We lead pretty good lives, so there isn’t much to lament. In fact, I often think that if a Genie were to appear offering me the chance to magically change anything in my past, I’d have to politely decline the invitation (politely, because it’s never a good idea to piss-off an all-powerful Genie).
After all, everything in my past leads to this present, which I happen to think is pretty great. If I made different choices along the way, I wouldn’t be where I am today. And who’s to say that would be better? I happen to think it probably wouldn’t be.
None of that, however, prevented me from gritting my teeth in regret at having traded in our old Audi as I tried to navigate our Jeep through the crazy winding roads that took us from Silver City, NM, to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.
Every hand-over-hand turn screamed for an automobile with tighter cornering and better downshifting ability. I knew I was overtaxing the Jeep’s abilities when I started to smell burning breaks. With great sadness, I had to ease back on the throttle.
Meantime, our iPod random shuffle kept selecting classical music, making the entire episode feel like a Lexus commercial. I’d like to think the iPod missed our old car too. More likely, it was just mocking me.
Everywhere Once 
I hate parting with my cars .. it’s a real physical wrench.
I’m feeling for you!
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It was especially hard for us because we didn’t really want to trade the car. It wasn’t like we were excited about a new vehicle, but we couldn’t tow our existing car – so it had to go. That experience, along with getting rid of pretty much everything else we owned, prompted this blog post: https://everywhereonce.com/2011/12/05/how-to-say-goodbye-to-your-things/
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One degree of separation. So many connecting thoughts emerging from your short post: the winding Road to Hana on Maui; missing my ’67 Olds Cutlass Supreme which got 9 mpg and needed more $ for repairs than I could afford to channel in its direction (Jay Leno, I’m not): classical music playing during a high-flying ride over the San Juan Islands in a biplane; pondering where I’d be if I’d made different choices along the way but being glad I didn’t; and making a mental note to visit the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Totally enjoying your thought-provoking posts.
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Very cool tour through your memories – thanks for sharing. One degree of separation, indeed. 🙂
We’ll be putting up a post on Gila Cliff Dwellings shortly, so check back soon for more.
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Thanks, Brian. Checking back—that’s a given!
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Great Post! It reminds me of the time that we decided to take a shortcut to bypass Bakersfield, California. We had a tent trailer on the back of our pickup when we came across (1) 13% grade and (2) 17% grades on this shortcut road. You have that oh crap! moment and keep moving forward because there was no way to turn around. Have a Great Day!
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Oh my. I think at 17% grade my RV either goes backward or careening uncontrolably forward. That’s just a guess. One that I don’t want to test.
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I know the post is more about the journey and not the destination, but I’ve always wanted to go to New Mexico. Hope you’ll write more about it!
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Hi Lindsey,
This is our second pass through NM. It’s a lovely state. You’ll find all of our previous NM posts in the link below. You’ll find new NM posts front and center at EverywhereOnce in the days ahead.
https://everywhereonce.com/category/united-states/new-mexico/
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You make an excellent point about not wanting to make any changes in your life because then you wouldn’t be where you are today. I agree. Sorry to hear about your car trouble. Don’t know how an Audi rides, but a Jeep I drove just made me feel every bump along the road. No fun.
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Until we made that trip on NM State Highway 15 from Silver City, I was under the obviously incorrect assumption that all “State Highways” had center stripes, cleared shoulders and an occasional guard rail. The drive was highly educational.
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Ha. It gets worse if you continue on to the nearby Mogollon “Ghost” Town, although I think much of that is off the State Highway.
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+1
We made that drive as well. I heard the big wildfire in NM forced “all” the residents of Mogollon to flee. Hope it missed them.
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We went through a couple of weeks ago; before the fire. As I understand it, they still have the area evacuated. The fire is only 5% contained and people are starting to worry about flooding when the “monsoon” season comes. Really unfortunate.
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Great road!
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