Month: March 2018

If you are following along with my blog you have read that I just got home after two months on the road. Well being at home didn’t last to long for this girl. Four days in my hometown and I was off again. One of my good friends was getting married in the city of Las Vegas. Which just happens to be one of my favorites. In that week I would be staying in Vegas we would be enjoying a bachelorette party, wedding, NFR and just making memories with friends who are like family.

The drive to Vegas was a fun one. I drove down with my friends dad Dave. He was the father of the bride. We got into Vegas and the fun began. I ended up meeting up with some friends from home. Walked part of the strip, gambled a little and then took the elevator up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The view was incredible! I have been to Vegas multiple times but this was the first time I had experienced the strip from there.

Day 2 brought more friends coming in and the bachelorette party. The bachelorette party started out with dinner and multiple margaritas at Senor Frogs in the Treasure Island. Who can beat their deal on margaritas? The answer is no one. So why not drink two. Then we were off to Mystere. It was an incredible show. The people that put the performance on were absolutely incredible. It is definitely a must see. Once the show was over the group split up some of us went and gambled while the others did what they did.

The wedding was beautiful. The bride looked amazing. It was definitely a classy Vegas wedding.

The rest of the week included more of meeting up with friends. Drinking margaritas and walking around Cowboy Christmas. We walked the strip a lot, enjoyed the street performers, bought street art (well at least I did) and just made memories. I find that laughter with friends is the best thing for anyone and that week brought a lot of it.

The time to once again go home showed up and we were off.  Vegas is always a good time. I love getting to see the lights, enjoy to food, drinks, and just the crazy atmosphere. But I can honestly say a week in Vegas is definitely long. 

 

 

It was time to head home. It was hard to believe I had been gone for two months already. Time flew by! I had seen amazing places, got to see amazing people and made a few more friends along the way. Heading home was a bitter-sweet moment. It was hard for me to admit that but it is the truth. I was excited to see my friends and family but I wasn’t excited to be back in the small town that I called home. When that reality hit me it was like a rock smacked me. I definitely knew that for me in that moment of my life I was for sure doing exactly what I was supposed to do. Which for me was traveling.

I hauled a trailer back home from Indiana but instead of taking it to California I had to make a stop in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. The trip back to the west coast was a good one. I was able to see more amazing states. My first stop was in Grand Island NE to stay the night with some family. The next day the wind picked up so I ended up not making it to my planned stop instead I once again was Hamlet bound to visit Uncle Brian and Aunt Heidi.

I woke up that morning the wind was way calmer so back on the road I went. Little did I know that about an hour away the wind was whipping so instead of making it to Salt Lake I made it to a small town in Colorado where a friend I grew up with works on a feed lot. It had been a few years since I had gotten to see Austin. I was able to spend time with him and catch up. There is nothing better than getting to spend time with someone you grew up with and seeing how happy they are.

The next day I made it to Boise Idaho to another family members house. I had one more day to go on the journey to Coeur d’Alene. Getting to spend time with Kelly at her home from Boise was amazing. Kelly has always been on of my favorite people. We hadn’t gotten to be around each other a lot in my adult life but the times that we had were the best. So getting to catch up was amazing.

I got the trailer to Coeur d’Alene and it was officially the last leg on the road home. One more night spent with friends in Redmond Oregon and I would be home. Leaving Redmond I only had a 5 hour drive home that wouldn’t go fast enough. There I was driving down hwy 97 and at this point I just wanted to be home and see my nieces and nephew. I made it to Klamath Falls Oregon and was able to see beautiful Mount Shasta. This is the mountain I grew up looking at every day. Pulling into Red Bluff for the first time in two months was surreal. I was so excited to see my nieces and nephew. Pulling into the driveway it hit me I was finally Home but it didn’t feel like it always had. I was happy to be back in the place I grew up but I knew I didn’t want to be there full time. I had changed. I had grown as a person. I had seen amazing places. I was happy with the person that I was more than ever before. That I have the road to thank for that.

So what was next?

