One week down the road.
One week into this adventure.
One week of seeing new places.
One week of marveling at creation.
One week of learning.
One week outside my comfort zone.
It has flown by and also possibly been the longest week of my life. Isn’t it strange how those two sensations can exist in the same moment? (I have this running theory that time probably doesn’t move at a constant rate… we don’t need to get into that here.) We’ve seen a whole lot of sights in this first week! How about a rundown?
Monday: We left home around noon, headed south, and arrived at our great aunt and uncle’s house in Ames, Iowa in time for a relaxed evening of conversation and dinner. We saw a killer sunset while driving, but that’s the extent of our views for day one.
Tuesday: We headed south from Ames, aiming for the St. Louis, Missouri area. We took one stop along the way to peek at the American Gothic house in Eldon, Iowa. That was a quaint and quick stop that I’d suggest to anyone driving through Iowa. If for no other reason, then to break up the monotony of corn, corn, soybean, corn, corn. We caught a glimpse of St. Louis as we drove past the city. Our campsite was in Belleville, Illinois, just over the state line from the city. Tonight’s campsite was found through an organization called Boondockers Welcome. If you’re looking for cheap camping and have a “fully self-contained” camper, look into Boondockers Welcome! We are loving it so far!
Wednesday: City day!! We likely won’t do much in the big cities. We are more into the outdoors and wide open country. But, neither of us had been to St. Louis before, so we made a day of it. As the good tourists that we are, we headed straight for the Gateway Arch. It did not disappoint. We were BLOWN AWAY. What a phenomenally huge and dazzling structure! If you get the chance to go see the arch, definitely take the tram to the top. It’s a little on the spendy side, but we felt that it was absolutely worth the cost for the education, the experience, and the views. We also took the riverfront cruise (one of the ticket packages at the museum ticket office.) That was lovely and very informative, but maybe not quite so much worth the price as the tram up the arch. It was, however, a great way to learn about the city’s
history and livelihood and see some of the most important
places without driving those bonkers downtown streets. We also bopped over the St. Louis Union Station but found that there wasn’t much there. Some nice restaurants and some neat activities inside, but nothing that really piqued our interest. So, we walked around the pavilion, tried to imagine what it might have been like when it was truly the “Gateway to the West,” then headed back to our campsite.
Thursday: Today we headed down into southern Missouri, to the Mark Twain National Forest. We had our sights set on a dispersed campground near Winona, Missouri and it did not disappoint!
We drove into the campground and the unreal beauty and grandeur of the opposite riverbank had me belly laughing in excitement. Is this really where I get to stay? Is this really my adventure? After our fastest setup yet, we took a short hike down the riverbank and were blessed with even grander views. For this Minnesota girl, even the smallest hint of mountains is a marvel and just the sweetest treat to my eyes (and my heart). The foothills of the Ozarks did the trick! We froze our toes in the river, skipped some rocks, smashed at least as many rocks, and returned to our campsite with more burrs stuck to our pants than should be legal.
Friday: Hike day!! It’s crazy to me that it took five days for us to get out on the trail, but we’d been busy, busy, busy! Our first hike took us on a segment of the Ozark Trail starting at the spectacularly climbable Rocky Falls and took us about three miles upriver to Klepzig Mill. We had a bit of a challenge keeping track of the trail, probably for two reasons. 1: we like to climb the rocks and bound up the riverbed like some
sort of hiking Spiderman. 2: the fall leaves were very deep on the ground, covering what was likely a well-established trail. I highly suggest this hike, whether you like to stick to the trail or not. It ends at an old sawmill perched above some falls. Well worth the trek. (Side note: the rock flats at the top of the falls make for a great trail Ramen making zone.) We saw what we assumed to be a small herd of wild horses on the hike back to the trailhead, which, of course, delayed us significantly and had us arriving at the vehicle just before dusk. That chilly evening was spent in the camper, eating soup and reading, as we were too tired to battle the wind for an enjoyable campfire.
Saturday: Another travel day (mostly). Today’s drive brought us down into Arkansas! This is my first time in AR and so far, I’m a big fan! Driving through the Ozarks from Missouri to Arkansas, I just couldn’t get enough of the views! As the mountains grew taller across the Arkansas state line, my mountain-loving heart soared! And how about those switchbacks? (You can congratulate me for handling those mountain roads like a pro with almost no previous trailer driving experience.) Saturday night’s campsite was in the yard of the kindest Boondockers Welcome hosts. They were so generous and welcoming! We almost stayed two nights just to get to know them better! After getting set up, we went for a stroll by the nearby lake. The giant, rolling hills covered in brightly colored leaves couldn't have been more beautiful. After exploring the lakeshore for a bit, we headed down to Norfork to eat at PJ's White River Lodge & River Run Restaurant. Yum! If you’re in the Mountain Home/Norfork area, this is a great place to grab a bite!
