April 13, 2017
Day 1
Lubbock, Tx
Currently reading: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Currently Listening to: Trucks passing by on the highway
Go.
It was a calm cloudy Wednesday at my parent’s house just outside of Denton. I had been preparing for this trip by methodically inventorying all my gear and testing out the equipment in the front yard for the past couple days. I had just gotten back from the dentist and was getting ready to have an afternoon snack and perhaps a nap. Life at Momma’s house is pretty easy.
As I was folding my freshly-washed backpacking clothes, a small tiny voice erupted from inside of me. It whispered, ever so softly, “now.” Upon hearing that “now,” I was filled with fire that shot through my veins; for some reason I knew it was time to go. I was as ready as I would ever be and any more time sitting at Mom’s house would be delaying the inevitable. It was time.
Suddenly I was packing everything into the car. Trip after trip, the car got fuller and fuller. My mom watched, perplexed by my back-and-forths to the car.
“Are you leaving?” She asked as she stirred a pan of sizzling onions and garlic.
“It’s time momma.” I said as I packed up the last couple of items into my Jeep.
She walked me out to the car. The dogs barked and wagged their tails as we all said our goodbyes. I hugged mom, a few tears dropped from my eyes; I wouldn’t see her again for several months.
And then we left. I watched as she disappeared into the horizon as I drove off the ranch. One last tear fell out as I turned onto the highway and pointed my car west. But from there, my eyes steeled onto the road. The setting sun painted the Texas skyline with a lavender hue that stretched off into infinity.
Then the rain came. It started pouring as I drove northwest toward Lubbock. We hugged the road and battled forward, like a pirate ship dashing through a summer storm; we pressed onward. Town after town melted away as we got deeper into west Texas. The lightning crashed overhead and the rain came down in buckets. Boss slept in the front seat, unconcerned with the tumultuous weather outside; but he is used to these kinds of things.
We finally pulled into Lubbock, Texas, the home of my alma mater, Texas Tech. We stopped at a seedy motel off the highway and quickly checked into our room: 314. Pi room, I dubbed it, reminiscing on almost a decade ago when I was a bright-eyed engineering student.
Soaked from the rain, we piled into the room and quickly fell asleep in the cheap, yellow-tinted box that opened onto the highway. This was the first, but wouldn’t be the last cheap motel that we would stay in on this trip. Tomorrow would bring new adventures.