One Evening in March, 1997
----------------------------------------
With five of the six who went on that 1985 trip sitting at the dinner table, the trip out west got mentioned. Marie agreed that the trip was a major factor in helping her to enjoy nature now. Brennan, who was only five years old on that trip, said that the only things that
he remembered about the trip were the stories he was being told now by the others, and the fact that he was not allowed to
climb up the steep loose soil slope to the “Dragon’s Lair” in Badlands National Park, even though his older
brother and sisters were allowed to go up with Dad. That is when Bob made up
his mind that Brennan would have to be taken out West that summer. After that,
Brennan would have summer jobs commitments. The window of opportunity was here
and would close soon.
So Bob informed Brennan that he belonged to his Dad for the entire month of July.
Then a plan was developed over the next several months. Actually, Plan
A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, and Plan E were laid out on paper before Bob settled on Plan P.
Reservations were made for some campgrounds which were expected to be crowded, but we would depend on low crowds
and good luck for other campgrounds.
Plan P would have them leave home in Silver Spring, Maryland on July 3rd so they could be in St. Louis for the Independence Day celebrations and to watch the fireworks from under the Gateway Arch. Then they would continue across the Great Plains
with overnight stops in Missouri and Kansas. Travel days were to have the driving broken up by stops
at points of interest, like the forts along the Santa Fe Trail. Overnight at Great Sand Dunes NM, in Colorado, then several days in the vicinity of
Mesa Verde, and a visit to the nothing tourist trap, "Four Corners" where four state boundaries come together. Since our own neighborhood in Silver Spring,
Maryland is also called Four Corners, Brennan thought that would give us a good name for the trip, "Four Corners to Four Corners and Back".
Then we were to go north to Colorado
National Monument to see some of the Red Rock country, then back east to
Rocky Mountain National
Park to include
a backpack trip. Next we would travel north to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Spend a few days there, then east to Badlands National
Park, the home
of the Dragon's Lair, the one place that Brennan still remembered from the 1985 trip.
This is the spot where he was not old enough to climb, but his older brother and sisters were. This trip would then return home after 23 days of camping and driving and exploring this great land.
As summer arrived, Brennan worried about not seeing his friends or practicing with his rock band for over three weeks. Instead it would be just he and his dad traveling around the country. With only a few weeks until departure day, he was expressing his concerns, and Bob’s reply was, “You
don’t know why you want to go out west yet, but after the trip, you will know and will be glad you did it.” Brennan’s facial expression revealed skepticism.
Bob, having traveled to the west when he was Brennan’s age, was sure there would be no regrets.
