New Beginnings, New Direction

           Sometimes I forget how much I've experienced since the changes that started in my life in 2007/2008. I forget about an entire moment or place I've been on the road, until it hits me by looking at a photograph, then it's almost as if I'm able to go back in time and remember it like it was yesterday.

The choice has always been mine to put another mile under my feet(or wheels), but I often take for granted the simple fact that there would be no where to step(or drive)if the Universe wasn't there to provide. Feeling deep gratitude to that fact.

This transitional phase I'm in now is more complex than the others, it's darker, it's less certain, it's more challenging and it's less revealing..for now. I suppose that's what it looks like as you ascend upward and forward down the road of life. One thing I'm underestimating in this time of change is myself, and my uncertainty as to what my soul wants to create for myself and also to navigate intuitively to what I need as my world turns. I've gotten better at problem-solving, my flash-light is much bigger, my optimism(while challenged)becomes more rock solid as I look back at all that I've overcome, every mile within myself and every mile on that road these last 6 years. My eyes are older, but my vision is sharper. My spirit is reconnecting with my inner child and the wisdom that has helped me heal and evolve is taking form within that child.

I turn the key one more time on one of the many ignitions I've started over the years and head down the road just a bit further.

What lies ahead for me? It's not clear. What do I hope to find around the next curve? I have some ideas, but I'm not concrete on anything as of right now.

A few things I've learned both before my nomadic days and since I've been vagabonding:

~I have a simple yet inspiring story to share in my travels during the "On The Backroads" era. Seek, explore, find and heal yourself. Do what your heart and soul desires, even if it means defying the odds and especially if it means staying outside the box. Let the rest of the shit fall where it may.

~Question EVERYTHING! Seek the truth and your personal truth!


~Traveling(and life in general)is much sweeter with a soulful connection and a suitable life partner.


~Expand the territory within the soul and mind. Many miles in the United States has taught me to think global instead of only thinking local, both for my future travel endeavors and my new life direction in general.


Most importantly at this moment..


I have no overpowering sense of direction right now, I'm ok with the fact that I'm absolutely terrified...but hey..fuck it, I've only got one life to live, and no matter what happens, it's not like I'm going to get out alive anyways!


Much love! :)

Saying Goodbye and Thank You: My Eulogy for Grandpa

((I read the following at my grandfathers services. This is my second eulogy.))



"Here I am 5 months later. Saying goodbye again..

I have a lot of fond memories here in Berwyn. It's the place I grew up, it's where my family is from, it's where I spent my childhood with my grandparents.

Today marks the end of a major chapter in my life. It's been 10 years since I lived in Berwyn and 3 years since I lived in Illinois, but my memories are plentiful.

Today also marks another closing of a chapter, today I say farewell to my only grandfather and last grandparent. It's a strange feeling having nothing left but pictures and memories, but it's the memories that last the longest. I had an opportunity to spend the spring here in Illinois with my grandfather before his passing. With his condition and me going to Wyoming for work, I knew this would be my last chance to spend quality time with him. I live with no regrets!!

I have memories of him building me a snow hill in the backyard so I could go sledding when I was a little boy. I remember us watching wrestling every Thursday night on TV when I was a teenager. I remember countless times we went out for lunch and dinner, sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with grandma. The time I spent was plentiful and quality with both of my grandparents. I remember riding my bike around town and stopping upstairs at grandma and grandpas house for a snack. In recent years, I spent countless days in Wonder Lake enjoying the peace and quiet with both of them. But not always BETWEEN both of them!

My grandpa was a kind man, quiet but full of humor. With the loss of both grandparents in a 5 month period, this is especially difficult, even having the blessing to spend so much time with them over the last few years, as well as my whole life.

On Friday, I will return to my new home of the last 3 years in the wild west, leaving my grandparents, childhood, Berwyn and Illinois behind once and for all. With me, I will take the memories.

Thank You Grandpa, I Love You."

Saying Goodbye and Thank You: My Eulogy for Grandma

((I read the following at my grandmothers services. This is my first eulogy and was the hardest thing I ever had to write.))

"As a writer it's rare anymore that I have a writers block. If you were to ask me to write a detailed description about a sunset, I could have something decent for you in about a half hour. Ask me to write a eulogy for someone else, I may be able to give you generalizations describing how great someone was. But the strange thing is, I sit here now listening to grandmas favorite, Bob Seger searching my thoughts for the words to express the emotions behind losing someone you love, someone who was your best friend, someone you spent countless hours on the phone with for the last 10 years, someone you watched literally hundreds of movies with followed by a discussion after each one, someone you shared your music with as they shared theirs with you, someone who took an interest in your travels and photography, a person that you couldn't wait to see after cleaning toilets for $8 an hour all week spending all of your gas money in an $800 gas guzzler truck just to go see that person nearly every weekend, someone that would light up like a Christmas tree everytime they saw you or whenever you called them on the phone, someone that was worth the 2,000 mile trip across the country time and time again. Someone you love.

Truth is, I could write a book about the relationship I shared with my grandma, but a few thing's I've learned the last few years are the most important things to say about life are oftentimes the things we only say at the time of someone passing...

Live freely, Love deeply, Listen intently, Share willingly and give honestly.

Most importantly, take every single moment to embrace those you love. When you tell someone you love that you'll talk to them on Saturday, Saturday may never come.

THANK YOU grandma, for everything we have shared since the day I was born, especially in the last decade. Your unconditional love, our time spent together in Wonder Lake and Berwyn, all the countless hours of phone calls over the years and all of the laughter.

I don't know where we go after this life, who truly does? But one thing I know is I loved grandma as much as she loved me, we parted in this life as best friends, and if there is somewhere we go with pearly gates when this is all said and done, we'll be watching movies and listening to Bob Segers "Old Time Rock & Roll" there together.

One last thing, showing how amazing God's work is in our lives...

I was in Phoenix Arizona when I received the phone call of grandmas passing, I was brushing my teeth at a friends apartment in fact. About an hour later while trying to process the news, I went to a Hispanic laundromat in a poor hispanic neighborhood to save money on washing clothes. This laundromat has all of the signs posted in Spanish and the music playing is Mexican radio, also in Spanish. Not once have I ever gone there and heard a song in English, not until the day of her passing. One of her favorite songs "Don't Worry Be Happy" came on the Mexican radio in English, I took it as a sign from the Creator of the Universe, sending me a simple message. I smiled, teared up a bit and finished my laundry.

I will miss her, but in her absence I have the memories, and the opportunity to squeeze the juice out of life even more, everyday, wherever I am, with whomever I am with.

Grandma, Thank You; I Love You, and Goodbye...

Thank you God for 26 years of friendship and love with my wonderful grandmother, and thank you for all my other blessings."




-Zachary Hill 2013(C)