Day’s End

Having spent the better part of the day in Grand Rapids in the scorching heat and moving quickly from one air conditioned venue to another, I was relieved to be finally heading North.

After a couple of hours of driving, the white puffy clouds that had dotted the day’s sky surrendered to a sun that was sliding toward the horizon casting its hot orangish pink light upward.

As I approached one of the last few towns of my trip, I emerged from the protected woods into a full blown summer evening . The car, impervious to the outside heat with its

cool air conditioning, drew in the tantalizing smell of evening campfires nestled beneath the far tall white pines of a state park.

From  across the narrows I could  see the smoky fragrant perfume hanging over the water of the calm larger lake.

Men and children waded into the shallows of the water’s edge, hoping to catch that one last fish of the day in the shadowy twilight.

I slowed and quickly dropped all my windows  that were keeping out the day’s heat.

I then invited the smell of many fond north woods’ summer memories into my truck and into my mind.

Those memories accompanied me on the last leg of my day’s journey, leaving a smile on my lips as my tired truck climbed the very last little hill to the quiet farm house, whose yard was dimly lit with an outside light and whose air was filled with the sounds of the night.

.