12. Letting Things Play Out: Absent of Judgements, Rewarded with an Epic Stop

We left Tennessee and said hello to the Mississippi River and Arkansas.

We have been stopping every two hours this trip for a quick bathroom break / gas and one lunch stop.

Sunday we had a lovely shady spot.

We all enjoyed some green beans, wild rice, sautéed tofu cubes, roasted cauliflower, fresh avocado and some crackers and hummus.

One of the best parts of the van is how it makes a cozy relaxing home wherever we are.

This trip the kids have been doing art, surprise surprise and took out the small shelves we each have in our cabinets that help organize our clothes because they make the perfect little desks.

It was a few hours later when I couldn’t stop laughing. We realized we weren’t actually almost to Oklahoma City like we expected. Instead we found ourselves cruising into Dallas, Tx. Who knew?!

Somewhere around Little Rock, AR our navigation “helped us” and rerouted our entire trip. We didn’t even notice we were on the 30 now, not the 40.

We are still learning not to rebel, to continue to practice surrendering, and roll with it. So nice for the practice moments to keep popping up.

The southern route it is! Before this shove down south, we were having an adventure, yes, but we were playing it safe, we were on the middle route, one we had taken before. We were staying within our comfort zone.

My peaceful view from the mat.
(Just before the cardinal flew in.)

My morning started when I found my yoga mat. Looking up at the beauty of the trees with a breeze and the endless bright blue sky, I instantly heard the birds chirping louder and a red cardinal in particular hopped around looking down at me.

This made me laugh because not only is there a red cardinal that hops around our neighborhood on our walks and gets close to Parker, but back in Florida while in the van, a red cardinal kept landing on the driver side mirror and staring at me.

So all was right with one deep breath and any remaining stuck emotions from the night melted away.

Parker and Beckham played at the playground while I converted the van for our day of travel and got everyone’s breakfast ready. Parker got in her time in on the monkey bars and said it felt so good. Beckham ran around and enjoyed the swings and the slide.

I took them again after we ate for one last release of energy. Dad washed up and we took off.

Dallas amazed and surprised me. As we entered the city there was so much beautiful water surrounding us. I had no idea the lakes were that huge.

Later at another Shell station, Beckham made Parker and I feel like rockstars.

He took a Monday nap in the van on the road for the win!!!!

Loving his stuffy and we put it there to hold his head and to cushion the road bumps. No complaints from little man adding his snuggly friend.

Texas really outdid itself for us today with this gem. Marcus has wanted to go to White Sands or The Great Sand Dunes and slide down on a boogie board, it’s been on our list.

This morning was the best gift, we had it all to ourselves. We made the first footprints after last night’s wind storm.

So when I saw Monahans Sandhills State Park where you camp at the base on the sand I was so giddy to find a spot and surprise Marcus. We lucked out and grabbed campsite #7 and arrived about 5pm.

We ventured out to play in the shade and the kids LOVED it. The sand was the softest I ever remember feeling and so fine it felt so good to touch.

Beckham didn’t want to do anything other than sit in the shade and play with the sand.

As we were sweating we got a good laugh when an HVAC truck pulled in. The two workers who appeared to be in their early 20s hopped out like school kids untucking their polos and racing each other to the top where they disappeared and then came back, log rolled down the hill, wiped off the sand and got back to work. They are doing life right taking time for that joy.

Just singing and dancing becoming one with the raw nature.

We ate our dinner and then were rewarded with the most incredible breeze and even tho it was still 93° it felt amazing with the sun setting.

We ran up the dunes, Parker rolled down, we explored and marveled. This was the most glorious unexpected evening the breeze breathing life into us.

Amazing sunset views with an epic breeze.

Laughing watching sister drop and log roll down.

Sunset was breathtaking, the photos couldn’t even capture one side of the sky with blue and purple and the other with pink, coral, and yellow, vibrant like it was painted with water colors.

Sunset with a hidden surprise in the shrubs.

After we brushed our teeth and got back to the van the wind was really picking up. We opened all of the doors and loved every minute of the wind pushing its way through the van. Our straw hats barely remained on their hooks on the back door, blowing in the wind.

We got Beckham ready for bed and, as the wind continued to blow through, while he slept, the after sunset glow began to fade and the most incredible display of stars came out for the grand finale. We all sat on the bed next to him and just watched quietly.

There wasn’t much to say, we just sat quietly, appreciating this beautiful night, our magical discovery, and the intense breeze. Slowly, one at a time, we closed our eyes and turned in.

This morning I had the most mystical beautiful sunrise from my yoga mat that topped all others I can remember.