After a crazy few weeks of marriage, Tessa’s flying to NY and back to see family, sickness, flu, covid and extreme heat causing some heat exhaustion – we got everything done we could possibly get done to be ready to leave. We put brand new tires on the driver’s side of the RV – we replaced both tires on the passenger side just about a year ago. All the axle bearings were greased to keep them from causing any problems like last year when we headed to Louisiana. The trailer hitch added to the new truck, step rails and a tonneau cover put on the new truck as well. Michael and his pop loaded all the stuff we had stored in the bed of the old truck into the new truck – grill, generator, potty wagon etc. All these things were done in 95+ degree heat and humidity in Oklahoma which made it grueling on Michael and his pop. But we did it – everything got done and loaded and on Friday July 15 we hit the road for Branson, Missouri.
We had a beautiful drive through the Ozarks in Arkansas heading into Missouri. The new truck pulls our 30 foot Ultra-Lite Travel Trailer like it’s not even back there. It was amazing coming through some of the mountains there was no pushing of the trailer on the truck as it’s a much heavier duty vehicle than the old one was. We had to make some stops on the way – Moki’s on prednisone for a few more days to help his allergies which means he needs more stops than usual. I had fixed breakfast burritos for travel and sandwiches for lunch along the way so we were set for meals on the road. I’d also made taco meat and chopped up lettuce for taco salad after we arrived and were setup in Missouri.
Until we got into Missouri and started hitting the Ozarks the ride was fairly uneventful. But holy moly – some of the turns, curves, twists, mountains and angles we hit in Missouri was insane. You’d just come out of a huge curve before heading up the mountain in another curvy road. There was no shoulder on either side – and my side of the road was a sheer cliff down. For someone battling anxiety in the vehicle these days who also has a fear of heights it was stressful. After about 40ish miles (it felt like a whole lot longer) of roads like this we found our little spot in the woods for the next several days. Being a weekend and a tourist area the campground is pretty full but still quiet and it feels so wonderful to be amongst the trees again. We can see peeks of the Table Rock Lake from our site and picked out a few sites we wouldn’t mind if we came back again. We’ve definitely decided we’d like to come back and see more stuff in this area and would totally camp here again for the price and how pretty it is.
On a more serious note – for the last several months I’ve been battling anxiety in the vehicle. Doesn’t matter what vehicle, who is driving – I’ve become almost a basket case as a passenger. I’m at the point where it’s affecting Michael when he drives because I’m freaking out in cases I shouldn’t be, it has me in tears because it’s got me terrified to ride as a passenger and because it’s upsetting to him as well. I’ve taken a huge step and am starting some therapy on Monday to see if I can’t find a way to work through this problem. I love our life and I love our travels but it happens even just riding around towns we know and it’s starting to become crippling to me. I can not function like this and so hopefully with the help of some counseling I can work through whatever has caused this anxiety inside me.
We’ve got some great adventures coming up that we can’t wait to share with y’all so stay tuned.
GnomadicLife 