The Lost Summer of 2021: The Last Day

 

Sun setting on the last day of the Lost Summer of 2021. Alternative title: A Dirty Window. Mobile, Alabama. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

I departed the Budget Inn in Monroe, Louisiana, a little after 8:00 a.m. on this Lost Summer morning, August 31, 2021.

Below is a narrative of my experience at this motel, sent to my Houston friend: 

"Fortunately, I have a battery-operated camp lantern with me - I used it last night as a bedside light when I discovered that the can light up in the ceiling between the two beds had not been installed - so to have light, one must walk over to door to turn on or off the ceiling light.

"Fortunately, the motel owners replaced the non-functioning refrigerator in my room yesterday evening with a new one.

"Fortunately, I have an ample supply of plastic grocery bags to use for my trash collection, as there is no wastebasket in the room.

"*laughing*

"This ain't the Motel 6 in Junction here."

En route between Monroe and Mobile, I stopped at: 

• Big Top Travel Center and Casino in Delhi, Louisiana. 
• Mississippi Welcome Center
• Kroger's in Clinton, Mississippi (I have a nostalgic fondness for Kroger for its connection to my childhood family and for my maternal grandmother's neighborhood Kroger ... plus its Carbmaster yogurt)
• Circle K outside Collins, Mississippi (I like Circle K for its economically-priced fountain sodas)
• Another Circle K, this one in Beaumont, Mississippi
• A motel in Lucedale, Mississippi, around 2-ish in the afternoon, but was only there briefly before pressing on toward Mobile.
  

Because I'm reconstructing my Lost Summer a year later, I am relying on my Google Maps timeline, my phone call history, and emails that I sent that day. 

Hurricane Ida

Until I re-read an email to my Houston friend on this and the preceding days in 2021, I had completely forgotten about Hurricane Ida, and the resulting exodus of folks in its path. Which resulted in fully-occupied motels and campgrounds hither and yon in precisely the areas of my travel on this day. 

It stuns me how easily I could forget an event so enormous that it temporarily displaced thousands of people. A storm so immense in its ferocity that it was second only to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. An event so massive that my Houston friend and I referenced it in our emails for days leading up to the event because I was headed toward its outer circles. 

Can I attribute this lapse to the fact that it was just one more Very Bad Layer of Bad Stuff on an already tottering tower of Very Bad Things that have accreted atop our mental warehouse floor since November 2016? And COVID .... always COVID.

I wish I could blame the above, but I don't think that's truthful.

I think it's because when a bad thing doesn't affect us directly, it is oh, so much easier for it to slip away from our brains. Or we feel helpless to do anything about it, so although it may distress us when the news of the thing is in front of us every day, we let it drift down to our mental basement as it fades, as well, from our newsfeeds. 

I'm not happy that Hurricane Ida blew away from my brain pan in such short order. 

But getting back to the last day of my Lost Summer of 2021:

Here is what I reported to my Houston friend: 

I'm in my new apartment! There were no motel rooms in or around mobile and I asked my landlord if I could just move in early, and she said yes!

I have a beautiful sunset outside my living room / office / bedroom window!

The Lost Summer of 2021: August 30: The Penultimate Day

A receipt stuck into a bag stuck into a backpack told me part of the story of the lost summer's penultimate day.

Time: 

17:23. Also known as 5:23 p.m.

Monday, August 30, 2021.

Location: 

A grocery store in Monroe, Louisiana. Well north of the Boudin Curtain, sha. More like Mississippi than Louisiana.

What I bought: 

• Cream cheese spread
• Something "fresh, no sugar"
• Some watermelon. Probably a quarter of a whole or a container of chunks.
  

I stayed the night at the Budget Inn in Monroe, which was my go-to lodging in the Lost Summer of 2021. I paid $70. 

I have no photographic evidence of this day, so I will insert a photo from a past life, rooted, which I'd titled: "Lost my head and it's all a blur," which seems apropos. 

Lost my head and it's all a blur. Missouri. Christmas 2007. Credit: Mzuriana.

I might'nt have devoted a whole post to this day, but for the damn receipt. Faded, worn, the paper softened, after sitting in that backpack for so long, my hand rubbing past it untold number of times when I rummaged through the bag for something. 

