Pioneer

Sadie Downs

 

Four hours in and the overwhelming 80's music and off key singing is slowly wearing on my soul. The smell of greasy hamburgers permeates the air, coating my lungs in lard. The twists and turns of a winding highway jolts my stomach. I sit in misery and beg for relief from the mundane.

 

My mind wanders as I spot the cool rain drizzle on the thin mountain air. The foliage runs endlessly on, an ocean of reds, oranges, and yellows. I long to dive into the forest and be lost in that tyrant of colors. My hiking boots cry out to be tested. My legs are crushed up in the backseat, yearning to be stretched out across the rolling hills, bubbling streams, and deep valleys. The heart of a pioneer surges within my soul.

 

We don't know where the next exit will take us, but we go anyway. There we find a small rest stop on the top of a hill overlooking a gorgeous slice of America. I step outside to the smell of rich dirt and nature's perfume fills me up, washing out the rest of the world. The sound of leaves and branches clears my head, lifting me out of a techno haze. Running and jumping through the wooden world I'm free of society's greedy grip, free to be at peace with myself. But with my mother calling in the distance, and my father in a frantic search, I must uncoil myself from heaven. Until next time I'm in a crowded car, listening to off key singing, with the smell of junk food and a knotted stomach, surrounded by beautiful scenery with the spirit of adventure.