It seemed odd to be driving away from New England at the end of September when the trees were hinting of changes to come. But that’s what we did. We’re heading to Albuquerque and planning to arrive in time for the annual Balloon Fiesta.

We aimed to leave home early on that first day and drive five hours or more toward Rochester, New York. But, of course, we needed to gas up. And stop for ice. And, oh, yeah, stop at the Weather Tech dealer for a cup phone holder or two. We actually found Topgo ones we like better. Anyway, it was closer to noon when we finally hit the open road.

Our first night away from home, we stayed at Twin Brook Camillus Farm in Camillus, New York. Owned by a lovely retired couple, Craig and Elaine, the farm is home to sheep, chickens, turkeys, dogs, and a pair of Talouse geese.

It was a quiet, cool night, and we barely heard the rooster crowing through the closed windows the next morning.

We bought farm fresh (still warm) eggs and frozen chicken from their self-serve barn-stand and, on our first official morning on the road, we, of course, stopped at Walmart for a few things. Then, on to Erie Canal Park in Camillus, where we took our morning walk/run.

We arrived at Niagara Falls State Park on Goat Island about mid-afternoon. Thirty-nine years ago, we stopped at the Falls on the Canadian side as we drove home from our honeymoon. This time, we got the American view and waved to Canada across the way.

After Niagara, we drove another hour and a half to Westfield, New York, where we stayed at a KOA campground overnight. The end of our first full day on the road.

In the morning, we popped over to Luensman Overview Park in Portland, New York, for a walk/run, then back to the KOA for showers. Passed an interesting sign, enjoyed some fall leaves along the way, and were disappointed at the ‘overview’ where a haze veiled the supposed view of Lake Erie and Canada, beyond.

We then set our sights on Hoof Hearted (yep, say that fast, out loud) Brewery and Kitchen in Columbus, Ohio. But first, we stopped beside Lake Erie for a few pics. It’s hard to look at such a ‘great’ lake and not think it’s an ocean.

After dinner at Hoof Hearted, where Mark drank one of his favorite beers, Permanent Marker Face Disguises, we drove a short distance to a small, but neat, Alton RV Park in Galloway, Ohio, for the night.

In the morning, we found Mudsock Trail, next to a large, beautiful, and very active dog park, in Columbus, Ohio. Saw a couple of egrets, a huge bees nest, and a great blue heron just hanging out in a tree.

We got back on the road, crossed the Indiana state line, and pulled into my cousin’s driveway in Muncie just after 3 p.m. It was good to see them again, as we’d stopped at their house over a year ago when we first drove our new Sprinter back from Boulder, Colorado. The kids were taller. And they’d just just bought a new house around the corner from their current house, so lots of catching up to do.

We shared some of the apples we’d brought from our trees back home, did some laundry, and waited for my cousin’s husband to get home from work. We used that time to pull out our new electric Weber grill and cook the chicken we’d bought in New York, and also bake some home-grown potatoes in our electric air fryer/oven. Then we went out to dinner in downtown Muncie. We followed dinner with a visit to The Guardian Brewing Company to meet some of their friends who were celebrating one friend’s birthday. The company was enjoyable, the beer, not as much.

In the morning, we said our good-byes, visited the local Walmart, and then stopped at Town Run Trail Park in Indianapolis for a morning hike/run. We didn’t realize initially that this was primarily a bike trail. It was Saturday, so many cyclists were pulling in, strapping on their helmets, and hitting the trail. We found a few visitors who were planning to run the trail and we all decided that it would be okay as long as we gave the bikes the right-of-way. Especially on the narrow sections of the very windy trail. As I hiked, I made sure to keep my ears open for birds in the trees around me and bikes speeding up behind me.

Visible from the Trail Park driveway was this impressive sculpture honoring the classic Studebaker automobile of Indiana.

We left Indianapolis and headed for St. Louis and its famous Gateway Arch. Mark had been up to the top of the arch before and I was hoping to make the ascent this time. The section of St. Louis near the Arch was confusing to navigate. On top of that, we passed crowds heading to a Cardinals game at every intersection. As we finally pulled up along the street beside the National Park, we realized that the parking area was closed and that a brick area, slanting away from the road toward the Mississippi River, was being used instead. We drove to an unoccupied section, away from the tight rows of cars, to make our own parking spot.

The Arch was visible from the highway as we approached the city and was huge up close! But, unfortunately, tickets for the ascent were sold out and we had to be content with the indoor museum and outdoor picture-taking in the ninety-degree heat.

At the end of the day, we drove to Point Labaddie Brewery in Labadie, Missouri, to spend the night in their parking lot, courtesy of the Harvest Hosts network. The owner was welcoming and the beer was good. We met a fellow traveler named Christian who was also staying the night in his rig on his way to Albuquerque.

All real living is meeting, said Martin Buber in I and Thou. I love this quote. When I heard it recently, I immediately attached it as an epigraph to a poem I was writing, as if to say: This. This is what I mean! And I’ve found myself meditating on it a lot during this trip. We’ve met people from New England and they’ve felt like home. We’ve met people from the towns we pass through and they’ve sometimes felt a bit foreign. And we learned of the death of a dear friend back home a few days ago. In this life, we meet so many different people (and animals, birds, insects, flowers, trees, mountains, prairies, rivers, and lakes). Each one expands our universe a little. I’ve come to understand on this trip, that we also meet ourselves along the way.

There’s a lot more I could say about that, but I won’t right now. I’ll leave you to meditate on it yourself. 🙂

Stay tuned for Part II of our adventures, yet to come…