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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/books/entry_id/899226-Day-7-Alice-Springs
Rated: E · Book · Personal · #2104234

A journal for 30DBC and other feline musings.

#899226 added December 7, 2016 at 10:27am
Restrictions: None
Day 7: Alice Springs
30DBC December 7 Prompt: Hopefully everyone had a refreshing sleep last night- we're going to check out Anzac Hill and the {x-link:http://alicespringstelegraphstation.com.au/}Telegraph Station today, then driving up to Darwin tonight. We're back on the Stuart Highway this afternoon, though we'll stop at 3 hours at the Davenport Range National Park, and again at 5 hours at Tennant Creek, and stay the night at Bluestone Motor Inn.


I do believe sleeping in an actual bed did me a lot of good last night. The covers were warm and dry, and I felt my tortured, sciatica-ridden hips settling down into the soft mattress with a relief which is hard to describe. I fell asleep in one position and didn't move the whole night, so I must have been more tired than I thought. The smell of freshly-brewing coffee wakes me, and I take in the delicious scent while staying huddled under the covers for a few minutes, blinking in the dim light which Lyn's a Witchy Woman Author IconMail Icon had turned on. Kit Author IconMail Icon announces that breakfast is served, and so I drag myself out of bed, throw my uncooperative curls up into a loose bun, and snag a small cuppa joe before heading downstairs to the meal.

Refreshed, with a full night of sleep, coffee in my veins, and food in my belly, I follow the others out to the cars. It's a much shorter drive today, for which I am grateful. Anzac Hill is really neat. We see a tall, white monolith marking the overlook, where we can see all of Alice Springs laid out against the backdrop of two gently-sloping hills in the background.

The Telegraph Station is also a historical treat. We walk along the grounds with our tour guide, who explains that the Station was the birth of Alice Springs as a town and helped connect it with the rest of the world. We get some ice cream from the Trail Station Wi-Fi Cafe on the way out and eat it out in the sun. The cool treat in my hand and the warmth of the midday summer sun combine to create that nostalgic summer feeling, and I sigh with contentment.

I am kind of sad to get back in the car, though a 3-hour drive is cake compared to yesterday's torture session. The time passes more quickly than I had imagined it would. Though the others are chatting excitedly around me, I decide to just listen, and then when things quiet down, I pray my Rosary and do a bit of reading, as much as I can stand to while in the car.

Our next stop comes soon. We arrive at the Davenport Range National Park. For a minute, as I read the sign, I think my eyes are crossing. But the word on the sign really is this: Iytwelepenty. I ponder over how to pronounce that word for a moment, but decide the tour guide will surely say it at some point during the tour and put it out of mind. As we walk through the park, we see beautiful, red rock carved by the winding rivers running through the park, and lots of beautiful bush-land. There are also many native bird species that we can see flitting about, and the tour guide explains one that I find interesting in particular. "The Spinifex pigeon," he says. "Quite a striking bird, no doubt." Its rich, orange-brown and gray plumage blend in with its red rock surroundings, though back home in the States, I can only imagine how much this pigeon would stand out among its gray-and-white cousins.

Tennant Creek doesn't come as soon as I would have liked, though the 5-hour drive is still nothing in comparison with what we all endured yesterday. Thankfully, our hotel is here, and not 1,000 more kilometers further up the road, so the longer drive is endurable. We pile out of the car, check into the Bluestone Motor Inn, and are left free to do as we wish. Though Tennant Creek is a fairly large town, I feel like doing nothing more than jotting down some story notes and writing in my journal. I also check out the third installment of the Cosmic Trilogy, "That Hideous Strength," in audiobook format and begin to listen as I take my clothes to the laundry and in general take care of some housekeeping for my own sanity's sake. Being up and moving, and taking care of personal business, is very helpful for my back which is still complaining about the car ride.

Later that night, I eat dinner with Princess Megan Rose Author IconMail Icon and BlueMoon Author IconMail Icon after they come back from their adventures. We chat amiably for a bit, and then it's off to bed for everyone, as we'll undoubtedly have an early start getting to Darwin in the morning. I call my husband, tell him goodnight, and settle down into bed, less exhausted and feeling a bit more like a human being.



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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/books/entry_id/899226-Day-7-Alice-Springs