(Continued from “Our Grand Circle Tour in The RV Times #128 March/April 2009), 

BY REX (& DANIA) VOGEL

To paraphrase the words of Willie Nelson, we’re goin’ places that we’ve never been; seein’ things that we may never see again.

During our working years, Dania and I would rush through several weeks of intensive vacation sightseeing. Now retired, we have years to explore our magnificent continent, its natural beauty, historic sites, and treasured landmarks.

I’ve often wondered why Canadian songster Anne Murray’s famous ballad Snowbird strikes such a responsive cord with Canadians. It may be because many Canadians escape the rigors of snow and ice by heading south for the winter.

Going south to escape the winter is, paradoxically, as Canadian as Prairie sunsets, the Rocky Mountains, Anne of Green Gables, and maple syrup. The destinations are familiar—Palm Springs, Arizona, South Texas, and Florida—places where the sun shines and the living is easy, not to mention frost-free.

With me, it’s like an itch. But this persistent twinge is not where I can reach it, not even with a backscratcher. No, it tickles the inside of my head, just above whichever cortex controls curiosity. Intermittent at first, the itch becomes more insistent the longer I ignore it. Each hour, every routine lawn mowing—and especially every week that our motorhome sits ready on our concrete pad—ratchets up the intensity of the itch until I eventually have no choice but to acknowledge it: I must hit the road again!

Of course, the travel-bug pulls at each of us differently. Some prefer new adventures, journeys defined by adrenaline rushes and the unknown. Others prefer comfortable and familiar surroundings—to travel with loved ones or friends.

Travel, for us, is the salve that lets us expand our horizons, reveal the full dazzle of the colour spectrum, and ward off the creeping humdrums.

And thus our new journey began—our 12th annual southern sojourn!

After a wonderful month touring the national parks of Utah (SEE “Our Grand Circle Tour in The RV Times #128 March/April 2009), we spent several weeks in the Land of Enchantment on our way to wintering in South Texas. To read more, a membership is needed: Click here to subscribe