The “Rural” part of the trip had come to an end. Until this point, the biggest city we had visited was Rapid City. It has a population of around 68,000 people. That probably can be classified as city in South Dakota…..but it would no doubt fail to meet the criteria of a real city in the rest of the world. But, we people from Kansas understand that all too well! Take away Kansas City and its suburbs, Topeka and Wichita…..and probably Lawrence in the summer season…..and we aren’t exactly bursting with any mega-cities, either.

Be that as it may…..we woke up Wednesday morning….certainly not suffering any ill-effects of my birthday non-celebration…..unless we want to count some serious over-eating at the Chinese buffet……and we set our sights on our next destination: Detroit, Michigan. The trip really wasn’t so very far…..only 366 miles. But, of course, I was a year older now…..and maybe that made it seem a little longer.

I wish I could say that I have vivid memories of this part of the trip…..but that would not be true. Again….it was almost non-stop driving. We did stop a couple times….solely at my insistence. Our first stop was to take a pictures of the bridge that spans the isthmus between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. We never measured the bridge, but I would imagine that it was somewhere between four and five miles long. Maybe a little more; maybe a little less. Who knows? Long bridges like this are a rather dramatic sight, I think……as they disappear off into the mist shrouding the water.

Of course, it was a toll bridge. We had to pay to cross it. I am always puzzled by this arrangement. I am curious to know what Fayez and I would have done if we had come upon this bridge…..and had no money with us. I wonder what any traveler would have done in such circumstances. We could have possibly simply turned around in the middle of the crowded highway….in the midst of dozens of angry drivers…..and retraced our route until we came to an alternative route. Of course, that would have added several hundred additional miles. Or, I suppose we could have not stopped….gunned the engine and sped past the collection booth….and continued on with our journey. That could have been an option…..but we would have most certainly paid dearly for our foolish choice later on. But, who knows? A week in a Michigan jail may have been the most interesting part of the trip.

Of course, we had the money to pay….but I sometimes wonder if there are ever out-of-state drivers…..drivers who are even less sophisticated that us……who come upon a bridge such as this…..and have no clue that it will cost money to cross it until they are in an unending line of vehicles…..all waiting impatiently to cross.

We did cross the bridge. It was so long that it seemed that we must be in another state….or even in another country. But….no. We were still in Michigan. The first one hundred fifty miles or so were more of the same…..more tree lined, flat highway….dotted with signs directing tourists toward more fishing resorts tucked away in the woods. The landscape and the atmosphere changed the further south we drove. That is when we truly left the “rural” portion of our journey behind us. The Interstate highway morphed into a super-highway was we drove through Bay City, Saginaw, Flint….and finally into the suburbs of Detroit. As would be expected, the volume of traffic increased exponentially as we approached….and entered….this string of cities.

Fayez was holding up. In fact, he was doing very well dealing with the mass of traffic….much like maneuvering one’s way through a congested marathon….with every runner scheming for the best advantage. Actually, driving in Detroit was not as bad as I had thought it would be. Of course…..I wasn’t driving. But, there were no “near misses” or any other alarming incidents as we made our way to the hotel. No matter what other problems they may have, the streets in Detroit are well marked…. We recognized…..or, more accurately….I recognized….many of the land marks from pictures I had seen previously.

As we turned onto the street where our hotel was located……I recognized it immediately. I had already seen pictures of it…..and I had already looked at it on Google Earth. That was easy enough. Of course, the motel was not nearly as luxurious as the pictures on the Internet. But….they never are. One of the first things I noticed was that the entrances to all the rooms were from the outside. That concerned me a little bit. This was, after all, Detroit. And, Detroit has never been renowned for its safety. And, it meant that there was no elevator to take us to the second floor.

The motel was located on the very outer fringe of “downtown”…..a couple blocks from Detroit’s famous Renaissance Center…..the sprawling complex of sleek skyscrapers: an urban renewal project championed by the Ford family to fight back against the rapidly deteriorating downtown area. But….in Detroit, even a few blocks can make a huge difference….and our motel was definitely on the border….sort of a transition….from the ultra-modern urban renewal showcase…..and the “real” Detroit.

