Long Haul

Inspirational song: Drivin' All Night Long (Bruce Robison)

I really didn't want Mr Smith-Park to be right. He predicted that this drive would take 36 hours. I wanted to be more optimistic and say 30, figuring that with relief drivers it would go much smoother. Oh, how wrong I was. In fact, at this rate, if we roll into the Denver metro area at dawn, even his estimate would be generous. I didn't count on how poorly I sleep in moving vehicles (essentially not sleeping at all), how much my feet would swell (making it extremely difficult to push on the pedals), or how much slower I drive than he does. He goes fast enough that this pickup rolls and bucks like an oscillating ocean liner. I go slow enough that I have a hard time changing lanes when I have to pass slower trucks. As the sun started to set, we saw those depressing signs on I-70, showing more than 400 miles of Kansas in front of us. Around two thirds of the trip is behind us at this point, and one awful night lies ahead.

The cats are really suffering, and I can't pretend I'm not extra worried about Jackie. Of all of them, only she has refused to drink even a sip of water. The vet already told us to address her urinary tract health. This is stress she does not need. None of them do, really. I just have to make this night pass quickly.

This trip hasn't been without a few redeeming moments. As I took my overnight shift in Tennessee, somewhere around 2 am, I was thrilled to see dozens of fireflies in the mountains between Chattanooga and Nashville. I have been heartbroken that the thick swarms of lightning bugs from my youth have become glimpses of creatures as rare as unicorns now. And the dogs have been big hits at rest areas, when their papa walks them around. Everyone asks about Murray when they see his wheelchair.

Several times over the years, we have pretended that when the kids moved out, we'd translate our experience with so many cross-country drives into buying a big rig and being long haul truckers in our retirement years. Then we remember that we live with animals and that driving this long and hard sucks. Then we forget that silly idea and go back to our plans of living happily in the mountains. We will be there soon. We just have to drive all night long.