Day 17 ~ West Coast Rock Tour

~ 17th Day ~

Leaving Durango...Four Corners......Keyenta, AZ...Tweekers.

I made an extra large bowl of oatmeal this morning, knowing it would be a while till a microwave would be available. Took some time to pamper Tumbler with a thorough internal, vehicular manicure. He has does such a great job of keeping me safe on the road and providing a haven for me to sleep in when needed. I believe we should take good care of those who take care of us... even if it's a car/truck. I probably look odd while talking to Tumbler during this journey. It's often a one-side conversation, but I "hear" him when he needs to to cool down and rest or needs some extra lovin' with cleaning supplies. I miss my last truck, Red Rock, but so grateful for the heightened dependability of Tumbler with the over 3000 miles we've already traveled. (And I'm just now in Southern California.. real time)

Durango was a stellar mission field for the past 3.5 days. So many memories made and rocks deposited on known and unknown soil of hearts. It was hard saying "see ya later" to Jenny and Rob, but I was grateful for the time spent with these wonderful friends. Honestly, I was dragging my feet leaving, for I had become too comfortable staying in their house... with all the "bonus luxuries" that came with it.

My GPS gadget was up and running, and I had pre-programmed some of the possible places I could roll in and through during the next few days. Once again, the order that I sequentially put them in was not the order that they would come.... such is life and this this journey thus far!

Four Corners was my designated stop, and this was the last stop that would be in the pre-chosen order. It took over 2hrs to get to the monument where the 4 states touch... there was so many rock monuments to see along the way as I dipped down into New Mexico. I was cranking the music of Josh Garrels as my eyes went from one unique rock structure to the next. "Wow" and "Oh My" were the common words in between belting out the lyrics of my recent favorite artist. Choosing only 2 pictures from N.M. was difficult, 'cause each held their own beauty.

Arriving at the Four Corners Monument was cool, but I wasn't willing to wait in the long line to have a stranger take my picture at the merging point. I had heard that this location isn't the actual place where the states corner, and that the newly discovered location is an eighth of a mile from this monument. Therefore, I walked a ways from the tourist spot and snapped a picture of where I believe the real 4 corners of these states collide. Plus, the cracked ground looked cool. I then walked back towards the monument area, found a pile of discarded rocks, and made a rock for someone to find... a little reminder of the monumental God whose love stretches as far as the East to West, and all directions in between.

I had hoped to reach the city of Flagstaff by that evening, but because of the late start and intense heat that encouraged me to make more stops along the way, when I reached the quaint, but beautifully scenic, town of Keyenta, AZ, I knew this would be my resting place for the evening. Have I mentioned that Tumbler does not have air conditioning? Well, he doesn't... and it was once again 115 degrees in my truck (while driving... resting temp. was even higher.) It was 9:30pm and I was finally listening to my stomach. The McDonalds was open 24hrs, so we would settle for this parking lot opposed to the normal Walmart lot. Honestly, I don't know if this was a good idea, but it was where we chose to stay.

As I was going inside to get my usual side salad with deconstructed chicken nuggets, I saw a homeless man on the bench next to the main entrance. I'm am taking a guess that he was a local town drunk... and the other people going in and out were (not quietly or discretely) letting him know of their disapproval and annoyance at his audacity to park his soiled self in this visible place. I smiled at him going in and bought a couple double cheeseburgers with my own late dinner. When I came out and handed him the bag, he looked up with one eye open (the other looked like it was missing... seriously) and said, "Thank you kind ma'am... you are an angel. Thank you so much kind ma'am." Actually, I am the one wondering if he was an angel.

The next 2+ hours were spent writing on my laptop. The mountains and rock formations in Keyenta weren't visible any longer, but there were other formations that were coming into clear view as the night progressed... those most commonly referred to as "tweekers." For those of you who I just lost, these are people who are on the drug known as methamphetamines (Or crystal meth, speed, ice, crank, glass etc.) and when you are on this drug, it makes you speed up, spaz, and what we who have used it call, tweek. Yes, I know this from personal experience... but I was the observer not the partaker this evening in the McDonalds parking lot. At first I only saw a couple, then a few, and by the time I finished my day post, they were like packs of wolves roaming (at very quick speeds) in the surrounding vacant lots. I must admit, I not only thought about how my parents would feel about me sleeping here tonight, but there was also a heightened sense about how I, myself, felt about crawling in the backseat of Tumbler for the evening. I wasn't annoyed by them... rather I felt empathy. I knew what it was like to be out of control with this particular drug (along with many others). There was a desire to get out of the truck and feed them... knowing that their appetites was suppressed and they didn't realize how much they needed food and water. I wanted to hand out rocks and tell them about the God who loved them even though they were moving too fast to sit still and listen to His voice. Speed makes people do things that one wouldn't do in their right mind... so I chose to stay in my truck. A few of the speedsters had knocked on my window while I was typing my post, asking for cigarettes and I did not have fear in rolling down my window a little further to slip them a smoke (with my fingers, not my whole hand). But being awake and seeing the people or shadows of them was quite different than sleeping and not be able to see them. I choose the sauna effect my truck produced with the windows only being slightly cracked, then the potential of a sneak, tweek-attack with my windows down far enough to give some more ventilation. I slept somewhat well for my antennas being up a little higher that night. It was a hot night in Keyenta, but little did I know that it would get hotter as I traveled further south. 

Sometimes we see reflections of what we used to be.
They often can make our heart beat a little faster.
Not cause we are scared, but cause we care.
They remind us of who are not any longer.
And it makes us want to help them.
The "how" is the hard question.
It may be feeding them.
Or simply praying.

Gratitude and sadness often share corners.

~Unshakable Peace, Love and Purpose~
cling to the Rock 
Psalm 18:1-2