making drastic changes in life

[north woods gal]

There is no doubt that geography and the land shapes and molds us. I spent most of my life on the prairies of the Dakotas and Nebraska and even though I dearly love our north woods of Wisconsin, where we live, now, I do miss my wide open spaces. I think you have to be raised there for it to really get in your blood, though if you live there long enough you can certainly appreciate it. If you're new to these vast landscapes, though, it can be intimidating and even unsettling. As kids, I remember cousins from Pennsylvania visiting us in North Dakota and they were genuinely terrified to be able to look miles in any direction without seeing a tree. Me, I loved it and still do.

When it came time to retire, I knew my husband would have a hard time adjusting to such vastness, since he spent his whole life east of the Mississippi. We compromised and headed to the north woods and are quite happy, here. Still, I am haunted by my prairie memories and long to see and feel the wind blowing over miles of grassland. Of course, that prairie wind was an ever present factor in my bicycling. Calm days were a rarity.