Our motel was did not radiate the semi-posh atmosphere I had expected. In fact, it had seen better days. But, the owners…..maybe new owners…..were in the process of refurbishing it. The reception area was totally messed up. At first sight, it was a wee bit disturbing. But, the owners were friendly….eager to help….apologetic for the obvious disheveled condition of the motel. I felt a little bit….but not a lot….better about the situation. My confidence was raised a couple notches when I inquired about the safety and advisability of going downtown at night. They all agreed that it was safe to wander around the Renaissance Center for a while…..but they also advised that it was a good idea to be back in our room at or before 10:00. This admonition did nothing to bolster my confidence in the city of Detroit. But, it did increase my confidence in them….and their concern for our safety and well-being.
We carried out stuff up to our room on the second floor of the motel. Stairs….no elevator, of course. The room looked….well….. It looked adequate, at best. At least, the floor was clean, and the bedding looked like it may have been washed, and the shower was reasonably clean. Even though it didn’t live up to my prior expectations, I suppose it could have been worse….much worse. We could have been stuck in South Sioux City for another two nights.

The motel didn’t have a gym, so Fayez took off almost immediately to find a place where he could work out. I sat up my laptop…..and I immediately lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

I was awakened about 90 minutes later by Fayez, knocking on the door. After he had taken a shower, we took off to find a place to eat our evening meal. By a general consensus, we agreed that we would find an Arab restaurant in the suburb of Hamtramck, where supposedly 40,000 Muslims live. Needless to say, I was looking forward to it. Certainly I had never seen that many Muslims in one place at one time. With the help of our omnipresent GPS system, we arrived at the restaurant we had chosen……a restaurant we assumed would be in the center of the Muslim community. There was only one problem, however…… There were no Muslims around. At least, not in the numbers that we had been expecting. I don’t know who was the most disappointed…..Fayez or myself. Probably me. I was very much anticipating observing how 40,000 Muslims live in such a community…..to walk down the street and look into their shops, their markets. To see them interacting with each other on the streets.

However…..there were only a few Muslims shops or markets or people hanging out on the sidewalks. Nevertheless, we entered the restaurant……and ordered something. Actually, from this point on, I have on a dim recollection of what we ate….or anything else that happened. I do know, however, it was not what I had expected……and I think I can say…..it was not what Fayez expected, either. Both of us considered the possibility that we simply were in the wrong place…..that maybe we hadn’t actually found Hamtramck. But there would be more time tomorrow to explore that possibility.

In the early evening, we were off to explore Detroit…..without getting mugged, shot or a knife in our back. The clerk in the motel had already told us that is was probably “safe” to look around downtown Detroit….but he would suggest that we be back in our motel room by 9:00 or 10:00. I, for one, took him seriously. I want to continue to live for at least another twenty or twenty-five years!

Probably the only part of Detroit that is worth exploring is the Renaissance Center. Actually, the Renaissance Center was located only three or four blocks from our motel. However, we chose to drive there. It was quicker….and safer. The Renaissance Center is the “crown jewel” of downtown Detroit. And….it is the only feature that is clearly visible on the Detroit skyline. In fact, it dominates it.

The Renaissance Center was more or less the brain child of the Ford Family whose purpose was to revitalize the crumbling downtown area. Henry Ford, Jr. pushed the concept and was instrumental in bringing about its construction. In fact, the project was financed mainly by the Ford Motor Company.

The Renaissance Center is a complex of seven interconnected skyscrapers. Construction on the mammoth project began in 1973…..and the final phase was completed in 1977. As I said…..this complex of gleaming skyscrapers dictates the Detroit skyline……and this complex of buildings is overshadowed by the seventy-three story Westin Hotel. General Motors purchased the complex of buildings in 1976……and one of the buildings now serves as their world headquarters.

As in most cities these days, the downtown area of Detroit was practically devoid of people…..even at 8:00 P.M. …….And, maybe for good reason. After taking some pictures of the Renaissance Center, we drove around for a while….and then returned to our motel for the rest of the night.

 

 

 

 

Early Thursday morning, July 30, we were up and eager to see what Detroit had to offer. And, the answer is: Not much. Before we left on the trip, I had done quite a lot of research in an attempt to find some interesting sites to look at….or some interesting things to do. But, for a city the size of Detroit….there simply is not much to see or do. Kansas City, on the other hand, offers a wide variety of museums, galleries, theme parks, and other cultural and entertainment events.

