Overview

This had been a 1286 mi (2058 km) round trip for me.
I garnered some very valuable lessons along the way.
I came away with a lot of information that added to a presently scant but steadily increasing trove of experiences.
I began assessing what and how I would do things differently in my approach to my next trip’s preparation.
Needless to mention, although tired from the trip, I was excited and ready to plan and embark on my next journey utilizing the experiences I gained from this one.
I realized that I enjoyed “my own company”.
I realized how much I had cherished being on my own with respect to making decisions on when to stop, how long to stop for and more importantly, the need to make more frequent but regimented stops for breaks to allow me to fight off fatigue from monotony.
Besides this though, enjoying the sights and views of a seemingly empty surrounding, I could find a lot to look at and see if I took the time to.
Even solitude has a lot to offer.
It offered my mind and soul a certain kind of peace and quiet that I cannot remember ever experiencing in such a way.
A lot of “quiet time”. Quiet time to think and find enjoyment in “the now”. Time to find solutions or wrap one’s mind around issues that one doesn’t make the time to as often as could be the case.
I learned a lot.
I learned that I had a lot to learn and gain whilst indulging in and enjoying something I have been so passionate about in all my years.
It was good “me time”. I wanted to share this feeling with everyone I knew. To encourage them to experience the joy and freedom of spirit that I did. It almost felt surreal. I could literally feel myself trembling with excitement and anticipation.
Through all the fatigue of the day though, I know that I finally went to bed and fell asleep with a big smile on my face and in my heart that night, because when I awoke the next morning and sauntered into the bathroom, I looked in the mirror as I usually do each day and that smile was unmistakably present!
So a few days later, back home with this journey ended in my life’s story book, I sent a copy of the photo of our “young french friend” to him, ℅ the Big Bend National Park Director and included a letter of thanks to the director for the visiting tips and little history of the Big Bend National Park, that he shared with us.
As time has gone by, I often think of the young kid, my thoughts are greeted with a big smile in my heart and my memory races back to that day in August 1964 when my dad first put me to stand on that bike for my first ever ride.