Chapter 2

Our initial trip was slow. Atlanta is not a fun place in which or through which to drive particularly not on a Friday afternoon in the summer while pulling a trailer. The house was well west of Marietta. We had to head south and west to reach I-20. Once on it, we headed west and the traffic gradually diminished, though at seventy-five, I was one of the slower ones. The state line wasn’t far and we arrived there without a problem. The trailer was tracking beautifully.

Pursuant to our plan, we had supper at a fast food place and were quickly on our way again. We had planned not to camp so stopped for the night north of Birmingham at a motel rather than go to the time and trouble of setting the trailer for use.

In the morning, we had breakfast in the restaurant attached to the motel and left heading northwest to Memphis. It was an easy drive.

In Memphis, we met Interstate Forty and took it west through Little Rock. Sharon had picked an RV park for the night. We pulled in and set the trailer. We had steaks for supper with fresh vegetables and a red Moscato. I managed to cook the steaks properly on the grill and Sharon did a wonderful job with the vegetables in the trailer’s kitchen. We enjoyed our meal and sat out enjoying the evening. We went to our beds early since our bodies were still on Atlanta’s eastern time.

It was early when we woke. We cleaned up and made breakfast. Once the dishes were washed, we readied the trailer and pulled out continuing on I-40.

Taking I-40 west to Oklahoma City, it was time to continue west but also to turn north going to Pueblo, Colorado, for the night. It was an interesting ride through prairie with the Rockies in the distance. We missed church but sang to hymns and gospel songs played from my CD player. It was fun to sing with Sharon. We realized that we hadn’t done that enough lately.

Sharon had chosen the Pueblo KOA as a safe bet and she had reserved a spot for us. Once parked and set, Sharon cooked chicken marsala which was superb. We had a Moscato with it which worked well. After we finished eating, we took our glasses out to sit in the open air. I had to admit that it felt wonderful and relaxing.

Sharon said, “Dad, we have two days before the Fourth. I didn’t plan to travel on the fourth but enjoy it somewhere.”

“Suits me, Sharon. I appreciate your planning for this trip. It’s working well and I’m enjoying it and your presence.”

She grinned. “We’ll see. The month has just begun.” She went in and returned moments later with her laptop. I had brought my phone and my old Kindle for reading when that spirit moved me.

Sharon mumbled a bit and then exclaimed, “this works better than I thought! Cody will work just as I had thought! They seem to really go for the Fourth. That also gets us close to Yellowstone, too. We’ll go to Casper tomorrow and then it’s a short hop to Cody. I’d reserved a place for a few days in Cody. Once there, we can look at Yellowstone and determine how to handle going through it. I’ve found us a place north of the park for our base. It will be closer than if we continued to stay in Cody.”

I smiled. “Okay, daughter. I’ll trust you. That will continue to be the plan.”

We made the trip over the next two days without incident. Early in the afternoon Tuesday, we pulled into an RV park in Cody. It was a pleasant park with inviting spaces. It also wasn’t cheap. I realized that this was their season. We also had the last available space because Sharon had reserved it early enough. We leveled the trailer and I pulled the truck away from the hitch to let it be used without the trailer while we were here.

That evening, we drove into Cody for supper and found a nice place with meat. I have always enjoyed steaks as has Sharon. Ours were good. We finished eating and returned to our site with a list of events. Once there, we pulled folding chairs out and sat down to enjoy the outdoors. We were drinking our favorite canned drinks, Cheerwine for me and a lemonade for Sharon.

As we were sitting there, a couple as mismatched as we except in reverse came along the roadway. I waved at the woman who waved back. The young man saw Sharon and walked to her. He said, “Hello, I’m Dave Baker.”

He left a space and, after a moment’s hesitation, Sharon said, “I’m Sharon Anderson. I’m here with my dad.”

He came closer and sat on the bench at the park table for our site. That put him close to Sharon. “My aunt and I are here for the Fourth. Then, we plan to go to Yellowstone. We’re from the Atlanta area. Where are you from?”

Sharon chuckled. “We’re from the Atlanta area, too. We live in west Cobb county almost at the Paulding county line.”

Dave looked surprised. “We’re from east Cobb. My Aunt Misty lives in Roswell.”

By then, “Aunt Misty” had walked into our site to join her nephew who had left her for Sharon. I looked at her. “Why don’t you join us unless you want to walk alone?” I grinned.

She grinned back looking a bit relieved. I stood and pulled another folding lawn chair from the trailer’s storage. She came over and sat in it beside me. She grinned looking at her nephew and my daughter. “I might as well. Since your daughter didn’t chase him off, he’ll be here a while.” We both chuckled.

I held out my hand. “I’m Taylor Anderson, Sharon’s father.”

She took it. “I’m Misty Baker. Dave is my brother’s son.”

I smiled. “It’s good to meet you, Misty. What do you do when you’re not escorting your nephew?”

She said, “I’m a math professor at Kennesaw State. Currently, I’m on sabbatical. My brother was supposed to be with us but his company needed him so he stayed. Taylor, what do or did you do?”

I grinned. “I’m a lawyer. I’m on sabbatical for a month. Sharon starts back teaching school in August. She wanted to make this trip and talked me into it.”

“Where is Missus Anderson?”

“Glenda had cancer and died over ten years ago. It’s just been the two of us since. Fortunately, Sharon’s a good girl. What about you?”

Chapter 3 »