The Traveler is in good spirits as he starts his hike today. Today he will reach the Susquehanna River once again and possibly wrap up his month long chapter in his journey through America. Even if one is a free spirit wanderer, disconnected from the cares of normal folks, Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs is still a reality. When it's scorching hot, finding shade and water is your most pressing concern. If the way is dangerous, you're thinking about reaching safety. If you're lost, you're thinking about finding your way. If your body is sore, you're thinking about rest.

But then there are times when the weather is cool, your muscles are tempered, and the road is safe ... and you can simply experience and immerse yourself in the NOW. There is no past, no future, just one continuous NOW of soaking in the beauty, intrigue and subtleties of this world. You don't think about reaching your destination... this moment IS the destination.

You don't think about when this journey will end. it will not end. You will just continue on and on, circumnavegating the earth, learning, observing, pondering... until you come to where you were before, and find... you want to re-discover this place in a new way, with new eyes.

Perhaps in the next cycle, sad places will look happy. Noble places will look ugly. Cruel places will look kind. New light will shine and you will discover the old in new ways.

This is what he thinks as he walks through Elizabethville in the Wiconisco Valley, with long, straight wooded ridges on each side. Here. Now. Perfection.