Westward Ho

Traveling by car can take up to 50% of my time in my job.  Today I am traveling west in one of the Heartland states.  Meaning there is a lot of open space.  I start early enough this morning that the sun has yet to arise and fog blankets the earth and the trees in a ghostly white glaze because of the temperature.  As I continue my journey and the fog begins to lift, I can scan the horizon from side to side and once again notice the vast open space on each side of the road.  As always, I am watchful of deer and other smaller critters that may be traveling close to the road looking for breakfast.  There are times when the distance between dwellings and clumps of trees is quite far.  In fact, more often than not there are no visible buildings in my view of the horizon.  I begin to wonder what this land looked like as the pioneers ventured westward to start their new beginnings.  Some of the buildings I do see are vacant wood, or stone and in ruin.  You can see the shadow of the former barns they must have been.

As I drive north and look to the west, there are numerous hills and valleys between my car and the last point of earth I can see.  I've been told that the horizon a person might be able to see on flat land is approximately 10 miles and that number sticks in my mind as a normal days journey for most of the men and women who traveled by ox and wagon to California or Oregon.  It's hard to imagine that now a days that distance can be managed in less that 15 minutes depending the route.  But, back then they had to navigate steep hills and water logged valleys, depending on the time of year.

What drove them to such great lengths to move west?  The promise of being able to live their lives how they saw fit.  There were few, if any, fences back then.  Those who stayed made the most of what they had and then some.  There was no waste because they had to utilize all they could to survive.  Just think, that was a little over 100 years ago.  Listening to the radio, Bob and Tom announce (or rather Christy Lee) that the oldest human on record has died.  He was 115.  The next person in line is now 114 and lives in Connecticut.  Why is this relevant?  Because this woman has lived the years where the most technological advances have ever been made.  To have lived and witnessed the advances of the auto, flight, technology in general I can imagine would be overwhelming.  Back then infant mortality was high.  Meteorology wasn't even heard of, the clouds were watched and if they swirled, people took cover.  Animals were everywhere.  What wonderous advances we Americans have been apart of. 

So, what is next?

Just the ramblings of someone who had a seven hour round trip today.