“It should not be denied… that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from oppression and irksome obligations, it is associated with absolute freedom…and the road to freedom has always led West.”
~Wallace Stegner
Wallace Stegner will always be considered one of America’s great writers. Born in Lake Mills, IA in the early 1900’s, Stegner was a young man who had dreams of seeing America; of experiencing it. From childhood, his journey took him gradually and progressively further West during each phase of his life; moving from Iowa to Montana and, ultimately, settling in Utah. During his remarkable life, he not only wrote some of the finest words ever penned about the American West; he lived them.
To be able to read the works of Stegner and learn from his observations of the American West–while at the same time having the opportunity to walk where he walked–is one of the greatest joys of my life. There’ll never be another writer like Wallace Stegner–at least not as far as the American West is concerned.
From where I sit, there’s little question in my mind that Stegner’s observations were accurate–if you want to see the real America, by all means take the road that leads West.
The road that leads west, western NE
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