It was almost a quarter to 8 when I passed Cadillac Ranch, outside of Amarillo. I had been planning on eating lunch at the Big Texan, but it was a little early, so I set that aside for next time.

I got off the highway at Sayre and got $35 worth of gas on the Discover card. I didn’t like using the card, but I was running out of cash. The sky was completely cloudless. When I got to Oklahoma City, I checked my wallet and found I had just enough for the toll, so I got on the Turner Turnpike. Ten minutes down the turnpike, traffic came to a complete stop. I’d been making pretty good time up until then. I could see traffic was backed up all the way over the next hill. Traffic inched forward, and in 20 minutes I’d made about a mile. Ahead, traffic was merging into the outside lane, but then cars started merging back to the inside lane. Over the next hill, traffic cleared up for a mile or so, then backed up again. It turned out to be a big accident. I passed a tow truck, and down the road at the Wellston exit, another tow truck was pulling a semi, the whole front end smashed back to the windwhield.

Epilogue  I drove 4,147 miles in 16 days, snapped two rolls of 35mm film and took 851 digital pictures. Thinking back, it was a good trip. I saw most of what I set out to see, and accomplished most of what I set out to do. I was proud of my part in advancing the Sandman program. Satori performed admirably. I contributed supplies to the bar, and what I lacked in bartending skills I hope I made up in entertainment value.       -----  Change can be difficult, and everybody responds to it according to their own gifts.  Going through a rite of passage doesn't mean you have to fundamentally change who you are... but it can give you the opportunity to become the person you'd like to be.  Things change.  You learn.  You move on.   Repeat as necessary.