When I was a girl, my dad used to take us for Jeep rides. Many of you will remember the jeep, as well as the rides that earned it the nickname “Super Jeep.” It was a green sixty-something army jeep with a black soft top and removable doors. The back had two bench seats on each side, which pounded your rear end so badly my mom made flowered cushions to avoid bruised tailbones. It also had a roll bar…just in case.
Riding through the woods, in that jeep, was one of my all-time favorite things to do. It was like an adventure each time we climbed aboard. Never knew where we would end up, or how long it would take to get there. It always seemed to me we were blazing a new trail. Maybe there were roadbeds, but I don’t really remember. I do remember lots of bumps, stopping to put it in four wheel drive to get us out of places, and one time when dad made us get out because he thought it might roll over on the incline he was going to climb. I remember fording a river when the road ran out. I remember going down little dirt roads just to see where they went, and ending up lost in a different state by the time we got to a paved road. When my mom asked us what we wanted from the “estate” so she could put our name on it, I wanted the jeep. That was all.
I guess riding through the mountains and the woods has always seemed an adventure to me because of those long ago jeep rides. Tonight, when I was finished with my walk, I wasn’t ready to go home. It was a beautiful evening, and I decided just to ride and let my hair blow. Looking for some perspective I guess. Anyway, I ended up on a little dirt road winding through the mountains. The sign said it was 14 miles to the road I live off of. Because of my history with jeep rides, I know that 14 miles is a long way on a one lane, very curvy, dirt road. I checked my fuel, and the time to make sure daylight would not run out, and off I went. In my very own jeep. (Unfortunately it was not Super Jeep…he was sold long ago.) There were bumps, and hairpin turns but the scenery was beautiful, the temperature perfect. Black-eyed Susans, and Butterfly Weed lined the road and the rush of the Chattahoochee rose to meet my ears over the blowing wind. I went what was like forever…more than 14 miles it seemed to me…but I kept going because I knew it would end up close to home. Hahaha, I should have known better. Suddenly I came to a roadblock due to downed trees from the tornado. I was stuck at a dead end. No phone signal. I was NOT lost, because there is only one way in and one way out. I turned around and headed back the way I came. I was winding through the soon to be dark, with the lightning bugs beginning to make their appearances as the sky turned orange and pink above me. I had to smile then. Even laugh a bit. Thinking back to my childhood days, and ending up somewhere you were not expecting… but finding it was worth the journey.