Most often when I am driving in the car, especially for a long distance, my mind wanders to the past. I love to try and see the surrounding landscape through the eyes of Lewis and Clark. What did this place look like before Europeans came? How much wild game was there?

It is almost beyond my mind’s capability to see the surrounding area with endless interruption from mankind. Can you do it? Can you picture the countryside going on endlessly all the way to the Pacific Ocean without a road, telephone pole, cell tower and wind turbine?

As an outdoorsman, this thought is almost too amazing to handle. The total peace and quiet the evening would bring with the night sky. It would be a perfect canvas uninterrupted by the glare of lights. The wildlife! Oh, the wildlife. Think of the Illinois hills and valleys full of elk, deer, wolves and mountain lions. I almost shiver dreaming about it.