Some observations

Some observations:
 Michigan has great clouds. Passively cloud gazing all day is a real treat.
 It also has the most roadkill I've ever seen. Everything from inflated beavers, racoons and opossums, to oozing skunk, full deer, and many unrecognizable lumps of fur. It reminds me of a haiku I wrote earlier this summer:

Summer, you smell like
Roadkill and cherries
Hot on the roadside

More observations: some changes across the land are instant. Official things like roadsigns, banks, laws, things of that nature. Others, which I think are the more interesting to watch, and continuous, like the arbor and vegetation, and the way people talk and act. The difference between an upstate New Yorker's jargon, an Ontarian's, and now a Midwesterner's is awesome, and hearing the words and phrases morph as I travel is really something. Watching the landscape change is always on my mind; right down to the color of the dirt, the shape, size, and color of the lakes, and of course, the trees.

Perhaps most interesting is the ongoing introspection of any solo trip. 8 hours on the bike every day means a lot of thinking. Even some thinking about thinking. I think recently that my thought patterns have finally begun to change. And I don't just mean I'm learning, (though that could be), I mean that I'm noticing myself pondering things other than what I usually do, engaging them differently, anf processing events in a different way-- all very hard to describe but the fact that I can feel it occurring is exciting.

What remians the same is people's openness, curiosity, and kindness. When I choose to engage with people, (and sometimes I haven't a choice), I always take something from the experience and I hope they do too. They always ask questions, which I answer dutifully, and I'm trying to ask more of my own questions of them (and I have many). The one that has been getting the best results so far has been "What's the best thing about your state?" or "What's something unique about your town?"

The funniest thing is that I can't even wrap my head around the fact that I rode my bike all the way here. Amazing what one can do with two wheels and a little drive.