Detour

On a recent trip to Wisconsin we were challenged by a number of detours. It is typically a 9 hour drive for us but on the way to Wisconsin the major highway we were on was shut down due to an earlier accident that left a chemical spill requiring haz-mat cleanup. At the time we did not know the reason for the highway being shut down. All we knew was that the road we needed to travel down was closed. Now, we joined thousands of other cars and trucks on a 2 hour detour through the great Midwest. It would have been easy to get mad as we sat for 15 minutes and then got to roll along at 15 mph for 3 minutes only to sit again for 15 minutes, for miles and miles. I watched as cars left the designated detour to try and find a quicker way, only to see them later coming off a dirt road to join us almost at the exact spot they had been before they left the group. In one case, a car that earlier had cut me off, actually ended up behind me. That was sweet.

Then there were cars that seemed to just give up and go back the way they came. Their anger was evident by the way they spun their tires once they had turned their cars around. I felt sorry for cars with kids or full bladders as the only place to go while on this particular detour was into a corn field, which we saw a few brave souls do. Gary and I just did our best to make the most of this extra time together. We got the camera out and starting taking pictures of cornstalks and barns. I wondered if I could walk to the other cars and try to sell the bottled water we had with us. Or, I still had some Honey Comb cereal left that I was snacking on that might bring in a little money. We did neither as each time I thought about it we got to move the car a little farther down the road. We were thankful that it is 2007 and we have cell phones. We were able to call the people waiting for our arrival and let them know to eat without us. Eventually we were routed back to the main road, past the spill, and able to continue on our trip.

A short 2 hour detour, but we choose to make the best of it.

While in Milwaukee, searching for our hotel, and the Wisconsin Club where the wedding reception would be, we ran into more detours. Not your typical detour as the roads were not closed. But every road (and that is not an exaggeration) had construction of some type and lanes shifting back and forth to each side of the road. Many times the way we needed to turn was not available due to the road construction and so we explored areas of the city we might not have seen otherwise. I started to feel like a UPS driver since every intersection had a NO LEFT TURN sign on it. I had heard that UPS drivers try to get to every destination by making right turns only because it saves gas and time. It must be an acquired skill because I did neither.

Finally, time to go home. We choose a new route as we didn't have much luck with the normal one on the way to Wisconsin. We also wanted to do some sightseeing and felt we could accomplish both. We made our plan, content in the exploring that we were eagerly anticipating. Then the unexpected, AGAIN, the road we had chosen, "CLOSED" with a detour. We laughed as this detour took us through farm country one more time. For a time, we wondered if we would end up back where we had started. This time, since we had taken the road less traveled, there were not thousands of others stuck with us. In fact, we were quite alone out there and when miles went by without a detour sign we wondered if someone had forgotten to put up a sign or two. But we had faith, and endured. Eventually, the detour turned west again and then back to the highway we had started on.

Another detour, a little lonelier than the first one but no less interesting and we got a good laugh out of it.

Happy to be on the highway and once again going 65 mph we were feeling quite proud of ourselves for finding this new way back to Kansas. But the highway we were on became a county road and then a main street through Madison Wisconsin. This detour was unexpected but not one forced upon us. This time we accidentally caused our own detour by selecting a road that would not stay a main highway. Madison, if you've never been there, is a maze of streets that go in various directions, rarely straight and every road leads to the center of the city where the State Capitol is. Then you have to go around the Capitol and hope to find the road you were on. And if you make even the smallest mistake you could be lost on the streets of Madison for hours, retracing your steps, getting no where, but still running out of gas. I did my best to guess if I was on the road I wanted to be on and eventually I had to admit to Gary that I had no clue where we were. I had been doing good until we got too close to the college. There was a football game that day, which we had suspected would be the case when we saw a blimp floating over the city. Now I'm on these crazy streets with even crazier people, all dressed in red, walking anywhere they wanted. It was about 1:00 PM and kickoff wouldn't be for another SIX HOURS! That didn't hold off the partying and the narrow city streets were even more narrow as cars parked anywhere they wanted to. It is no wonder I somehow got off the road I was supposed to be on. It is a little hard to read street signs when trying not to run over crazed football fans already drinking and having a good time, while also trying to avoid hitting cars parked on what should have been lanes for the road.

So, now at each intersection I ask Gary "which way do you think we should go"? If it matched what I was thinking I'd turn that way with no regrets. If it didn't match what I was thinking I'd turn the way I was thinking anyway and hope my internal GPS unit was working. I had just stated that as soon as I could find a gas station we would stop and see if we could figure out where we were when it looked like a main road was up ahead. As we reached the intersection we wondered what road it was, no road sign, another Madison joy. So I turned left and hoped for the best. About one block down the road we learned we were actually on the right highway again and that we were even going the right direction!

This detour was again interesting and filled with different adventures than the previous ones. We lost about an hour but boy did we get to see some interesting things!

Now back on the highway, with about 8 hours left until we got home, we knew it would be dark before we got out of Iowa. We try to drive during day hours only as we feel that is safer and it is less likely I'll get tired. But an hour out of Des Moines was too close to home to give up and find a hotel for the night so we forged ahead. There was a bright moon which made the night not so dark. It also helped a bit when there was a deer too close for comfort. Clear skies meant beautiful stars and all seemed beauty was all around us.

The drive from Kansas to Wisconsin is one we've made dozens of times. Typically we take the same route since we know it so well and have it timed out perfectly. But this trip was different, the entire trip was a bit of a "detour" for us. Including spending a night at a nice hotel in downtown Milwaukee. We lived there for years and that was a first. It was after midnight when we finally rolled into our garage. Later, as I lay in bed drifting off to sleep I reflected on our many detours and fell asleep with a smile on my face and joy in my heart.

Detours can be unexpected, planned, burdensome, difficult, long, surprising, beautiful and many other things. Life will give us detours, we can count on it, even if we can't plan for it. The trick is to take each detour as it comes and ask yourself, "What is God is showing me today"? Then, instead of avoiding the detour, or trying to find a way around it, just explore it! You never know what it will bring or where you will end up when on the other side of it.

May all your detours be adventuresome.
May you make new friends and see new things with each one.
And may God protect you and guide you as you go through life's detours.