Over the years, the population of Detroit has steadily declined….mostly as the result of loss of jobs in the automobile industry. With the rise in popularity of foreign cars and the diversification of the domestic automobile industry from Detroit to other part of the USA, Detroit has suffered a devastating economic hardship. Detroit reached its peak population in 1950 with 1,849,568 people…..sliding to less than half that number today…. 713,270 people according to the latest census numbers. It has tumbled from the 6th largest city in the USA to 18th largest city today.

And, probably even more debilitating is the tremendous racial imbalance that has developed. Today almost 83% of the population is black….and approximately 11% of the population is white. The remainder of the people are of other various nationalities and ethnic and religious groups.

Our day began with breakfast in the small cafe located in the motel complex. Unfortunately, breakfast was not included in the price of our room, a courtesy or convenience usually included in the price for most hotels. But….at least, the cafe was convenient. And, I must admit, the food was not bad.

Only a couple blocks from our motel was the Detroit River Walk…..a multi-purpose entertainment district which has been constructed…..and is still under construction….along the Detroit River. This was the site of our first sightseeing adventure of the day. Again, we chose to drive. Although we really didn’t see an over-abundance of muggers along the way…..no little old ladies lying helpless on the sidewalks with their purses missing…..driving was faster, especially since we had other things to do later in the morning.

I am not really sure what to say about the River Walk. Even though it offered a pleasant stroll along the river, there actually weren’t a lot of things to see or a lot of things to do. I had probably set my expectations too high…..at least, for Detroit. The River Walk seemed to be a popular destination for the locals, though. There were lots of people milling around. A band was playing…. No….it was recorded music…..accompanying an outdoor fitness session. A noble idea, to say the least. It appeared to be open to anybody who wanted to join in. And, there were probably a hundred people….mostly older people…..who were going through the routine, which was being led by a couple of enthusiastic leaders or instructors. And….there were even more people….like Fayez and me….who stood and watched…..maybe hoping that some of the physical benefits would rub off on us by osmosis. It didn’t! I did think of one useful purpose of the River Walk. It would be a great place for me to walk…..or for Fayez to run. It was perfectly flat….and extended for several city blocks…… If we should ever find ourselves living in Detroit…..

There were a few food vendors….and maybe even a couple souvenir stands. But, for Fayez and me, there wasn’t much to do except walk along and look at the river and the tour boats and admire the wild flowers and grasses that had been planted along the broad sidewalk…..with the ever-present view of the Renaissance Center looming in the near background. We were surprised to learn that the River Walk Park closes around 9:00 P.M……just when I supposed would be the time when the action would be heating up…..especially in the summer time. But…..then, too….we had been warned to be back in our motel room at 9:00 or 10:00. So, chances are…..there is a reason why it closes so early!

After leaving the River Walk park, we set off to find the elusive….and maybe mythical….Hamtramck. And, the search didn’t turn out to be any more successful than it was yesterday. Of course, the towns exists. It is shown on the maps. It has an official census population. There were signs on the highway pointing out its direction. But, it was not what we had expected. Obviously, is it not any sort of tourist attraction. It apparently was simply a town where 40,000 Muslims live and carried on with their daily lives without drawing undue attention or fanfare. As I said previously, I was somewhat disappointed. I had looked forward to getting a small gimps into the life and society of a Muslim community. But…..someday I will go to Saudi Arabia for a day….and probably I will have an opportunity to observe all that kind of stuff there.

 

 

 

 

The only other tourist attraction that was viable was the Henry Ford Museum. Like many major cities, the life and history of Detroit was shaped by one family. In this case…..it was the Ford family. Stop and think. Denver had the Coors family. Kansas City had the Kemper and Nichols families. Hutchinson had the Dillon and Carey families. St. Louis had the Anhauser and Busch families.

At any rate, the Henry Ford Museum complex is a vast collection of different museum venues…..all adjacent to each other…..but all operating independently. At least, they operate independently for the purpose of collecting entry fees! Some of museums are outdoor museums….and some of them are located indoors. We chose an indoor museum. Over the door in large prominent letters are the words “The Henry Ford”. So, I am going to assume that either we went to the Henry Ford “Museum”…..or they didn’t have the space to finish the name of the whatever its real name is.

