It’s that time of year again when I make a road trip out west. And once again, I find myself going to Colorado. Colorado Springs to be exact. I wanted to start this column with a quote that I read: There’s an odd truth about our destination. The journey is actually our destination. We sometimes fall into the trap of waiting to arrive somewhere instead of living, right where we are. — Jill Austin (1948-2009), founder of Master Potter
So with that said, I’ll get back to my story. I camped in Missouri on my way to Colorado. I will write about that one in an upcoming column. I spent the night in a motel in Salina, Kansas on the 2nd night. I decided to do things a little bit different, and instead of hiking in the woods on a trail, I did a walkabout in the beautiful, downtown city of Salina.
There were a lot of sculptures to look at along with many murals. There was old architecture and brick streets. I got a lot of exercise in with that walk. And enjoyed a really good cup of coffee.
Later, I went to my motel to settle in for the night.
The night turned out to be a bit exciting. There was a tornado warning, for the area that night and the power went out where I was staying. The backup lights came on at the motel, but it was nighttime and still rather dark. All of the people that were staying at the motel, came out of their rooms and sat in the lounge. We all gathered around and talked to one another about where we were from and about tornadoes among other things, while the storm raged in.
So I thought a lot about it the next day while I was on my way to Colorado. I thought about how I had changed up my hike to do a walk around town instead of hiking on a trail. And I thought about how we all were forced to put away our electronics and talk to each other when the power went out the night before.
I arrived in Colorado Springs in the afternoon and set up my tent and did a few errands.
I was thinking about how we spend our time.
Back at the motel the night before, we talked about what we had been doing before the power went out. Some were watching television, while some were on their computers working. Several were on their phones.
I told them that I was driving a thousand miles to unplug and to go hiking in the mountains.
We all got a good laugh because we realized mother nature had forced us to unplug.
So I guess that’s the point of this hiking story.
I have plans to go hiking on some trails I haven’t hiked on before while in Colorado. I will write about those starting in my next column.
But I guess this is a reminder that we all need to unplug ourselves from whatever it is that keeps our minds so occupied that we forget to do the really important things.
You all probably know that I hike all around Indiana. And you also probably know that I travel around to different places several times a year to hike.
But I was thinking about that “about the journey being our destination.”
What a shame it would be I forgot to live each day and missed my journey of the everyday life.
So I decided I am going to unplug, even if I did have to drive a thousand miles to do it.
Sometimes lessons come in unexpected ways.
So look for a story about hiking adventures in Colorado over the next few weeks.
Just as a reminder for you and for me as well, to get out and do something to relax such as hike, take a walk in a different city, read a book. Talk to your friends. Talk to your family.
Every once in a while, mix it up and do something different. It might make all the difference.
It only took me a walk in a city, a tornado, and a journey of a thousand miles.
Until the next trail,
Susan Anderson is a resident of Owen County who enjoys hiking and backpacking and writes a weekly column about her experiences. Readers can reach her via email at saanders@hotmail.com or on Instagram @farsideoftheedge.
This article originally appeared on Evening World: Road Trip 101: Learning to Unplug
Reporting by Susan Anderson, For the Spencer Evening World / Evening World
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Susan Anderson, For the Spencer Evening World | USA TODAY Network