Sunday: We joined our hosts at their church in Mountain Home. The church, Real Life Church, was alive with intentional community, engaged worship, and such a sense of The Holy Spirit. It was a refresh and reset after this first week of fast-paced travel and adventure. I left there with deep gratitude for all that the Lord is doing in me through this journey. After church, our hosts helped up with some car issues. They very well may have saved our butts in a big way and we are SO thankful!! We had quite a time booking a place to park our rig on Sunday night, finding that most of the campsites in our target areas were closed for the season, too expensive, or fully booked. Yikes. In the midst of stressfully searching, I asked the Lord to guide us to whatever He had next for us. And whuddya know? He did just that! God is cool like that. We broke camp in record time and headed southwest to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Jasper, Arkansas. We were absolutely awestruck as we bumped our way down the horribly maintained gravel drive. The canyon ranchlands sprawled out in front of us, dotted with horses and goats and rustic ranch buildings. And we get to stay here?? Wow. After setting up camp, we wandered out to
explore the ranch. We met a sweet mare on the plateau and some goats up in the boulder field. Funny story: Isaac and I both found that all we wanted to do for the rest of the evening was just sit and watch the goats. We figure it must be something akin to eating comfort food or snuggling your favorite blanket. The goats felt familiar and cozy and home-like. (kiss the goats at home please, mom?) We found a tiny mountain (and I mean tiny) to climb just before sunset and it turned out to be the perfect spot to watch the colors grow and fade. If I had to choose one word for this place it would be “serenity.” Perfect.
So that’s what our first week looked like. Sounds pretty amazingly perfect, right? Well, there’s always more to the story. If I can be super honest here (And I can. This is my blog, ya know?), I’ve been struggling big-time with anxiety. Through this year of challenge and change, I’ve worked hard to face those situations that trigger my anxiety. I’ve renewed my identity in my Creator and given all my anxious thoughts over to Him. I’ve grown and developed into someone I didn’t think I could be. Praise God! Then time started ticking on departure. I’ve been a messy wad of anxiety since a couple of weeks before we left and this first week on the road has only increased the levels. I’ve been so frustrated with myself, with my mind and emotions. How dare I let Old Abigail show up and take the joy out of these hikes, these campsites, these views, these adventures? She’s not welcome. But how do I get her out of my head?
My sweet best friend gave me some valuable insight and perspective: I’d learned to manage and rationalize through those moments of anxiety in all of my familiar places: work, home, friends, grocery stores I know, a church I love, etc. But now I’m out here, not only away from all that is familiar but looking to tackle a lifestyle that is pretty far outside my sphere of experience. Of course I’m going to have to resituate some of my thoughts. This is uncomfortable, this is challenging, this is exhausting. This is good. But it’s taking some work. The past couple of days have been much more peaceful as I remember to have grace for myself and find the blessings among the stressors.
I’ve also realized that I’ve put a boatload of pressure on myself to make this journey amazing, perfect, all-encompassing, etc., etc., etc.
We must see everything, get everywhere, hike every hike, meet every person.
Do.
All.
The.
Things.
Seems impossible.
Better go home.
Panic, panic, panic.
Whoa, hold on.
Is this trip about the Instagram-worthy hike destinations or the navigation skills gained while trying to find our way back to the trail? Is this season about the great words on my blog or about the growth I’ve experienced in living these stories? Is this trip about feeling kick-butt because I did freaking climb that waterfall, or is it about realizing that my Creator has made me capable, in so many ways, of so much more than I ever knew? (answer key: it’s the second option every time.)
Another sweet friend of mine suggested some great questions to ask myself in the midst of overwhelm. “Do I need to be panicking right now? Is this going to help anything? Is this really how I want to handle this situation?” The answer is no. Every time. And while it’s not always just that easy to snap out of it, those questions are a great reminder to focus on God. Do I need to be panicking right now? No, because God is with me. Is this going to help anything? No, it’ll just distract me from God’s provision. Is this really how I want to handle this? No, because I am reclaimed, redeemed, and healed and I’m equipped and protected by my Jesus!
It’s a work in progress, but so am I! There's a whole lot of story yet to be written.
So, this turned out to be a really long blog post! Not a bad way to start, if you ask me. It’s been a crazy week chocked full of goodness and challenge and laughter and stress and beautiful views and chilly nights and good food and zero showers. There is so much more to come!! Thanks so much for tagging along! For more regular updates, follow us on Instagram @daring_dawdlers or find our Daring Dawdlers page on Facebook.
Until next time!