Thoughts of a Sojourner

To say that 2025 has been tough would be a grand understatement. Life drastically changed February 21, 2025 when my bride went to be with Lord after her long, courageous battle with cancer. In the months that have followed, I have navigated the grieving process, battled a bout of depression and in the process have made some life changes. One thing is that I have continued to work on getting healthy which was a journey that started before Kim’s passing and still continues. To date, I have lost 110 pounds, gotten my Type 2 Diabetes totally under control and have gotten off all medications except for 2 (I was taking 5 or 6 meds in January). I increased the size of my backyard garden, built a greenhouse, a chicken pen, a chicken coop and of course now have my own backyard flock of chickens. One thing that I have done a lot of this year is travel especially over the last four months of this year. I sat down this evening and figured up my travel miles for the different trips this year which actually started in April and May with a couple trips to one of my aunt’s places in middle Tennessee where she owns a cabin next to creek. As the year wore on, I made decision to officially retire again in May and then begin to plan some trips. I sat down tonight and figured up my miles traveled just on road trips and one trip that included a flight out west just last week. The miles totaled 13,426 with 12,192 of those miles coming just since the 2nd week of September…lol. My trips included the aforementioned trips to the cabin, a couple trips to pick up John Patton & Molly (my grands for those that don’t know), another trip to North Carolina to see Lillian, Brandon, John and Molly, a couple days in the North Georgia mountains, a trip to Yellowstone/Grand Teton National Park, a beach trip, a trip to Maggie Valley, NC/Smokies/Ashville, NC and finally a trip out to Lake Tahoe, NV and California. The beach trip of course was a time of just enjoying the Florida gulf coast, good food and relaxation. My goal on the other trips, including those to pick up the grands was to experience some of the great natural wonders of this great country. On the second trip to pick up the grands, I went a couple days early and stayed in the North Georgia mountains before meeting to get the kids. I quickly found out that one of the hidden gems of the southeast U.S. were the mountains of North Georgia. I spent two days just riding a lot of narrow, two lane roads taking in the beauty of those majestic mountains. A couple weeks after this, I struck out across the country in a rental vehicle to mark a bucket list trip off. I set out for Yellowstone National Park. A lot of people asked me why I didn’t fly. The answer is real simple – I wanted to experience driving across the bread basket of this great nation. I wanted to see the sprawling farms of Kansas and Nebraska. I wanted to ride through the ever changing landscape that is Wyoming (by the way Wyoming tops the list of states I have traveled through). In Wyoming , you go from prairies, to desert and then mountains. I met one of my best friends, Shane Kirby, in Jackson, WY. For a couple days, we spent time together exploring the natural beauty of Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. The natural sites that I was able to experience were awe inspiring. From the mountains bigger than I ever imagined, the Continental Divide, the thermal pools that dotted the landscape, Old Faithful, the pristine rivers and streams, bison by the hundreds, mighty elk, bear, pronghorn antelope, eagles, gorges that seemed bottomless and waterfalls that thundered into deep canyons. After returning home, I would make a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which included staying in Maggie Valley, NC. I spent time riding across the mountains from Maggie Valley to Cherokee National Forest to Smokey Mountains National Park. Not only did I get to experience the views from the various overlooks, but was able to observe up close several herds of elk which were reintroduced to the park several years ago. In November, an unexpected opportunity came when again my friend Shane Kirby invited me out to meet him in Reno, NV and from there we would travel to South Lake Tahoe, California for 4 days. Again, this was another bucket list trip although I would fly to Reno rather than drive, but the drive and the trips in and around Tahoe and through the various passes over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range were things that must be experienced because pictures do not compare. Places like Donner’s Pass, Mount Rose Pass, Truckee , CA, looking out over Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe from the Mount Tallac overlook, exploring the old mining town of Virginia City, NV and even running across a wild horse which was pretty epic for this boy from Alabama. The gondola ride to the 10,000 foot summit of Mount Rose in South Lake was one of the greatest experiences in all my travels. We also were able to spend a half day on a guided fishing trip on Lake Tahoe where we filled our cooler with lake trout from the depths of Tahoe’s pristine, clear water. I could go on and on sharing each detail, but I will stop with the seemingly play by play of the trip. As I close out this blog entry, I do want to share maybe one of the greatest lessons I have learned from these travels, especially the ones out west. Some of the greatest joys from the trips was meeting a lot of people from across this great nation. I, like a lot of people, have primarily lived in the cocoon of the southeastern United States and had a lot of preconceived ideas about people from other regions of our country. These trips have taught me that in reality people are just people no matter if they are from Athens, AL, from a small town in Northern California, a crossroads town in Nebraska or Wyoming or even from other countries. I loved meeting these people from different regions and hearing their stories. I found out in a lot of cases they are, well, a lot like me! My travels have also caused me to stop appreciate a lot more the natural things we have in this great nation and to reevaluate my passion for how we as a country need to be vigilant about preserving and protecting these natural places from development, but rather leave them in their natural state to be enjoyed by the generations that follow. My plan, if the Lord allows, is to travel more this next year. One trip I am already planning to take is a week to travel the Blue Ridge Parkway to explore the Appalachian Mountains that make up the route along the Parkway. I am also considering a trip through the New England states which will include road tripping through Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and probably Upstate New York. I am thankful that I have been able to do these trips because they have helped tremendously in helping me navigate the loss of my bride. They have each seemed to come at just the right time when I needed to get away and clear my mind. I look forward to closing out this year because of the heartbreak, but I am also thankful that God has slowly helped me begin to rediscover joy in life these last months. I find peace in this joy because I know it is what Kim wanted for me and I know the joy that these experiences have brought is exactly she desired for me. I have enjoyed sharing these journeys with those that have followed my exploits on social media and now through taking time to read my ramblings through these blog entries.