Even though I have a Bachelor’s Degree in history….and even though I taught United States history for two years, I am not a big fan of museums. Especially, I am not a fan of museums whose main content if a collection of Indian arrowheads….or bits of pottery that have been pieced back together…..or bones of extinct creatures that no longer inhabit the earth. I also have very little interest in looking at stuff animals or reconstructed rooms that kings or emperors spent millions of dollars that could of….and should of…..been spent on the welfare of their people. Not am I particularly fond of looking at rooms of guns and other weapons……which after the 20th gun, all of them start to look alike.

From the very beginning…..I really liked the Henry Ford Museum. To be sure….a majority of the exhibits centered around the theme of transportation…and the modernization and mechanization of the United States during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the USA. But, there were also a variety of Americana covering the same period. For me, it was a rather nostalgic trip back into time. Well….maybe not back to the nineteenth century. But, the exhibits were at least things I could relate to…..having been born a few years after the Ice Age.

It was interesting to look at agricultural machines…..tractors, combine, plows, irrigation systems, balers ….etc….that were common back in the forties, fifties, sixties…..and even up into the later years of the twentieth centuries. It is easy to forget that what we once considered to be state-of-the-art implements and equipment are now museum exhibits. The same is true of most of our electronic devices and conveniences. At the time these devices and conveniences were introduced, we felt like we were truly using the best and the latest that money could buy. And, we were…..for that time in history.

As I looked at the exhibits of common modern conveniences of the day, I could easily feel the excitement that I and my family felt as we added these things to our life: washing machines, refrigerator, telephones, TV’s, vacuum sweepers, VCR’s, slide cameras, stoves….. All of these things made our lives easier…..and added a new degree of sophistication to our lives. These “modern” conveniences are now relegated to museums. And, just as certain…..the modern, state-of-the-art devices that we are using today will also end up as museums artifacts that people of the future will walk past and remark, “How did people live like that?”

 

 

 

 

Equally interesting to me were the automobiles that were on display. Not only cars manufactured by the Ford Motor Company…..but a large collection of cars produced by a variety of manufacturers. The first car that I owned was a 1947 Chevy…..certainly a museum piece now. Even the 1960 VW Bug I owned is popular curiosity these days. I would dare say that probably the most “classic” of classic cars is the 1957 Chevrolet. This was the car that every teen-age boy wanted to own. It was a cruising car……the foremost chick magnet. Unfortunately, I never owned one of them….although one of my best friends did. And, that was almost as good. (I did own a ’57 Plymouth….but that wasn’t quite the same.)

 

 

 

 

Actually the extent of cars on display ranged from the Oscar Meyer “Wiener-mobile” to the Presidential limousines used by many of our modern presidents…..dating back to the horse-drawn buggy used by Theodore Roosevelt. The Lincoln Continental limousine in which John F. Kennedy was riding when he was assassinated is also on display.

 

 

 

 

Yeah…..I don’t think Fayez shared my fascination in the exhibits….at least, not to the degree that I did. But….someday I am sure he will see his old vehicle in a museum somewhere, too….. Probably a 2012 model camel!

It was mid-afternoon….. Fayez was getting tired….and maybe just a little bit bored. He sat down on a bench to rest while I hurriedly look at a few final exhibits. We had not had anything to eat since breakfast, so we bought a hot dog and a cold drink before we left to do other things.

Although I really have no desire to return to Detroit anytime soon….if I ever do return, I will, for sure, spend some more time in the Henry Ford Museum. It is my kind of museum.

Time was getting away from us. It was time to leave the museum and return to our motel. Again, I took a nap while Fayez went to work out.

