I start out each day with a map in hand thinking I know what the day before me holds. So on this Tuesday I left Sierra Vista, Arizona at 6:30 a.m. sun shining, a beautiful day. I drove north through the mountains on the northeastern edge of Arizona, stopped for lunch at 9100 feet, cool, wonderfully spectacular, drove down through Alpine, a small village with an extraordinary view. Cross Route 40 and decided to stay on Route 191, a two lane, scenic road that I had been on all day. Found myself in the middle of nowhere - an Indian reservation on the way to four corners. I had just come down a 7 mile stretch of straight road (I mean really straight - not a turn in it!) I had it on cruise control going about 70 miles per hour. (speed limit was 75) I saw what looked like a gentle curve way up ahead. As I approached it I reached over with my left hand to turn the cruise off. Two seconds later I caught the side of the road and shot off into the dirt and grass. Needless to say, I did not get up. When the dust had settled I found I could not breathe. The wind had been knocked out of me. Almost immediately cars began stopping. The ambulance was called. I lay there for 40 minutes, the ambulance ride to the nearest clinic was 30 minutes away. The bottom line is that I had 4 broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a long tube was put in my side. I was air vac to Phoenix where I remained until yesterday. Presently, Sybil and I are back in Tucson with my niece Birgit. I am making arrangements to drive back to Massachusetts, actually, I will not be driving myself back. Joel, my nephew, will be driving. Sybil is flying back on Monday.

I have discovered over this trek that the word adventure has changed definition as time went by. It changed from rainy, cold, crosswinds, and 18 wheelers to hot, thirsty, no breeze, dry and 18 wheelers, to a mc accident, in a desolate part of Arizona, to pain, nausea and an amazing God who saved a 67 year old man from something much worse than broken ribs and punctured lungs. I can only thank you for your continued prayer and concern. I will probably not add to this blog until early this fall when I return to Arizona and finish the trek I started across the United States and back.