In preparing for several trips scheduled for Summer 2017 my partner and I decided to combine several events requiring our attendance, each of which were in different parts of our country, into one grand 50-day, 8,000 mile road trip.  We departed Chicago in late June 2017 and trekked to Palm Springs, CA via Route 66 much of the way, then onto Boise, ID via the Sierra Nevada mountains and the beautiful wide open plains of southwestern Oregon and into Idaho, then onto Seattle, WA through the rolling hills of Washington's wine country and up through the Cascades.  After a few weeks in Seattle we ventured into Alaska and experienced the vastness of a magnificent part of our world via plane, truck (thanks Gert) and rail, then returned to Seattle via plane, flying over too many disappearing glaciers, then began a lengthy trek home.  While the first 40 days of our trip was extraordinary in its sights, sites, sounds and soul-nourishing experiences, the northern route from Seattle to Chicago proved to be most awe-inspiring.  The days in Glacier National Park and the seemingly endless days of driving through the remainder of Montana and into Minnesota provided spectacular views and colors.  While growing up on the plains of Illinois, we experienced our share of storms, but the smoke clouds and massive storms witnessed in our travels far outweighed the drama of the storms from my early memories.  This body of work provides both an abstract and realistic representation of my experiences.