Related posts to Lost Summer of 2021 here.

The Lost Summer of 2021: Sunday, August 29: Brownfield, Texas

 

Gillham Park in Brownfield, Texas. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

 

Given my late arrival in Brownfield, Texas, the night before, I luxuriated in my motel room until the very last minute I could on Sunday morning. I didn't leave until 11:00 a.m.

Gillham Park in Brownfield, Texas. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

 And then I made my way to Gillham Park, where I may have had lunch with the geese alongside a pretty lake. 

I hold the same thought today that I did a year ago: "Brownfield"? I get that the name honors someone named Brownfield, but all I think of is land contaminated with toxic chemicals. Time for the town to re-brand? 

That night, I ended the day's travel in Eastland, Texas, at 8:45 or so.

My Houston friend and I conferred via email: 

Me:  "I have landed in Eastland Texas for the night. Staying at Budget Host motel." 

Friend: "I can see you are slowing down to time your return to Mobile and that is great.  We've been glued to CNN and the Weather Channel. We can't believe the devastation in [Louisiana] and the worst is yet to be discovered.  ...."

Me: "Yes, that, and I also wanted to either get close to but not in Dallas, or [to get] past Dallas tonight. It's not ideal to go through Dallas on Monday instead of Sunday, but I also wanted a relaxing morning today."

Friend: "I see the power just went off in New Orleans.  I'd urge you to be careful about driving into a disaster area before you can assess the situation.  Spending a few days in a budget motel on the fringes may be money well spent."

Me: "I agree completely. My plan is to approach Mobile from the north, coming through Vicksburg, Jackson, and Hattiesburg. For tomorrow night I'm considering Monroe, Louisiana."

The Lost Summer of 2021: Saturday, August 28

I departed Las Cruces around 8:30 a.m. 

Headed east on Highway 70.  

San Agustin Pass

Stopped at San Augustin Pass, with its turnout, where I'd turned in so often in past crossings. 

Irony observed:

San Agustin Pass, New Mexico. Mattresses abandoned. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

The missile and the so-lovely Organ Mountains: 

San Agustin Pass, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

San Agustin Pass, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

San Agustin Pass, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

White Sands National Monument

Stopped at White Sands National Monument. I had a mission: To buy a piece of jewelry in the gift store. 

Mission accomplished: 

Lapiz pendant from White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

Tularosa

Upon arriving at Alamogordo, I hung a left, where Highways 70 and 54 run together for awhile. I stopped in Tularosa at Del Sol Tularosa Southwest. Mission: Buy a pendant there. I bought two: 

Pendants bought in Tularosa, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

I had bought a spectacular piece there some years ago. At least I'm pretty confident it was there.

Comet moon pueblo pendant by "RV". New Mexico.

Not long after Tularosa, I hung a right onto where Highway 70 splits from 54 and moves into the mountains. Ruidoso was next on my list. 

Before Ruidoso, I swung by the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalero. Just for some beauty.

The grand entrance art installation of the Ga'an Crown Dancers is magnificent. 

 

Ga'an Crown Dancers art installation, Inn of the Mountain Gods, Mescalero, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

Ga'an Crown Dancers art installation, Inn of the Mountain Gods, Mescalero, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

Ga'an Crown Dancers art installation, Inn of the Mountain Gods, Mescalero, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

Ruidoso

Traffic congestion. Creeping along roadway.

Oh right, this is why I don't position myself in a tourist town. 

Mission 1: See about buying another pendant. FAIL. Too difficult to find parking.

Mission 2: See if Ruidoso might be a future temporary residence. SUCCESS. Struck Ruidoso off my list. Not only because of the seasonal congestion, but because rents are probably high, as property owners more likely to earn more from tourists than long-term renters. So long-term rent likely to be higher than I could afford. 

Where I landed for the night

I powered through the rest of New Mexico (with a quick dip into Allison Canyon), through Plains, Texas, and slid into a Budget Inn around 11:30 p.m. in Brownfield, Texas.

A long day. 

