"On your journey to your dream, be ready to face oasis and deserts. In both cases, don't stop." ( Paulo Coelho)

My unsettled state of mind stands out as Ruth and I reach the midpoint of our six week, fall road trip this year. I'm well aware that those slow "chills" along the Pacific coast of California again provided plenty of touristic satisfaction this October. But I seem to be searching for a fresh location to visit that would inject a greater sense of inner peace at this point in our journey. Perhaps I've underestimated the daily toll on my mind/body of long distance driving of 400- 500 miles cross country each day. Would it make more sense then in the future to fly west and rent a car in Denver, Phoenix, or some other centralized location? Or might I ease up on scheduling a pre-planned itinerary to allow greater flexibility for making unexpected route changes as desired?

Thus, I must admit to you today, that I've immensely enjoyed taking a break from our rigorous schedule as we improvised for two days on an indirect route to Steamboat Springs Colorado through the austere canyonland region of Central Utah. For I felt freed from internal distraction as I gazed in awe at this heavily sculpted landscape of towering mesas, arid gullies, and colorful shrub growth along our way. It seems that the vast spaces of desert becomes an oasis of hope for me now in getting back on the the right track to correct my current state of travel fatigue.