Very shortly, I'm going to be traveling on the Oregon Trail. But, unlike our forefathers who settled this land, I'm going to be traveling it in reverse. My journey will begin in Salt Lake City, from which point I will be heading east to St. Louis and then on to Ohio. Which got me to thinking of the comedy "Wagons East," the brilliant John Candy's final film before his death in 1994. It also starred Richard Lewis and the always swoon-worthy Rodney A. Grant. It was a funny take on a wagon train in reverse, heading back east from Oregon.Which got me to thinking about how many times a wagon train going east really happened, during the mass migration in the 1800s. Disgruntled Americans, who were tired of being used for target practice by the Indians, wives and children whose head of household had met with a terrible end and were returning to family, goldminers who went belly up instead of making their fortunes. How many were there who returned? One never reads about people who traveled the Oregon Trail in reverse.
I'm guessing there were more than a few who left the wild west behind and returned home to the civilized east. So I think I'll be in good company. To travel the trail in either direction will fulfill a life-long dream of mine. I followed the Santa Fe Trail on my last cross-country drive. This time, it'll be the big one. I can't wait.
How about you? What life-long ambition is still on your bucket list?
