Coming home, or, What I did on my summer vacation.

Howdy everyone!
     It's good to be back after such a long hiatus.
     I recently (last week) moved from north Florida back to my native state of New Mexico, and I couldn't be happier to be home. The trip was fun, and to avoid this blog turning into a travel log, I will only tell you that Natchez and Vicksburg Mississippi are definitely worth a visit. The highlight of the trip was seeing an American Bison at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge outside Lawton Ok.
     The thing that struck me most was the sense of relief I felt growing as we traveled west. In Oklahoma, when the last shreds of kudzu had been left behind us, and the land began to open up, it felt as if I let out a breath I had been holding for two years. Simply being able to see more than a few yards in one direction was like a weight had been taken off my shoulders. When we stopped for gas and an ice cream in the Texas panhandle, the dry air was like a balm to my heart. I breathed deep like a nineteenth century consumptive following doctor's orders to go west for a drier climate.
     Don't get me wrong. It's not as if I don't like Florida, or the Deep South, but it is just not home. Folks raised in the more heavily populated and greener climes of the east would feel the same way I did after living on the naked plains of the west for a couple of years.
     I am grateful to be back in my place in the world, and glad to have the opportunity to make my passion my work. I will continue to combine my passion for literature with my passion for the American West. I will pour out my love of these things, and use the talents that God has given me to produce novels which hopefully bless and inspire those who read them.
      I thank you for bearing with me on this rather personal edition of Westerlinglore. I assure you that next week I will return to the fun and interesting facts about life in the Old West that I discover during my research and travels. I would love to hear about what others find, as the West seems to have an unlimited supply of interesting stories. Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (it's not hard, there are very few Arley Dials in the word) and lets share our experience and love of home.

Adios for now,
Arley L. Dial, July 20, 2015

P.S. If you find yourself looking for a good read, have a look at one of my novels on Amazon. Once again, just put my name into the search engine, you'll find me.