I live for my spring road trip, my summer camping trips and my daylilies.  The first was knocked out by COVID-19.  The second is on hold for an undetermined amount of time.  The daylilies are my hope right now.

Ghost Ranch, NM on a windy day in 2016

I’m a nurse, I have no issues with staying home and taking care of myself – except for the obvious grief for things I love way more than Christmas.

Old log cabin at Ghost Ranch, 2016

So, Saturday Night, I decided to watch City Slickers on Amazon.  I haven’t seen that movie since it came out.  It was funnier than I remembered.  But, something looked different this time . . . the scenery on the first shots.  I knew where it was filmed – instantly.  De ja voo.  Because of my road trips. It was Ghost Ranch!

The Colorado Plateau from Ghost Ranch, 2016

The funny thing about that scenery is that I would never have visited the place except that I had a daylily by that name.  Ghost Ranch named for Ghost Ranch in New Mexico.

Hike at Ghost Ranch, 2016

It has been a few years since that road trip.  I remember the big wind storm that started the day before as we drove through the ruins near Albuquerque.  But, by the next day, it was a full-blown Southwestern windstorm.  I hit one almost every spring road trip.  Not this year, though.

Dust storm at sunset over Farmington, NM – 2016

This one I remember because I was excited to see Ghost Ranch, but the short hike was a little uncomfortable with the winds.  And, the landscape wasn’t as vibrant because of the dust.  But, I understood why the hybridizer (Ned Roberts) thought the place was worth naming a daylily after.

Ghost Ranch Daylily in Bloom – 2019

My Ghost Ranch daylilies have struggled a bit.  I lost a couple.  Last year, I tried again.  And, they survived the winter.  So, I guess we will see what summer brings.  I hope the blooms with my favorite road trip names aren’t cancelled.

Ghost Ranch Daylily in Bloom – 2016

I think I will kick-off my 2020 daylily blog with all of my road trip named daylilies – Adios Albuquerque, Anasazi, Aztec Firebird, Chaco Canyon, Cripple Creek, Glen Eyrie, Hesperus, Land of Enchantment, Mesa Verde, Mount Echo Sunrise, Route 66, Trochas Sunrise.  Oh, the places we will go – right in my own back yard.