 

 

 

 

Shortly after Fayez returned to the motel and took a shower, we left again and headed downtown to search for a place to eat. I am not sure how we found it….but we came upon an all-you-can-eat sea food restaurant. It was not the kind of buffet that we are accustomed to in Topeka….where you can keep going back for more food to eat. In this restaurant, they serve you only one entree at a time. After that has been consumed, the waitress will bring more food…..for as long as we could eat it, I suppose. At first, we thought this arrangement was somewhat strange. But, after thinking about it…..it makes sense. It forces a person to finish the food he has been served before being served additional food. At Golden Corral, for example, people fill their plates with food….leave half of it on their plate….and go back for more food…..and then often leave the restaurant with almost a full plate of uneaten food. This method, I can well imagine, cuts down drastically the amount of food that is wasted by greedy, gluttonous, unthoughtful people. I can also well imagine that before the waitress will bring another serving of food…..she definitely expects to see a clean plate! We never tested the theory. But….on the other hand, I never leave a restaurant until I have eaten all the food on my plate.

After we finished eating our supper, we strolled around the neighborhood for a while. The homes of both the Detroit Tigers baseball team and the Detroit Lions football team were close by. Let’s see if you can guess the name of the football stadium. Yes….It is called Ford Field. Probably of all the pictures I took in Detroit, the only pictures that most people will recognize….or even be familiar with….or care about….are the pictures of these two stadiums…..or is it stadia? The only other famous building we walked past was the Detroit Opera House. But, I can probably on my left hand the number of people who have any interest in that! We did stop briefly at a large outdoor chalkboard. At the top was written….. “Before I die……” There were pieces of chalk provided so passers-by could record their wishes. Fayez took advantage of the opportunity and wrote something. I don’t know what he wrote. Maybe he told me. But, if he did…..I have forgotten. I pretended to write something……so Fayez could take a picture. But….it was all for the picture. I actually wrote nothing.

During both days, we spent quite a lot of time driving around the city of Detroit. Detroit is a rather depressing city. When you read or hear about huge sections of the city being turned into run-down slum areas…..believe it. It is not exaggeration. We drove through block after block of abandoned houses….some burned out and some with boarded up windows. These neighborhoods were largely ghost towns….or at least, ghost areas. With no liveable housing…..the streets were largely deserted….no people on the sidewalks……no children playing the yards….no cars parked in front of houses. I suppose that among the vast stretches of abandoned houses, there were houses where people actually live. If so, they were living under deplorable conditions.

Looking back, I began to question if it was wise…..or safe…..to be driving through these neighborhoods, even in the day time. Sometimes it pays to be naïve, I suppose. I know for sure, however, we would have not driven there at night. And, certainly is was not a place where we would have gone for a casual stroll….at any time…..day or night. But….then again…..maybe Fayez knows karate!

We ended the day by going a Wal-Mart store…..somewhere that only the GPS knows. And for some reason. I think I was looking for a portable lawn chair….although we could have been looking for almost anything. By a rather unusual coincidence, we ended up in the same shopping center where Fayez had gone to a fitness center to work out earlier in the day.

If I didn’t know better, I would have firmly believed that this Wal-Mart store was located in the heart of Hamtramck! ……although it wasn’t. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we encountered fifty times as many Muslims than we had seen anywhere else in the city…..men, women and children. We had apparently discovered one of their favorite shopping places. But, they are probably just like me: I go to Wal-Mart because it convenient…and because the prices are cheaper. I would have really liked to take some pictures. But, my mama taught me better manners than that! Anyway, I still had Fayez to take pictures of.

The next morning we were up early. After eating breakfast in the motel cafe….and paying for it again…..we loaded up the car…..and headed toward the sunny South.

It would be easy to say a lot of negative things about the next phase of our trip. But….I am not. I am going to look at it as part of the adventure….part of the experience….part of the reality….that adds interest, excitement…and drama…. to what otherwise surely would have been a typical run-of-the-mill vacation. In almost any situation, it is the extreme highs….and the extreme low…..that make a situation memorable. Oh…I am not saying that we even came close to having an “extreme low”…..not ever close. And, even low points are relative.

And, what I would probably call a low point….Fayez would probably look up on it as being a “high”….part of the fun.

OK….. Our next destination was Louisville, KY. What else can I say? We covered the miles….. There was not much to see….certainly nothing to write home about. But, it really didn’t make a lot of difference. Fayez and I kept busy doing what we do best: talking, discussing, debating…..the usual fun stuff. As they say: Time goes fast when you are having fun. And, we always manage to have some fun. We crossed from Michigan into Ohio into Indiana on our way to our next destination: Louisville, KY.

