Hankering for a Milepost

I’ve traveled down many a road.
Some planned, and others, I ask.
Where does this go?
The journey, not the destination, I know.

Seldom do roads have no markings.
Signs, names, points of interest,
Or even markers for distance.
Distance to where? There. Ahead. I’m hankering. Let’s go!

But there is a marker I love to use.
The distance traveled. Call them Mile Markers.
Or Mileposts. And if you are between Alaska
And the Lower 48, add Western Canada, too.

There is a book to go the distance with you.
I’ve bought a number through the years.
And every year, an update unfolds every mile or kilometer.
Suddenly, you are not alone. Thankful!

The latest, greatest news of the year.
What’s open, what is offered, and how to enjoy
My first trip? 1977. Most of the road was gravel.
We traveled in mid-September, and much is seasonally closed.

Most of the road was washboard gravel.
But these 30+ years later, most are now paved.
Matching the book to the road we traveled
Knowing what’s ahead, behind, and right here.

Oh, if you don’t know me very well,
I feel a traveling bug coming on. It itches!
Not far-away places with strange languages and names.
But to that, right around the corner, Milepost?
I’m hankering to come!

With millions of driving miles behind me,
I’m yearning for the roads of yesteryear.
Were time and money not an option,
I’d start at the tip of every continent
and plan a crossing route or one that circles the edges.
I get more joy from a quiet road journey
than any noise-filled space where people congregate.

There’s something about being in control.
It’s my trip.
When I’m tired? Stop. Hungry? Eat.
When it’s time to sleep, then do it!
If you want to see something, then go there.
RVs travel in caravans, and motorcycles ride in a pack.
Big trucks support each other as the road gets crowded and slow.
I want that lonely road. I’m not interested in grouping.

The ending is nothing I see in sight.
It’s the idea of simply picking up and going.
Quietly. Like a slinker in the night.
No fanfare or last meal, nor fare thee well.
Dare I say it? I’m hankering… I’m gone!

~Michael Gurley
January 4, 2023