May 16, 1968
by Janine Stephenson
We stayed at a motel last night, in Texas. It was out in the middle of nowhere and I swear, I thought I could hear a wild animal outside my window. Maybe that panting I heard was the wind, or maybe it was Becca and Craig in the next room.
Losing 10 hours wasn't in our plan. It's just that Becca and I were nervous driving Craig's car. Neither of us wanted to be responsible if anything happened.
Now we're driving through New Mexico and to be honest, I've never seen anything like it. I can't even imagine that Wisconsin and New Mexico are on the same planet, nevermind the same country.
What's even more astonishing is that one leader has to contend with both places. And New Hampshire too. Each place is so different, I'm amazed we all speak the same language. It's crazy.
I'm the first person in my family who has seen the desert. Neither of my parents or my little brother have been this far south. Yesterday, Mom made me promise that I'd take good pictures of what it looked like out here. I don't know how I'm going to describe the dryness, or the prickly branches, or the minor dust tornadoes that we see developing in the distance.
I wish we didn't have to drive so quickly through the area. Although Craig is just as amazed at the land as we are, he also wants to get to California quickly. He's afraid Ron is going to be mad if we are any later.
In the News: May 16, 1968
