I got to say..that after over a month on the job, that the best part of what has happened to me recently was the opportunity to drive across the United States. Yes, I love being a Park Ranger, and making sure that my staff have the tools needed to do their job. But deep down I love and enjoy travel. Nothing beats moving around..NOTHING. The chaos of not knowing where you will be at any given time is the greatest rush of life, at least when there is a destination in mind.

I got a chance to cross the United States. Sandy and I drove from Greenbelt Maryland. This was our first real house. We bought our first real place, and made ourselves part of the community. it was and always will be home, in many ways.

After a brutally long drive, I was at my parents' house. I arrived on the seventh anniversary of my brother Charlie's death. It was the best place to be on that date, after all he used to describe seven as his lucky number. It was good to seen the parents and brothers, despite the fact that I did not get all of the facts. about current events. The night ended in Columbia MO.

I got to show Sandy Kirksville MO. Much as Freeburg is a home for my child, K-ville is a home to me as an adult. It was my first taste of independence, and a great place to figure out who you are--in terms of life, the universe and everything. I got to go to lunch at Paglia's--I thought that would never happen again. And I got to walk around the campus that gave me a chance to figure out who I was for what may be my last time ever.

A long drive later led to Salina KS. Thank you Denny's.

Boulder CO was our next end of day, or so we thought. Sandy wanted to visit to see the town because she had read some books set there. It was a pretty little town, with a nice pedestrian district. But not yet tired, we decided to strike on, ending in Laramie WY.

Salt Lake City was our next destination. Another long drive--but scenic, complete with snow. We were early into STLC, so I hijacked our trip to visit one of the sites that has always been on my list: Promontory Point UT--OOOOH YEAH I got to stand where the first continental railroad in the US was completed. CP-UP and ME. That evening we went to temple square in STLC to gawk at the local religious freaks.

Reno was the next stop, a long drive across NV. When we arrived, we were almost out of energy, but enough to stop for a moment at the National Bowling Stadium. I got to be in the room where "Kingpin" had some vital scenes. After a quick dinner at a casino buffet, we slept it out.

Sacramento, then Vacaville concluded our trip. The next day I took my dear wife to the airport, and we would be apart. We revisited when she came out on Memorial day weekend. And she will rejoin me permanently in July.

This was my second chance to cross the country. The first time was the slow, steady crawl of Lewis and Clark--where I met Sandy. The second was more a sprint, and rewarding in a different way. I did not "get" anything from it as I did before. But I got to spend an in-depth experience with Sandy--show her who I was and where I came from, explore places that each of us were interested in. This was an incredible reinforce to our relationship. Our vacations are always a relief, but this one was something special--a chance for us to see pasts, presents, and futures.