We
begin our story on a gray and rainy
day as someone looks out a window
at the crowded streets below.
Feeling a yearning, we are transported
to a realm of "Raindreams",
where new horizons are opened to us.
As the sky clears, a
"Falling
Star" streaking across the
night sky to the west is our sign...
and so we embark. Even though
our hearts are sometimes saddened
about the things we must leave behind,
the expectations of what lies ahead
quickens our steps and lifts our spirits
as we reach the "Crossroads"
that lead us ever onward.. Along
our way we are greeted by the glory
of nature as represented by the "Cascade"
of an unspoiled and wild river,
and we feel cleansed and refreshed
as we stand in it's mists.
We
are not alone in our journeys, and
on Side Two we meet some of our fellow
travelers. As we greet the morning
at a "Washoe Sunrise",
we visit those who have long respected
and revered our mother, the Earth.
With eyes and heart open, we learn
a great deal from "The People" who
lived here long before the white man.
Later we come across an Appalachian
family in their wagon as it plods
purposefully onward on the "Trail
West". We see hope
and great expectations etched in their
faces. Arriving at the west
coast we encounter the people who
poured in from the orient who tirelessly
worked to build a place in the West.
With shovels and picks they helped
build the roads and railways.
Many of these people stayed but many
returned home hunched over, not so
much from the hard work in the gold
fields, but rater from their heavy
loads of "Jade",
the sacred stone of peace, health
and prosperity that was so scarce
in their homelands. Then from
the south came the ranchers and mission
builders whose Spanish and Indian
blood mixed to begin a whole new culture.
These people came not for gold but
for the "El Dorado"
that was the richness of the land
itself. Yes the road west has
been traveled by many and the pilgrimage
still goes on today as thousands continue
to make their "Sierra Passage".
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