Picnics, Plans, Patience, Persistence & Passion

Granny Hat originally started this blog to follow her Thru Hiking son, Mission, as he trekked 2680 miles on the PCT in the summer of 2018.  Since then, Granny has become an avid Thru Roader, taking some epic road trips across the fruited plain. Trip Advisor Surveys recently asked Granny Hat if she considered a trip to be a success when everything went according to plan OR when plans had to change but she learned something about others and about herself in the process. Granny chose the latter, it is really the only choice to make since, quite honestly, Granny’s trips never go according to plan but they are so satisfying and she does learn something……. every single time.

Granny Hat and Dad love the backroads of America, the ones with potholes, no more than two lanes, maybe not even marked, with uncertain lodging and dining at the end. That is where the adventure begins.  If you have a little camping gear, all-wheel drive, some snacks and some imagination, you can usually come out all right in the end.

( Its a rare motel that has views this spectacular and are this quiet.)

And it’s the only way to find places like Big Springs, an Idaho State Park graced by warm water that seeps out of the Yellowstone geyser basin into pools on the other side of the mountain.   It usually gets overlooked by its popular (and crowded) National Park neighbor………

Big Springs, Idaho      Big Springs Bald Eagles   Yellowstone Water

…..or the Berlin Gold Mining Ghost Town State Park in outback Nevada where the largest fossil remains of the Ichthyosaur (prehistoric marine reptiles) in the world reside.

Berlin/Ichthyosaur Nevada State Park

Then there are the coal kilns of Death Valley, built by William Randolph Hearst for his mining activities near the lowest elevation in America.  Granny Hat could live in one of these kilns up a lonely dirt road.  Hopefully Airbnb will never find them.

Another bonus of Thru Roading is the hope of an alfresco picnic and it is uncanny how often Granny and Dad stumble upon a lone picnic table under a spectacular tree out in the middle of nowhere.  The most humble of fare becomes a magical meal in the fresh air and as a bonus, wildlife will often show up.

But Granny Hat’s favorite thing about backroads is the SKY!  So blue, so wild with clouds racing from horizon to horizon, nothing to block the place where land and heaven meet.  Dad had always wanted to drive through the Clear Air Preserve which straddles the border of Nevada and Idaho and boasts the cleanest air in the USA.  You need 4 wheel drive to take dirt roads up to the preserve but Granny and Dad got very close and yes, you could feel the purity of the air in your lungs, the vistas were clear, no smoke, smog, fog or dust.  And it was quiet, very very quiet; you could hear your heart beat.

A little Granny Hat advice about how to make a road trip both enjoyable and educational:  don’t enjoy the road less traveled alone, share the experience with the people you meet, ask questions. You will meet some larger-than-life characters when you get off the interstate; they renew your belief in the individualism and diversity that made this country great. If you change your plans just a little, you can find time to chat with some of the hometown folks, gain their trust, listen to the history of the wind-blown town they call home, get a good tip on a hole-in-the-wall eatery and find out why they stay in such a lonely place.

Occasionally you will learn something very valuable which is exactly what happened to Granny and Dad.  For example, crowds spill out of buses and stream in from acres of parking lot to “ooh and aah” at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.  But there are bigger and better geysers in the park, they just aren’t as…..faithful.

 

Geysers like Castle, Daisy and Steamboat may be slightly off the beaten path and are less predictable but spectacular when they finally explode.  Steamboat was dormant for years and then suddenly began erupting every 8 – 15 days according to its own whim.  When it does erupt, it is taller (more than 300 ft high), louder (often erupting for up to 40 minutes) and more dangerous than Old Faithful; signs in the parking lot ¼ of a mile away warn drivers about mineral damage to cars if Steamboat should leave the dock.  Granny and Dad eagerly approached the geyser to find a large group of people sitting in lawn chairs covered in blankets, just staring at the sputtering, spouting hole. Some of them looked like they had spent the night, bleary eyed, sipping coffee out of huge thermoses just like spectators spending the night on Colorado Blvd. waiting for the Rose Parade to start.  It dawned on us, these were serious Geyser Gazers and when we asked questions, we learned about an app called Geyser Times, indeed the owner and designer of the app was one of the crowd!  Some of them had been there for days, with canvas covered motorhomes in the parking lot, taking turns watching, taking notes, and comparing geyser eruption stories.  Dad affectionately called them Geezer Geyser Gazers and then Granny Hat pointed out that we must be Miser Geezer Geyser Gazers, but Granny digresses.

We wandered on down the boardwalk amid bubbling pools and spouting fountains and came upon an elderly woman sitting lotus fashion in front of a tiny geyser called Vixen.  She had an ultralight backpack, a notepad and a stop watch.  Every time the tiny geyser even hiccuped, this devotee would scribble furiously. Granny watched her spellbound; this was a true worshipper.  As if she felt our presence, she began expounding the virtues of her favorite geyser without turning around to make eye contact, how Vixen is overlooked and undervalued and she’s fine with that because she can sit by herself in peace.  She clearly had disdain for the groupie geyser gazers – she was no fair-weather friend, following the geyser making the most noise and ruining the most automotive paint jobs. According to the woman, Vixen’s pastel pool, fills and recedes with clear boiling water until it erupts in a beautiful, thin fountain every few hours. Granny’s better half began asking the geyser lady questions, acknowledging that she knew more about the Norris Basin than any Forest Ranger we had met that day. She explained that the summer ranger staff could hardly speak confidently about geysers as they had not taken the time to observe each one. She said they were too busy leading hurried tours down the board walk instead of sitting and watching.  Patience and persistence cannot be accomplished in a hurry.

A little further down the Boardwalk Granny and dad chuckled over the black, bubbling mud pool called Congress! Soon after that they happened upon two Geyser Gazers in lawn chairs at least ½ mile away from Steamboat Geyser.  When asked why they were watching from afar, they said the view of the true height and force of the eruption was better from this distance and that they could hear themselves think. Dad commented about the lone Vixen admirer and they both declared cryptically, “Ah, yes that would be Emma! Everyone knows Emma!”   We still aren’t quite sure what they meant.  But there is no doubting Emma’s persistence and devotion; she drives in from Eastern Wyoming several times a week to sit quietly, watch patiently, and persistently record in her little notebook.  She was truly passionate about geysers, especially her favorite Vixen.

Truly, all of the Geyser Gazers that Granny met displayed great passion for their very specific natural wonder.  It got Granny to thinking:  most people claim to be passionate about many things, but do they show patience and persistence to back up their passion? How far will they drive?  How long will they wait?  Will they invest?

Granny and Dad had to move along to see the other wonders Yellowstone had to offer, they couldn’t wait for Steamboat or Vixen.  The Geyser Times App told Granny that Steamboat erupted 8 hours after she drove away.  Granny has been asking herself, “Am I willing to sit quietly, listen intently, and watch without wavering, even for the simplest miracle of God’s creation?  How about waiting for wisdom?   Or for the look on a child’s face when she understands the love of Jesus?”  The best things in life take time; be patient, persist and reserve passion for the true wonders of the world.