Page 16 - LIN May-June-July_All1

chickee talk

Road Tripping

bird to come barreling past our truck and for Wile E Coyote to
in the 70’s be somewhere nearby with a crate of dynamite from ACME. I
never did see a roadrunner that summer or a coyote but I still think
about my nose glued to the window hoping to catch a glimpse
before my brother.
uckle Up! It’s time for summer road We visited the south rim of the Grand Canyon, even as a
trips! Enough with all the talk about child, the vastness did not escape me. I remember looking down
Bgas prices, inflation and politics. into the canyon and wondering what it was like to live down
Warm sunshine, green grass and the urge there. I thought about all those who used to walk those lands and
to pack a bag and head to parts unknown, what it was like during the days of dinosaurs. I felt completely
occupies my mental landscape. Back in insignificant. I also felt worried and didn’t want to get too close to
1975, my parents packed their two-wheel the edge and fall. After we left the Grand Canyon, we drove back
drive, single-cab Chevy Silverado pickup east towards New Mexico and we stopped at several overlooks that
by Tina Osceola truck with our arts and crafts booth, a had Navajo and Hopi vendors setup selling their traditional arts.
tent, a Coleman stove, a few suitcases and my brother and I and Our parents bought us Navajo ghost bead necklaces which were
headed west. While we listened to Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, made of seed beads and cedar. We were told to wear them to help
and Creedence Clearwater on the 8-Track, we jammed our way ward off bad spirits that may be around. I wore mine for months
out of Florida. Somewhere west of Tallahassee our parents had until it broke.
to separate my brother and I from each other because as one can As we drove through New Mexico, we also made a stop in
imagine, we got on each other’s nerves. They put my brother next Carlsbad. We stayed at a small KOA campground outside the
to my dad and me next to the window, which I was thankful for National Park. Before I continue, I want you all to know that I
because it was a window to the world. Just me, a few books, and a am deathly afraid of spiders. I will literally sacrifice myself to the
road atlas was all I needed to drift away into my safe space. spider gods trying to get away from them. I know it’s an irrational
Today, as summer approaches, I remember back to that road fear. So anyways, where was I? Yes, Carlsbad, New Mexico.
trip and wish I could recreate that magic. The high that I got from My dad took my brother and I into the campground’s A-frame
seeing new landscapes, meeting people from other Tribes, and registration area. We always had to go with him so we could check
just feeling like I was really living in the moment. Our vacations out two things… 1. The Candy Supply and 2. The Arcade. We had
involve hotels, restaurants and sometimes air travel with plans and become pinball wizards that summer. As I was scoping out the
itineraries. We rarely do anything spontaneous. That summer we candy aisle, I heard the woman behind the counter tell my dad that
left Naples, in a truck with two adults and two children, with no we had to make sure our tent didn’t have any holes and that we
more than a few hundred dollars and lots of hope. Who does that plugged up the zipper really good at night because at sundown the
today? My parents would have me committed if we tried doing TARANTULAS came out of their holes…. I slept inside the cab
that with “their” grandchildren. of the truck and was irreversibly traumatized!
One of the highlights of that road trip was visiting the That summer left indelible memories for me that stay at the
Southwest. The grand landscapes that were carved over millions of forefront of all of my travels. If I knew how to capture that
years by Mother Nature kept my nose glued to the window. magic for my own family, I would do it in a heartbeat. Although
I was 7 years old and a huge fan of Warner Brothers cartoons. I longingly skip back through time I hope that some of the
Wile E Coyote always trying to beat the Road Runner was a adventures I’ve taken my own children and now, grandchildren, on
highlight. Our mom would tell us to look outside and watch for have left them with their own bit of melancholy. So, here’s hoping
roadrunners. Of course, I was looking for a tall, ostrich shaped that everyone’s summer is filled with a little bit of sunshine, asphalt
and spiders!
16 Life in Naples | May, June, July 2022