In Louisville, we again stayed in a KOA. It was certainly

adequate….unless we want to consider the trains that seem to pass by at least once an hour during the night, splitting the air with their warning blasts at every intersection they encountered. This may have been the only night that Fayez didn’t prepare some sort of mini-banquet for us to eat. Instead, we opted for a much simpler meal of hot dogs and some prepared salad….and other assorted junk food. But, this did not detract from the exquisite taste that Fayez managed to bring out in them. The main luxury of the evening, however, was to merely sit in front of a fire and relax after a long day’s drive.

Our major point of excitement for Friday, July 31….aside from our next KOA in Paduca, Kentucky…..was a visit to Mammoth Cave National Park. The drive to Mammoth Cave National Park was beautiful and green. But, Mammoth Caves had all the charm of going down into a dark basement and spending an hour or so. No…..I am not being negative. I have been in some rather interesting basements in my life…..and this may have been one time I wished I was in another basement somewhere.

Over the years, I have been in several caverns. Carlsbad Cavern, Crystal Caverns, Cave of the Winds….and some others that I have forgotten about. I remember all of them as being rather spectacular with the stalactites and stalagmites….with vivid colors induced by various minerals…..with the damp air and water dripping from the ceilings…..

We had our choice of tours…..lasting various lengths of time and costing various amounts of money. Well…..it is sort of like choosing a line at the grocery store. No matter which line you choose…..it will be the wrong line…..the one where you stand the longest. Well….we obviously chose the wrong line….or in this case, the wrong tour. There were no stalactites….no stalagmites….. Only gray walls….gray ceiling…..gray floors. The worst part of all, however, was the steep….never-ending flight of stairs we had to traverse to get to all of this….this….nothingness. Ah….but the trip down was nothing! I could hardly wait to make the trip back up to daylight! A trip that I was sure would send me to an emergency room…..if such a thing even exists in Kentucky.

The trip that Fayez and I made to the salt mine in Hutchinson was far more interesting! At least there was an elevator to take us down…..and….more important….back up again. The salt mine had a little motorized train that shuttled us around…..and a guide who pointed out the various interesting (to him, at least) sights.

In the salt mine, we were able to take pictures….mostly because there were things to take pictures of. In Mammoth Cave there wasn’t even anything to take a picture of. Unless, of course, you think a bare wall of gray stone is interesting or photogenic. Consequently, I have to rely on my long memory to even recall this dull description.

But maybe the very worst part of the ordeal was the fact that I simply was not able to do a lot of walking…..probably due to the fact, again, that nothing was level…..and everything seemed to go uphill…..even in a cavern. So…even though I felt badly about it…..I sat down on a bench and told Fayez to go ahead and explore the rest of the cave.

Actually, Fayez wasn’t gone for very long….for obvious reasons: there was really nothing to see. And…what did I do while Fayez was off looking at the cave? Well, there were no stalagmites….no stalactites….no rock formations…. And, of course, no cell phone signal. So, I sat….rested….and admired the dark gray walls. But, I could comfort myself knowing that Fayez was probably as bored as I was inspecting what was left of the cave.

After we at last finally reached the sunshine and fresh air of the outside world again, we face the long walk back to the Visitor’s Center….and our car. Oh…..I neglected to mention that the hike from the Visitor’s Center to the entrance of the cavern…at least the entrance we took…..was a good morning workout by itself. There were other trails leading off into the woods to some unknown place beyond the entrance.

Of course, Fayez was well aware that I was not able to do much more walking….especially the uphill kind….. So, he was considerate enough to suggest that perhaps I would like to start walking back UP the trail toward the Visitor’s Center while he trekked ahead on the trail to see what lay ahead. This was a suggestion that I was happy to accept. So…..as I turned to make my second long hike of the morning….this one back to the Visitor’s Center…..Fayez forged ahead on the trail….saying that he would be returning soon….probably before I had even made it back to the Visitor’s Center.

Remember that I told you that all the roads at the Mt. Rushmore KOA headed uphill? Now….that multiply that by two or three…..both in the degrees of the angle….and the distance. I struggled to make it back up there. I walked a short distance….stopped and leaned against a tree or a sign….rested….and continued on….repeating this many times until what seemed to be hours later, I finally made it to the head of the trail. The entire time I was walking, I fully expected Fayez to come up behind me and say something like, “Are you still walking up the trail?”…. or…. “Why are you so slow?” Every time I stopped, I closely scanned the distance to see if he was coming.

