Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1132684
For many years Carol and I had been thinking of traveling around the coun- try. Both of us enjoy the oceans, mountains, forests, visiting friends and family, and making new friends. We're not restless and we enjoy being at home; but in our individual childhoods, our parents traveled a lot so traveling is in our blood. But leaving home for a year? Hmmmmmm. I didn't think I was ready for something like that. We had looked at trailers, both pull-behind and fifth- wheel, but I kept putting it off as I waited for the right time. As I was discussing the possibility with Ron, our oldest son, he finally said, "Dad, you and mom have been talking about some - thing like this since I was a kid. You are in your early 70s, and if you don't take the trip now, you'll never do it." He was right. So, in 2017 after mom graduated to heaven, we began seriously looking at RVs. We narrowed the field to Springdale RV in Tontitown, which is only 18 miles from home; and after an hour of going back-and- forth between three rigs, we settled on one. "By the way, what's the model number of this trailer, Jeff?" The salesman said, "Let's step outside and look." I looked at the insignia on the side of the trailer and said a long, "Ooooooooh my," and goose-bumps grew all over my arms. The model number is 200 VML. My mother's name is Verna May Linzey. Yes, we bought it. The maiden voyage I was chaplain of the USS Yorktown CV-5 Survivor's Club, and the next reunion would be held in Young Harris, Ga. I decided to take the trailer there for its maiden voyage. But that simple one-week trip grew like a dry sponge grows when you put water on it. Carol said, "As long as we'll be in North Georgia, we'll be halfway to Wash - ington, D.C. I'd like to visit the new Bible Museum." "Well," I countered, "As long as we'll be in D.C., Gettysburg is only 85 miles north. I want to visit the battlefield again." "Okay; as long as we'll be in Gettysburg, let's go to Niagara Falls. We've never been there." And so that trip quickly took shape. We got out the maps and began plotting, planning, and phoning. After the Yorktown Re - union, we visited the Shenandoah Valley and read about the Blue and the Gray armies in 1863 as they trudged up towards Gettysburg. More on that in a minute. We spent May 11, Carol's birthday, in the Bible Mu - seum. If you'd like to learn more about the history of the Bible, about the men who put it together, and about the persecution, torture, and martyrdom they suffered, I heartily recommend a visit to this museum. We then went to Get - tysburg. Starting in fifth grade, I've studied the Civil War (also called War of Northern Aggression, War Between the States, War of Separation, War of Southern Independence, and more), and I cringe at the hell they all endured in the various battles. Both Blue and Gray sides had devoted Christians and former slaves fighting for them. I could write a book on this, but we'll move on. We enjoyed the drive to Niagara, N.Y. Neither of us had seen the Falls before, and we had a difficult time finding words to describe our experience. But I can say: It was astounding! Staying for three days, I took 810 pictures of the Falls and surrounding area (I don't know how many hundred Carol took), and I'm thankful for digital photography. Returning home, we be - gan gearing up for the lon- ger part of the trip. Before we left, one friend asked, "Are you really planning on living in that 20-foot trailer for a whole year?" "Oh no. We plan on liv - ing in it only one day at a time." "We'll see how non- chalant you are after two months." And we laughed. That reminded me of the 1954 comedy The Long, Long Trailer starring Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, and I wondered what kind of problems we might have. But Carol is more logical than Lucy, and I am less emotional than Desi, so we should be okay. I could have been ner - vous about leaving home for a year; but we were confident that with Dennis and Deborah Eben living in the house and taking care of it while theirs was being built, we would have no worries. Off we go Leaving the house in late afternoon of July 30, we stopped in Oklahoma City to see our kids, then got to the RV park in Weatherford, Okla., after midnight. In the morning, we were surprised to find ourselves on the corner of Voyage Drive and Journey Drive. We laughed, and that set the stage for the next 10 months. I called the easy-driving portions of the trip a Voyage, and the mountainous portions a Journey — and we encoun - tered both. After a brief stay in Pa- gosa Springs, Colo., we saw our daughter in Denver, then went to Yellowstone National Park. North Amer- ican bison are often called buffalo, and there was an estimated 60 million in the 1700s, but that number was down to around 561 by 1900. Currently there are an estimated 500,000 in Mexico, New Mexico, and Yellowstone. We encountered them in Yellowstone, and one of their number nearly made us late for church. Traffic stopped as he leisurely ambled down the middle of the street until all 1,500 pounds of him was good and ready to leave the road. We saw a herd of several hundred about a mile or so away. Carol is from Seattle, and we spent two months in Washington. Three high- points were Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Hurricane Ridge. (No pun intended.) The cone within the crater of St. Helens is still growing and visibly steaming, and rumblings are recorded beneath both volcanoes almost every day. Hurri - cane Ridge, in the Olympic Mountains on the Wash- ington Peninsula, is awe- inspiring. How can I describe the Redwood Forest in Cali- fornia? How can I describe the grandeur of trees that are over 300-feet tall, and between 10 and 30-feet in diameter? All I can say is "A-Mazing!" Our son and his family had fun playing on top the 29-foot-diameter stump of an ancient Sequoia that had been cut down over a hundred years ago. If time allowed, I could have sat and looked at El Capitan and Half-Dome in Yosemite National Park for hours. Other more energetic people climbed them for hours! But there is a danger here, too. On July 9, 2015, a 5 million-pound slab of granite dropped off the 2,000-foot-high face of the Dome in the night. The Dome is slowly break - ing up, but it is so big that deterioration is seldom noticed, even by the hikers. Heading back east During our three months in California, we visited family and friends, and made new friends; but we also encountered a 16-inch snowfall, and later a 6-inch rainstorm. That's bad news when pulling a trailer, so I figured it was time to move on when the roads cleared. On March 30 as we headed for Phoenix, I told my Precious Carol, "I'm kind of looking forward to going home." "Really? I thought you liked traveling." "Oh, I really enjoy travel - ing — but, well …." "You mean…." "Yep: there's no place like home." "We're in Southern Cali- fornia. Do you want to go Siloam Proud 10C n Wednesday, June 26, 2019 Siloam Springs Herald-Leader 49 8 5 Hwy 412 E • Siloam Springs, AR 72761 479-23 8 -4340 Voted one of the Top Three Flea Markets in NwA Proud to serve Siloam Springs! 2 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU! 1702 US Highway 412 and McDonald's inside the Wal-Mart SuperCenter Locally owned and operated by Bill and Walter Mathews McDonald's ® OF SILOAM SPRINGS There's no place like home Gene Linzey Reflections on Life Photos courtesy of Gene Linzey Preparing for a cruise on Lake Chatuge at USS Yorktown Survivor's Club reunion in May 2018. Niagara Falls in Niagara, N.Y., with Toronto, Canada, in the background. See Linzey on Page 11A