By Eileen Spatz
Last week, on a total whim, I decided to go on a whirlwind 6-day road trip. Six little days were all my schedule would permit, so I wanted to make the very most of them. I am an avid fan of road tripping. There is something so exciting about setting out on an adventure on the open road by myself—a little bit daring, a little bit stupid, but always fulfilling.
This trip would cover about 2,000 miles and involve 30 hours of drive time. Just the road and me connected like soul mates on a mystic journey. My timing wasn’t exactly brilliant, as the state of California was immersed in dozens of wildfires. As tragic as the fires were, this also meant that as I traveled north the smoke obscured much of the scenic beauty of my state. For once I was happy for the mask mandate, as I wound up grabbing a mask from the front seat to wear inside my car when the smoke got so thick.
After nine hours on the road I met up with a dear friend and enjoyed a visit filled with lots of laughter and catching up. We are not only close friends but also travel buddies, so we employed our very best positive-thinking skillset to make plans for our next trip abroad. Yes, this stinkin’ virus will someday be under control and life as we knew it will eventually return (to some degree, anyway). This visit also marked the first time since early March that I have eaten at a restaurant (on the patio, of course)! Later we drank our favorite Italian wine (which we discovered in Tuscany) and watched a chick flick -- it was a wonderful time.
The next leg of the journey meant venturing from Northern California to Salt Lake City, Utah—an 11-hour slog. Well, no way was I up to taking on eleven hours behind the wheel, so I looked at a map of Nevada and found the halfway point. A lovely destination (sarcasm) called Battle Mountain. The town consisted of three motels, a McDonalds, a sketchy looking Chinese restaurant, several boarded up businesses, and not much else. I picked the Big Chief Motel, which appeared to have the best reviews of the bunch.
I headed outta there as early as I possibly could the next morning to make the trip to Utah. My granddaughter and family had recently relocated there from SoCal, so my daughter-in-law and I decided to totally surprise her. I looked forward to seeing the brand new neighborhood (still under construction) that they had moved to, and could not wait to spend time with my sweet 10-year-old granddaughter.
First, however, I had to get from Point A, the Big Chief Motel, to Point B, SLC, Utah. I honestly can find absolutely no redeeming value in the dreary, desolate landscape that is northern Nevada. I mean zero. Hours upon hours of absolutely nothing but homely scrub and if there was any kind of interesting topography along the horizon it was hidden by the smoke.
Finally, after about six hours I arrived at the Utah border where it suddenly felt like I had landed on the moon. A blinding sea of white covered each side of the highway for as far as the eye could see…again with no visibility beyond the horizon... it was very Mad Max feeling. Eventually it dawned on me that these were salt fields—duh, Eileen, you know—the Great Salt Lake got its name from somewhere!
Before I knew it, I was driving into the master-planned community where I would witness my granddaughter being (hopefully) very surprised to see her Nana. After six hours of driving through unending non-scenery, so boring it made my eyes cross, I had finally arrived at my destination. I pulled up to the curb and got out of the car, and after taking just a few steps I heard, “Nana!!!!!” and my beautiful grandchild came bounding down the steps with outstretched arms to greet me. Suddenly, I knew that all those hours of driving were so worth it.
After an amazing weekend with the family I had to hit the road and high tail it home. Road trips lose a lot of appeal when it is time to return back to real life. Fortunately, the drive south through the heart of Utah was absolutely beautiful. I spent the night halfway to break up the ten-hour drive, and did some reflecting of my journey. Every person that I had interacted with on the road trip--in the gas station convenience stores, the hotels, the fast food joints, as well as the people I met in Utah at the local Farmer’s Market, the ice cream shop, the park, and in their neighborhood—everyone was so friendly and kind.
I experienced a beautiful snapshot of American life while on this trip, in stark contrast with all the mayhem going on right now in our country. I encountered folks from all walks of life and different races, and I honestly experienced only goodness. One stand-out memory is that of Bruce, the African American guest services fella that bent over backward to help me at the last hotel stop. I had issues with the wi-fi, and he helped me. I realized I had been placed next door to a room inhabited by a family with not-so-quiet little kids and asked if I could be relocated, and he helped me. Not only did Bruce help me move my stuff to another floor, but he then offered to sterilize all the surfaces of the room for me. We chatted about this and that while he went about cleaning and was just the sweetest guy.
I was mortified when I realized I didn’t have any cash to tip him for all his trouble, but with a big smile he said, “No problem! Have a restful stay.” After a little while, determined to make it right, I went out to locate a Wells Fargo so I could grab some cash. Since by the time I returned more than an hour had passed, I prayed that he would still be on duty when I got back to the hotel. At first I didn’t see him, so I asked for Bruce at the reception desk. He then stepped out from the back office and I was elated. I handed him the tip and thanked him again for being such a big help to me, and he got the biggest smile on his face. On the way back to the elevator I thanked God that I was able to properly thank Bruce, and that people like him still inhabit the planet.
Those 2,000 miles might not have been the most scenic I have ever traversed, but this little road trip filled me to the brim with so much love that it just didn’t matter. If your spirits need a little boost, take a road trip! You will be reminded just how kind most people really are, and seeing that in action outside of your hometown will totally restore your faith in mankind.
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