The only thing that gave me some comfort…..and kept from making me look like the oldest and most senile person there….was the fact that several people also were stopping along the way to rest. People probably half my age. OK….maybe they weren’t resting for as long as I did…..but, yet….they had to stop and rest.

When I reached the starting point of the trail, I sat down on a bench to wait for Fayez. It had taken me several minutes….or at least, it seemed like it…..to make it to the top. I was sure that Fayez would be coming into sight at any second…..and we could continue on our journey. So…..I sat on a bench and waited…..and waited…..and waited. Now, when I say waited…..I mean, I waited from probably an hour….or more. Long enough to start becoming concerned about his safety. All sorts of thoughts were running through my mind….. Maybe he had gotten lost. Maybe he had fallen down and hurt himself or even broken a bone. Or….on the other hand…..maybe he had decided to leave me behind….disappear into the woods…..and live the life of a Saudi Arabian hillbilly…..killing rabbits and making moonshine. Maybe he was hoping to meet up with a young female backwoods hillbilly. They would build a primitive log cabin….run barefoot through the forest….find some wild camels to raise….have a dozen little hillbilly kids. But….the Good News: I had the keys to the car….and I could return to my civilized home….and continue to live a life of a country gentleman!

 

 

 

 

Seriously, though…..at one point, I had decided to wait for another 15 minutes….and if he hadn’t returned, I would go to the Visitor’s Center and see if they could go look for him. In the meantime, I continued to sit on the bench. I should tell you this bench was not your ordinary run-of-the-mill bench. Just like the terrain, this bench sloped downward! Seriously. Apparently nobody had though of leveling it up. So….as I sat there, I would gradually slide down the bench to the other end. I would get up…go back to top of the bench……and gradually slide down again. I suppose it was actually quite comical. Fortunately, I was the only person sitting on the bench. If the bench would have been full, I am not sure what the consequence would have been. I suppose one-by-one we would take turns sliding off the bench…..go back to the beginning…..and start it all over again. The thought crossed my mind: Maybe they should charge people money to sit there…..and call it some sort of entertainment…..maybe something like…. “Five Dollars to sit on the Magic Sliding Bench.”

Sometime before the final 15 minutes had expired……I look down the trail….and here he came. Fayez was returning….with a smile on is face….and a cut on his hand. I don’t recall exactly what had happened. (Maybe I can get him to tell you that part of the story.) But, apparently the scenery had been so inviting and spectacular that he kept walking….all by himself….to see what lie ahead. Maybe was actually was looking for a hillbilly girl….I don’t know. At some point, he had tripped on a tree trunk…..and had seriously slashed a cut in his hand. It was bad enough that even he understood that it needed attention.

So, while Fayez went off in search of medical attention, I wandered around the Visitor’s Center….which can be more accurately described as a gift shop….looking at all the “Made in China” or “Made in India” souvenirs which were begging the tourists to pay a vastly inflated price…..and take them home…..and put them in a drawer or on a shelf…..and forget about them. These souvenirs were identical to the souvenirs we sold in the gift shops when I worked in Yellowstone National Park and Big Bend National Park. Only the name had been changed. I had looked at most of the merchandise….and Fayez still hadn’t returned. The morning was starting to turn into sort of a game called: “What Happened to Fayez?” I began to wonder if perhaps they were amputating his hand…..or maybe his entire arm. He eventually reappeared….still with a smile on his face….and a bandage on his hand. He was still alive….. I was thankful for that.

After explaining his delay, we proceeded across the street to the parking lot….got into our car…..and disappeared off into the afternoon Kentucky sun.

See…..I told you I was not going to be negative. We had an exhilarating drive to the Caverns…..we saw something we had never seen before….I got to sit on an entertaining sliding bench…..Fayez returned safely…well, rather safely…..from him hike…..he got proper medical attention…..enough, at least, to enable him to continue on to our next adventure….and we were able to laugh about the entire morning as we drove away as quickly as we could.

As my old friend, Shakespeare once told me…..”All is well that ends well.”