Finding the Way Back

I'm home.

After three weeks, three states, 14 national parks/monuments/historic sites, almost 1,800 photographs, and 4,422 miles, I've returned.

Autumn is now well-established. The leaves have turned. The ground is wet. The days are short, and the night starts very early. Just as the season changed during my time away, so have I.

I am not able to explain how yet. But the experience of seeing so many new places cannot fail to enlarge one's perspective and awareness. That means the trip succeeded.

This road trip and the one I took in September were meant to give me a taste of many new places to improve my understanding of the national parks–a survey, not an immersion; a start, not a conclusion–so that the book I'm writing can reflect more than just a written record I've been exposed to.

My work on the book enters a new phase now. And other writing projects will likely emerge, too, because, like I said, journeys change people. I look forward to unpacking the experiences, reflecting on them, and discovering and making meaning.

The layers of nature and history found everywhere I traveled reinforced my basic writerly disposition: the world is most interesting when investigating how people and place have mixed through time.

Evidence I saw on the land added to the historical record found in archives and publications furnishes the raw material to keep me going. I'm daunted, frankly, but it is time to take the next steps.

Taking Bearings has been a bit of a casualty from this recent road trip. Last week's post, this one, and no November interview for paid subscribers is a let down that I aim to remedy now that I'm back home, sharpening my pencils in preparation for the hard work to come. Thanks for your patience.