happy friday the 13th! it's a lucky day for me. born on the 13th. for some reason always thought it lucky. interesting that i leave today on such an adventure. appropriate, i hope. off in a few hours. i am bringing my laptop, and have some sort of internet access, and i will try to post here as much as i can.

i'll be on the road for the next few days, and welcome phone calls. :) i need something to keep me awake through nebraska!! 916.802.9220. even got a new calling plan so i don't have roaming and can talk in the middle of nowhere and not have it be 69¢ a minute.

i feel the same sort of odd feeling i did in the gila wilderness. when we stepped into the forest and the beginning of the trip, i felt as if i were stepping across an invisible barrier into a different world. a strange and exciting one. and when the trip was complete 28 days later, and we stepped out of the forest greeted by the vans and breakfast (they even had soymilk!), i felt as if i were stepping off the edge of an island that i had just marched across. there is a piece of my life encapsulated on that island. an important part. i am crossing a much bigger island now...when i hold my hand to my forehead to shade my eyes, i can't see to the other side. but i trust that there is a beautiful place there.