I’d have posted this earlier, but Amtrak’s Empire Builder doesn’t have wifi! That put a real cramp in my style, I can tell you. How did we live pre-wifi?

Obviously, I survived. Much of the trip, including our path through the Rockies, was at night, so it was too dark for me to gawk at the scenery. But what was visible made me want to return during the long days of summer. We crossed the Mississippi River, and later paralleled the Missouri.

A snow storm in North Dakota didn’t slow us down. Drifts of nearly 2 feet were visible at the various station stops. But by the time we reached Montana, the snow was gone. Nothing visible but brown grass and corn stubble on rolling hills.

Now I’m at the Guild, settling in quickly. Two days of stuffing envelopes and then sorting them by zip codes, but also writing, reading, and even a labyrinth walk. My work space is a tiny building — a table, chair, lamp, and heater, with a cork-board on the wall for my writer’s notes. There ought to be snow, but it hasn’t arrived yet. Instead, the sandy ground is covered with pine needles and cones, oak and sycamore leaves. Rain for now, but snow will come eventually.

This morning I resolved a problem with my book’s opening — what a relief to get that taken care of. I hope I’m still happy with it tomorrow. Now I have to retrieve my flashlight before it gets too dark to move around outside without one. Life in the woods!