Called

Fall                                                                                            Closing Moon

Here at Mahoning State Park lodge again. This may be the 7th or 8th time I’ve stopped here. It’s inexpensive, has a great view of the Platte, especially from its glass-walled restaurant. The park is also over half way to Denver, or, in this instance, Conifer.

Realized as I drove out of the Cities today that this was the first trip to Colorado not focused on visiting a child or grandchildren. This gives the trip a different tonality. It made reading the Minnesota state line marker a very different experience. “Thanks for visiting Minnesota.”

I am leaving Minnesota, but not being a Minnesotan. Minnesota brought out the best in me, allowed me to grow into the man I could become. In that most important sense I will always identify myself as a Minnesotan. And that’s no surprise. Of 67 years I’ve spent 45+ as a resident.

When I left Indiana, I moved intentionally north, influenced by aspects of Jack London’s work that left me seeking pine trees, lakes and four distinct seasons. I found all that and much more.

Now I’m moving west, influenced by my children and their choices, yes, but also by the essence of London’s vision, that the natural world calls us to our best selves. The Rocky Mountains and their bulk, their varying eco-systems, the wildness of them draw me now just as those pine trees and lakes did over 45 years ago.

Till tomorrow morning.