west in nine years, and there is nothing like watching our kids play with cousins from all over the country and as far away as New Zealand as we all converged in one place for the Fourth of July family celebration. Fishing, hanging out, laughing, visiting new places, and just spending time together made for an awesome vacation to the nation's heartland.
I highly recommend a road trip to somewhere new along the highways and byways. A trip to a state park, hiking in the mountains, climbing in the Little Grand Canyon, visiting waterfalls or caves in surrounding states, and then going to vacation destinations even farther away than Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina. The sights that you can see on the road may be just as fun as the destination when you reach it!
