The Land of Quoz

There is a term for those events that occur in our lives when we least expect them. It ‘s called a Quoz. Defined as "quoz" is a noun "referring to anything strange, incongruous, or peculiar; at its heart is the unknown, the mysterious.

We have decided to be open to and even search for quoz’s on our journey along the road of life.

For instance, a quoz happened to occur today. As we were driving toward Scott’s Bluff Nebraska, Charlotte was looking for a place to eat tonight. She didn’t find a restaurant but did stumble across an ice cream store that sold Black Walnut Ice Cream.

Then she told me about working at Cook’s Ice Cream in Hot Springs, Arkansas when she was a kid. And I do mean a kid. She started there when she was 13. Her favorite flavor was Black Walnut which is not in the bins of places like Baskin Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery.

Later in the day, as she was driving I started looking for a good Mexican food diner. We settled on El Molcajete, which is located in the industrial part of town. At dinner, our granddaughter asked if we were stopping for ice cream after dinner. We said maybe, but most likely not.

When we left the diner, which was excellent by the way, we pulled out onto the street and started back to the camper when I noticed the little storefront next door that looked closed in spite of two “open” signs. As we went by Charlotte realized it was the place that served Black Walnut.

After a quick u-tern we pulled in a found the Platt Valley Creamery very much open. As it has been since 1932! We stood in the parking lot and enjoyed the full butterfat version of some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted.

That was a quoz.

We pondered what the chances were that the diner I picked would end up being right next door to the store she had read about earlier. Simply amazing. And thanks to Grace for mentioning ice cream over dinner. If not, we might have driven right by without even seeing the tiny sign offering homemade ice cream.

We are experiencing more and more quoz’s along the road now that we are open to “seeing” them.

I will be sharing more of these experiences as we continue our journeys down the highway. Our plan is to spend the next ten days in the Black Hills of South Dakota, then back to Denver for a week. About July 6 we are hoping to start fishing our way toward Seattle and hope to arrive there in late August. Who knows after that. Stay tuned.

I invite you to start looking for quoz along the road of you life. Ours is richer and more fulfilling since we started seeking quoz every day. Maybe you will find some Black Walnut Ice Cream along the way.