Dear friends,
Now that we’re on the road, we can say that we’ve started our vacation! We set out at our planned departure time but if you know our town at all, you might also know that with the train tracks running through, it always seems to take forever to get out of Goshen.
We are traveling with Travel Bug, the teardrop camper my partner built during Covid. Back then, we called it our escape pod. Today, it’s working very well as a sleep and eat on wheels. Since we’ll be camping in a mostly remote area, we’ve brought along our food. Then, there’s the gear for our golden retriever, Sadie, and our own clothes and such.
Today is a driving day with an overnight planned close to Grayling. We’ll be staying in a renovated barn. The road slowly takes us out of the flat midwestern landscape into a more wooded and rolling geography. We encounter one traffic slowdown as we leave the city but through it all, the car and camper move easily and noiselessly. As we leave behind each town, the forest takes over. Deer nestled in the trees peer at us as we drive on. Birch and pine line the way.
We finally reach the dirt road that leads to our home for the night. A mile and a third later, we see the windmill on the side of the lane that points to Saddlewood Ranch. The studio where we’re staying is surrounded by pastures and small barns where horses, ducks, goats, ponies and a peacock live. Our back patio gives right onto the pasture. Sadie is intrigued. At first, she runs loose all over the property, sniffing as she goes. Then, we take her to visit the goats. Later, she sits on the patio and the donkeys come right up to touch her nose. And then the horses. So much excitement, so much joy!
What we notice is the total quiet , the peaceful, serene setting, the night sky full of so many stars. We soak in the view (and the animals) and slowly start the process of letting go, of routines, of work, of worries. A new place makes that happen. We’ll sleep well tonight and start another journey tomorrow.
Until then,
Rachel