The Lost Summer of 2021: August 24-27: Las Cruces, New Mexico

I hung about Las Cruces for several days, staying at friend "Drake's" (aka "Flint's") house. 

Both COVID and a looming storm hovered near.

 

On Tuesday, August 24, 2021

I wrote to my Houston friend: 

Knowing I've already got a place lined up [in Mobile, Alabama] - that ticks so many, maybe even all, of my boxes - feels very luxurious. Being able to do that reconnaissance mission earlier this summer really panned out.

I see one of Houston's medical centers has closed three of its branch ERs due to the COVID surge. I like the very frank, succinct language the medical center used:

'To reverse this devastating trend, we need every member of the community to take swift action: please do your part, and if you are eligible to get vaccinated, do so as soon as possible. At this point, this is a disease of the unvaccinated and it is preventable if people just get vaccinated.' "

 

Wednesday, August 25: An evening walk

 

Dead butterfly on an evening walk in Las Cruces. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

Yellow flowers on an evening walk in Las Cruces. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

 

An evening walk in Las Cruces, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

An evening walk in Las Cruces, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

An evening walk in Las Cruces, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

Wednesday, August 25: An alert

An email exchange with my Houston friend on this day:  

• From me: "Still in New Mexico. Will be here til Saturday morning. Then I'll mosey on toward Mobile. As yet I am unsure of my route."
  
• My friend's response: "I assume you are aware there is a tropical storm in the Gulf which may affect your travels."
  

Thursday, August 26: An evening walk

Purple flowers and rosemary on evening walk. Las Cruces, New Mexico. August 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

Thursday, August 26: Emails to my Houston friend: 

My 10-day forecast for Mobile shows scattered thunderstorms, but this could change, of course, and worsen.

I think I've settled on my route from Las Cruces. Because it may be a long time before I'm in the Southwest mountains again, I'm going to jog back through White Sands, up to Mescalero and Ruidoso, before dropping down to head east through south Dallas, Shreveport, Hattiesburg, etc.

Also, I've played with the idea of a turn in Ruidoso in the past [as a future temporary residence], despite its colder temps in the winter (not to mention snow!), so this will be another look-see.

 

On Friday, August 27: Veterans

Drake's dad - "Beck" - and I visited Veteran's Memorial Park. 

Both Drake and Beck served in the Navy. 

That precariously-posed helicopter impressed the hell out of me. 

Veteran's Memorial Park helicopter. Las Cruces, New Mexico. Credit: Mzuriana.

I am reminded of New Mexico's Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park, which I visited in 2013 here. A helicopter there, too.

I am reminded, too, of the important role that veterans play in powwows, as described here, from my attendance at the Gathering of Nations in 2013. 

Friday, August 27: Foreshadowing in emails to my Houston friend

I hope [Hurricane] Ida doesn't hit New Orleans too hard. I see that Grand Isle (which I visited in July) expects Ida to be worse than any of last year's storms/hurricanes

But it does look like Ida's path could change over to hit Mobile.

Hmmmmm, it just occurred to me that lodging availability in northern parts will likely be affected by an influx of evacuees.

Looks like you've got rain in the forecast for the next 10 days.

  

 

The Lost Summer of 2021, Part 1: An Introduction

 

Highway 1, somewhere between Galliano and Grand Isle, Louisiana. July 2021. Credit: Mzuriana.

The summer of 2021 is a blur to me. So much had happened earlier in the year, and during the summer, both to me and to people in my circles. Deaths. Disappointments. Uncertainties. Travel feats. Travel fails. So many places seen, so many places slept in. Relocation searches and decisions. Moving out of one temporary home. Moving into a new temporary home. 

COVID, of course. The bad roommate that won't pay their share of the rent, clean up their mess, and refuses to leave.

• June 30: Left Birmingham, Alabama
• July 1: Tennessee, Missouri
• July 11: Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi
• July 12-15: Mississippi, Alabama
• July 15-28: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama again
• July 29-August 13: Mississippi, Missouri
• August 14-29: Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas
• August 30: Louisiana, Alabama

 Let's see if I can reclaim that summer via photos, scribbled notes, receipts, emails, and texts.