My Patronus is an Aerodynamic RV

Battling the wind didn’t take away from the awe-inspiring beauty of southeastern Utah.

355 miles.  What was the mileage like today?  Glad you asked.  Roughly 5.5 mpg.  Yep, from Moab, UT to Sedona, AZ a little bit of a headwind.  Not sure what the gusts were, but this rolling 31 foot billboard felt the breeze.  From the left.  From the right.  From the front.  But not once from the rear.  That’s where I like it – from the rear.  Ooo… That sounded weird.  I like a good tailwind, is what I meant to say.  Really.  I swear.  Anyway, that mpg was roughly $.85 per mile.  I could physically run cheaper than that, but I’d still be in Moab.

To know that your RV rig only spent all but 15 minutes of driving time downshifting due to high winds is somewhat stressing.  That knot that I had in my shoulder returned with vengeance.  After all, I was sitting up in the ‘captain’s’ chair, pulling myself forward to the steering wheel like my leaning forward would induce greater, progressive momentum.

The Jayco Greyhawk 31FK in tow-mode. Nice setting against the brilliant bazillion year-old rock surfaces.

What I’d love to develop is a fine-running, sleek aerodynamic RV for these kind of conditions.  I mean, we did drive through northeastern Arizona.  (Sorry AZ, but Utah stole your picturesque scenery on highways 163, 160, and 89 all the way to Flagstaff)  There was absolutely nothing to break the wind from beating the sides and front of the RV – no trees (at  least, trees tall and wide enough to do the trick), no nothing…  There was a lot of sand, however.  I still have some in my shorts.  How it got there I have no idea.  I want an RV that can plow through high winds at the holler of “EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!”

A delightful time (in the morning hours) to watch the sun move through the opening in the arch…

Life can present itself in much the same manner.  There are days when it is simply hard to move froward and doing so requires a exorbitant amount energy.  Then there are days when your energy pushes you forward.  My near-13 week-old daughter Sophie Ann is mostly like the latter.  When I’m with her I feel delighted…most of the time.  There are days when nothing seems to settle her unsettledness, not even Dr. Karp’s 5 S’s.  Kinda like having nothing to block the wind.

Still, whatever the day brings, at the end of the day you arrive safe at home where rest awaits – a recharge for the day to come, the oasis gas station to fill your tank when the wind has caused you to lose more than anticipated.

So stop and fill up.  If your day was life-taking or life-giving, you deserve a break from the winds of life.  A good rest awaits.

Located minutes from Mexican Water, Arizona (didn’t go there… I had mexican water once. Didn’t go well), Mexican Hat stands out in a crowd of rock structures. By ‘Hat,’ do they mean sombrero? Because I don’t think it looks like one.