Conclusion

Trip Start Sep 01, 2005

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of United States Denver, United States
Sunday, December 3, 2006

I've always liked tall tales and good stories. Who doesn't like to be captured be the essence of imagination? I've spent years running through woods wrapped up in childhood imagination and make believe stories on adventure quests. An uncle used to tell stories of travel, sometimes uncomfortable and often reckless. My father talks about snorkeling in the South Pacific with barracuda. Foreign friends used to crash at our house for weeks at a time speaking with accents and talking about places that they had been. I used to draw maps of imaginary places for fun and I've always looked at the globe with fascination. By different circumstances but similar views, the same can be said for Erin. To us, taking a trip like this never seemed out of the question. How does that old song go? "I've got the whole world in my hands, the whole wide world..." It must have struck a chord.
We both had a desire to experience parts of the world that felt foreign as an opportunity to learn, explore, languish and digest. There was some anxious trepidation as we departed, but we did feel reasonable assured that we were leaving to do a worthwhile thing. With vital belongings (and a few extras) hanging from our backs we set out eastward bound. The only goal was to do it.
Now, by the time this is typed, we will be days away from our next flight which will drop us off in Los Angeles. At LAX we will say goodbye and head for our respective home states before meeting again later in Colorado. I can't imagine that a week in Austin with Floyd Pinkerton and Golinski won't be some sort of adventure. But, the exotic will have ended and in a short matter of time we'll be spending our days earning a buck instead of being awestruck. Soon enough, this year will become a fond memory which we will look back on and smile.
Each on these entries required a certain distance from the subject so that it was with perspective in which I wrote. Now, it feels that writing any conclusion will be somewhat incomplete. We've taken a long trip, but it has also been more than a year of living that has gone into it. Surely it has and will effect us through our lives, but from where I am now, I can't really say how. The meaning of the trip was Living. Experiencing. Expanding. I love what London wrote: "Man's chief purpose is to live, not to exist. I'd rather be ashes than dust."
Also great is what Heggstadt replied to a friend when asked what he would have done differently on his 5 year trip around the world: "I wish that I could have spent one more day everywhere that I was." We are now so far ahead of where we started that we are behind it, but we too would relish more days.
Some of the most meaningful memories we have to attribute to the people that we met and got to know on the way. Thank you all for enriching our lives. To name a few: Andreas. B.G. and Basin. Ward and Veronique. Golinski and the Golinskis. Ludomir, Dorota, Kaya and Figa. Marchen and his family. Adam the ranger. Josh, Paul and Annie. Tiago. Seydo, Senada and family. Senad. Megan. The Winklaffs. Jay and Reagan. Jordan Jackson. Shehe Guestie and Jambiani. Barry. Friends of Ipilimo. Fanuel and Mama Catherine. Friends of Mbalamazewa. Nilolo pigers. Mzee of Myeba Peak and the wonderful people of Tanzania. Aqua Andy and Dusty. Wild Tongue Backpackers, ZA. Gunner in Napier. Col. Sanjeev and family. Tapur Dey and family. Mock II in Sikkim. Bruno. Sonja and Stefan. Tee and Ian. Scott, Phuong, Duong, Terri and Richard. Simon Irish. Brian C. Joe B. Dan and Mike. B.G. once again. Fritz and Kate. Jim and Alice. Penne and Dario. Jon and Janice. Gram and Jani. And, anyone who has sent us an email. Of course, a huge thanks to our families for their support, especially our mothers with out whom, there wouldn't be nearly as many hits on this site.
OK, I almost have a thumb on it now. I think what I get from this exploration is that it makes me more aware that my reality is really just one of an infinite amount. At best, one out of 6.7 billion or so. Every head is a different world and for every action, there is a reaction. As you collide with all of these different worlds, you hone an intuition for what is real and what isn't. When I return to my world I have more of a grasp of reality and it effects the way that I move. I feel light, yet well grounded. Sometimes I feel as though I'm floating instead of walking.
I also love the feeling that what we did isn't as extraordinary as what we thought.. anymore. Before we began, it seemed like a huge task, almost implausible. When I'd hear of something like it I'd get glossy eyed and daydream about what it would be like. Now, when we talk to others who are doing similar treks, we see the actual roads and the crossings, the lengths and the rewards. And instead of thinking "that's too good to be true," we think "oh, that's a good route." The earth feels a little more casual to us now and humankind a little more understood.
With out becoming pedantic or didactic or over the top, I'll start to wrap this up. Uncle Frank once wrote in a Christmas card to me, "Have fun with Gravity up there in the mountains." And what better thing to do but strap a waxed board to your feet when standing at the top of a snow covered mountain? Glide down it like a bird. Enjoy that undeniable force. It is inescapable, but it isn't rigid. Ride it. Let me encourage that greeting to everyone, but let me expand it:
Have fun with Time and Space as well.

Thanks y'all. The End...

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