29. MELTING INTO SUNSETS

After the Nevada Rainbow four buses caravaned west

Pastel multi-colored canvases of moving metal

Talking on our CBs, we rolled on winding secondary highways

Slowly ascending long grades in second gear

Slowly descending the other side in second gear also,

Slow to keep our brakes from getting hot, slow for curves

Caravan of giant multicolored metal turtles rolling through a desert sunset

Beneath shimmering waves of purple red eternity

Patches of blue brillianced with golden rays

Small creatures scurrying at the sound of our thunder as we passed

Watching us with serene brown eyes of God.

We arrived in the morning at the riverside hotspings near lake Owyhee

One-armed Mike's bus and

Papillon's and the white-haired goddess's and mine

Spent two days soaking in this heaven

Beatte from Italy stood in the pool in the evening

Throwing rocks for Mike's old dog to chase --

Mike's closest friend who traveled every mile with him for over a decade…

Next time I saw Mike, years later, he was so sad

As he told me the story of how his old dog had passed this life

After so many miles, together, a dozen years of friendship shared…

What memories we have, us old road dogs…

What visions we have seen, friends we have known,

What hearts we have melted with into sunsets…