Epilogue

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="043085a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Western Tour</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Western Tour"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Schedule"><U>Schedule</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 1"><U>Day 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 2"><U>Day 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 3"><U>Day 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 4"><U>Day 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 5"><U>Day 5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 6"><U>Day 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 7"><U>Day 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 8"><U>Day 8</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 9"><U>Day 9</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 10"><U>Day 10</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 11"><U>Day 11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Days 12 14"><U>Days 12 - 14</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 15"><U>Day 15</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 16"><U>Day 16</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 17"><U>Day 17</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Words from Days 5 9"><U>Words from Days 5 - 9</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Words Day 10"><U>Words Day 10</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Words Days 11 13"><U>Words Days 11 - 13</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Words Days 14 15"><U>Words Days 14 - 15</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Words, Days 16 17"><U>Words, Days 16 - 17</U></A>   |   <B>Epilogue</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=10 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="044d2e83.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04507073.jpg"> <div> <I>Epilogue</I></div> <bR> <div> When we left Rapid City, heading east on I-90, the journey was, for all intensive purposes, over. This was a western journey and once we entered cornfield landscapes along the interstate we knew we were no longer in the west. We looked forward to visiting for a few days with Carolyn's parents, looked forward to being back on Wheeler Hill after that.</div> <bR> <div> One spends a lot of time planning a journey such as this. Also a lot time, after most of the planning is completed, waiting for it to actually begin. Then it's over. History. A memory. </div> <bR> <div> A family traveling on the road for three weeks can sometimes create difficult situations. We had almost no problems at all in our relating with each other. Everyone was terrific in terms of getting done what needed to be done - setting up and breaking down camp, loading and unloading the car - without any hassles about who does what. The group decisions flowed smoothly too - where to go, what to eat, etc. I wasn't expecting it to be difficult, but I really thought there would be those tense moments created by being together 24/7 for such a stretch, often in the cramped space of a car. Those moments were just about non-existent.</div> <bR> <div> From my perspective, there were a lot of memories created on the trip. The photographs on the website hint at many of them. Some of the words I wrote on the site hint at others. Again, what was of major value on the journey was the fact that it was a family experience. I had work to do but that was only a small part of the time away. It was because of that work though that we were able to undertake it in the first place. The family came to a number of the readings I gave. The readings too were a part of the whole for everyone, not just my work. </div> <bR> <div> We also had a nice variety of experiences - camping, motels, people's houses. Small towns, medium-sized cities, wilderness. Long days traveling in the car and some days not traveling at all. Saw new animals, made new friends. I think we all would like to return west again in the not-too-distant future. Maybe when we do it won't be as a family of four. But I have a feeling we all will make it west again.</div> <bR> <div> So now back on Wheeler Hill. The other unifying feeling from this trip is that we all missed the hill, missed home. That says a lot. We are all connected here - to house, to land, to friends. That last day of driving 1050 miles from Minneapolis, we all were as excited as you can be during an 18 hour car journey. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and the interminably long stretch of metro Chicago, Indiana - all familiar territory from so many other trips to and back from the Twin Cities. Then Ohio, PA and finally the border of New York - I-86 - the final road taking us all the way to Kanona, the truck stops, seven miles from the hill. The adrenalin was flowing as we turned up Route 53, headed toward Wheeler, after 4 and a half miles turned left on County 8, drove the two miles uphill, turned on Ridge Road for the ¼ mile and then entered our drive! I opened the car window, stopped for a moment and looked out across our fields in the dark night, glanced up at the stars then continued on to the house, to the cats and Michael, who had been house-sitting. Home again, home again.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>