When I am driving so many things run through my head. Questions about life definitely run through my head. I always question if I am living up to my full potential. If my Grandpa Crook was still here would he be proud? Where am I going in life? Where am I meant to be? Am I suppose to be in the small town I grew up in or am I suppose to be on the road seeing and living life? Well luckily for me while theses questions run through my head I am also able to take the time to self reflect and answer them for myself. There are always the people you turn to that have opinions about what you are doing. But in the end is it up to them how you live your life? My answer to that is no. It is up to you to find your own happiness. No one can make you happy have to make yourself happy and that is one of the hardest things.

So there I was back in Indiana and my next load was going to Kentucky. Which was a quick little four-hour drive. Now by this time I had been gone almost a complete month from home. It had been a month without my nieces, friends and family. But that was soon to end because one of my good friends that is also one of my hunting buddy’s was flying into Indianapolis that night. I dropped my trailer off and was headed to pick Maggi up. But I had a little time to kill so I met up with Aunt Debbie and Uncle Al for dinner in Louisville Kentucky which is where they live. They are always one of my stops on my runs when I drive through. We ate at the Mexican restaurant that is just around the corner from their house. It is so good and who knew that you could request queso and beans?  Come to find out they are amazing! I highly recommend it if you are in the mid west.

After dinner it was off to Indianapolis to pick up Maggi. I pulled up and there was my friend waiting for me. I was so excited to see her and show her around Indiana a little bit before we headed back to Uncle Brian’s for deer season.I showed her around the Amish community a little bit the next day. We picked up a trailer to drop off in Iowa and we were off! A couple of days and we would be in Hamlet waiting for opening day.

Deer hunting in Nebraska is one of my all time favorite things to do. Whitetail hunting is amazing! I sit in a tree stand that is about 20 feet in the air and just get to take in the outdoors. One of my favorite things about being in the tree stand is that you get to see some amazing things. I’ve seen deer play, run, walk, scrap, and fight. The animals absolutely amaze me.

I’m sure some people reading this blog are thinking how can you hunt? How can you shoot an animal? To me hunting isn’t a sport. For me it is a way that I help feed my family. The feeling I get when I harvest an animal is unlike any other. I feel blessed, honored and thankful every single time. It is definitely a humbling experience and one that wouldn’t be taken lightly. I always try to harvest an animal that is mature. One that is done reproducing. One that has had its chance to live and reproduce. Hunting is an important part of my life because it is honestly one of the ways I fill our family freezer. No animal that I harvest goes unused.

That year deer hunting I actually never tagged a buck. I passed up on a lot but none of the bucks that I was seeing were what I looking for. Maggi was able to harvest a mature buck that would fill her freezer. She ended up not being able to spend the entire week in Nebraska like normal she was headed on a hunt with her sister so my trip back to Indiana was all me.

Once I was back in Indiana it was almost time for thanksgiving. Which that year I would be spending in Springtown, TX with one of my best friends and her boyfriend. Along with getting to see them I also had the opportunity to spend time with one of my best friends from high school and her husband who raises and trains horses. The week in Texas was great between getting to spend time with everyone, doing a little bit of hunting and getting to watch amazing horses work.

Now it was time to once again head back to Indiana. Once again the questions popped into my head. Well anyone that has ever traveled from Texas to Indiana knows that it is a long drive and you definitely have time to answer them. My grandpa was my best friend. He was my rock and my go to guy. He passed away March 18, 2002 and my life has never been the same. But when I am on the road and I am asking myself if I am where I need to be or if I’m questioning my life I feel like he is with me. I truly believe he is proud of me. He always told me growing up “baby you can do anything you want. If you want something go for it and never apologize for following your dreams.” This is something I think about often because not everyone shares the same dream. Some people want to get married and have a family. Some people want to go to school and work in an office. Some people want to work outdoors. Some people want to travel and see the world. I have found that no matter what you want to do that you have to do it for YOU! So when I am driving along I definitely believe that it is where I am suppose to be at this time. It is my happy place. It excites me and the fact that I get to have a job that allows me to follow my dream is even better! And I know my grandpa would be proud of me because I am living my dream and living my life to the best of my ability.

What drives you? What makes you happy? What is your dream? These are all questions I ask myself to make sure I still know that I am where I am supposed to be. The moment that I can’t answer these is going to be the moment that I change once again. Because this life is an amazing roller coaster! One that you have no idea how it is going to end. So how are you living your life?