Home at Last

Amy said she knew she was back in Oregon when she saw the bike lanes in Bend. I knew it when we bought gas and I didn't have to pump it myself.

I knew we were back in western Oregon when the enormous peaks of the Cascades loomed up ahead as we crossed the high desert.

And then we crossed the two passes and went down down into the Valley, and the air had that wonderful valley-ish quality with the faint smell of straw, more breathable than any other air across the entire country, warm but not humid, and soon we were home, and lo, it is very good to be here.

We covered 2800 miles in 3 full days plus part of Sunday and are very proud of ourselves and very grateful for all the prayers propelling us along. It helps when most of the western states have 75mph speed limits and the weather is nice.

Emily did an excellent job managing things in my absence, and Ben, Steven, Jenny, and Zack kept up their duties masterfully, and I am proud of them all.