road's end: baxter state park

it's a wild, wild life

An impulsive drive. Journey to the end of the Appalachian Trail. 200,000 acres of wilderness. Woods and waters, green and serene.

The adventure sputters, like the steam from the radiator in the elderly Volvo wagon I am driving and irrationally attached to. No phone service, map from a bygone era. Primitive roads leading to nowhere. Surrounded by nature, we are unruffled. A hiker points us toward the north entrance. The park ranger replenishes the overheated engine with pond water. A kind couple follows us to the general store. The owner replaces the rusted-out hose clamp.

The universe has our backs.