Surprises

Half the fun of traveling is stumbling onto unexpected surprises.  While seeing iconic places, such as Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty, etc. are enjoyable; it felt as if we had already “experienced” them through years of exposure to their photographs.

It was the unanticipated happenings that were most enjoyable.  Moments such as the hundreds of fireflies blinking at us from the swamps in Louisiana; a huge thunderstorm billowing over us with its winds causing the tall green grasses of the rolling hills at Little Big Horn to dance; the appearance of 2 yearling moose at our campground who unpredictably encountered a black bear wandering onto the scene from the opposite direction, with them trying to decide who was most intimidating (surprisingly it was NOT us watching humans); the dank, dangerous, and claustrophobic feeling of an underground copper mine when the lights went out; driving by the 390.4 inch (that’s over 30 feet) record snow depth sign in Keweenaw County, Michigan; having a spectacular sunset suddenly explode out of an overcast sky in Utah; amusement at the realtors signs in New Orleans which specified if the property for sale was “haunted” or “not haunted” (seriously!), sitting in a prairie dog town watching the inhabitants amusing antics.

Even though we were gone for almost 60 days, we still felt like we rushed through some areas. I guess that just means there are more surprises waiting for us.