THE COCKCROW BEGINS BEFORE SIX and finds me already awake, quill in hand adding words to this, my written journal. I have come only recently to feel that the days for me to continue here in México have come to be few in number and yet I begin each morning in my same routine.

I have gone afoot to the top of the mountain, climbed up to over eleven thousand feet and there, stood beneath these marvelous creatures hanging on the high branches in the oyamel fir forests. Yes, my Quest for the Mariposa has been accomplished.

Today, the visiting troop will leave for their home to the north and I bid them farewell until we chance upon each others path once again. I too have decided to begin my journey to the north today, returning to Texas by way of the interior high route through the Sierra Madre Oriental up to Monterrey and Laredo instead of the low route along the Gulf Coast.

I made the decision not to go to Mexico City and the Gulf coast after what the circuit overseer told me. The Federal District has some very hard to understand laws restricting the driving of vehicles inside of the district and he suggested that I spend some time on the internet learning the restrictions before going there. He also said that if the police find you in violation of these laws, they will just confiscate your car and since I would not want that to happen which would mean I would loose my home, I have decided not to go to the branch in Mexico City during this trip.

After I tell Ron and the circuit overseer good bye, I begin my journey north towards Texas and I stop for the night in Morelia because the last time in the city, I saw my favorite coffee shop and would like to see if it has WiFi available. It is my favorite primarily because it has high speed unlimited internet.

I arrive at the coffee house just before eleven and walk in for a cup of hot. Yes, they do have WiFi but I can not figure out how to connect to it. After trying for some time, I bring my computer up to the counter and the clerk calls for the computer-tech guy to help me. He taps the keyboard just a few strokes and shows me the secret, I just have to put in the username and password that is located on the receipt. Once I do so, I am in. So all it costs here in México for unlimited five-bar WiFi is the price of a cup of coffee, about three dollars and only that much because I buy the espresso.

I sit down on an extremely comfortable chair with my cup at eleven in the morning with some grand piano jazz in the background that find myselƒ imagining that I am in a Piano Bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans back in the sixties. Then, suddenly there is a flood of memories that sweep into my head, memories of a time long since past, a time in my youth during my teen year, actually in the sixties, when I did make several journeys to the city of my birth, to New Orleans, so as to sit in a piano bar and listen to some of the old master jazz musicians play their renowned piano melodies and yes, I came to love jazz even from this early age.

While enjoying the memories and the music, I sip on my espresso and begin checking my email, deleting all the junk mail and answering the ones from friends. Then, I begin the work of uploading photos for my journal.

As I sit here this afternoon, totally engrossed in my work, enjoying the piano jazz exceedingly, I never realize that time had begun to move at the speed of light. It came as such a surprise to me when I look out the window to see that the day had transformed into the evening with out me ever noticing it happen.

The music has keep me so involved in the moment that any and all change and movement outside fled by with me unaware. It is at this time, when I have realized that it is late, that an old favorite song pops into my head.

"It′s nine o′clock on a Saturday, the regular crowd shuffles in. There′s an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin. He says, ′Son, can you play me a memory? I′m not really sure how it goes, But it′s sad and it′s sweet and I knew it complete When I wore a younger man′s clothes′ La la la, de de da, La la, de de da da da, Sing us a song, you′re the piano man, Sing us a song tonight. Well, we′re all in the mood for a melody. And you′ve got us feelin′ all right."

I lean back in my chair, a little stiff now, and look around the room; most of the crowd here are college students and they are drinking lattes, mochas and sweet teas, not gin and tonic. The only old man in this piano bar is yours truly and I too am still drinking the hot. Still, the background music has been wonderful sixties piano jazz from New Orleans and it has got me "feelin′ all right" throughout this entire day.

However, now it is nine in the evening and I don′t think that I will last much longer on this extremely uncomfortable chair. What a superb day this has been for an old man; listening to memories and composing words for his journal. Now, it is time to retire to the back of my van for yet another night′s rest. (Day 50)

I have returned to the piano bar, purchased my cup of coffee and taken my position on the most comfortable chair in the house. Today, I will endeavor to finish Quire Three, and maybe even begin working on the next one. Too, I hope to send out an e-mail to my friends letting them know that they can begin looking at some of my photos online. (Day 51)

I go to the meeting first thing this morning and afterwards, I stop at one of the large groceries to buy a small bottle of mayo to make salmon salad to spread on some crackers. The salmon was in one of the cans that I brought from the US and I found out that if you mix in a little mayo and some diced onions, then you have a tasty meal to spread on crackers.

After lunch, I return to the Piano Bar for my cup of hot and the WiFi. Right after I receive the cup of coffee the lights go out and the cash register does not work so the clerk says to come back later to pay. When the lights come back on, I log on to check e-mail and find one from Susan who tells me of a broken link in my journal. I fix it right away because it is an easy typo correction.

I hope to get a few more things done here, especially since I have five-bars, but then the lights go out again. By the time they come back on to stay and I walk up to pay for my coffee, the clerk said that my coffee was free because of the light disruptions. Wow, WiFi and coffee for free today; I suppose that is why I come to the Piano Bar here in the capital city of the state of Michoacán. (Day 52)

I awake early and drive directly to the piano bar for coffee before my journey north resumes. The first obstacle involved in getting through Morelia is the morning traffic. There are no interstate highways around the cities in Mexico, just the two lane boulevards. Even driving down the boulevard to the piano bar is a chore.

I do so dislike being in a city, but I know that soon I will be north of Morelia and driving in the Sierra Madre mountains along the continental divide. I arrive at the piano bar and something is wrong with the WiFi so I sip on my alto café del dia (tall coffee of the day) and enjoy the jazz.

After a while, the internet explorer pops up with a prompt to enter my login information and I am online. I receive another email from Susan who comments on all the trash in the uncropped photo entitled Costa del Pacifico located at the bottom of my January 03, 2010 entry in Quire Five. She says "it looks like there is a lot of recyclables there." That′s funny! I reply to her that that she should come to México and clean it up.

Well, I have been here long enough to allow the morning traffic rush to be over, so now I go to begin wearing out tire rubber and see what I can photograph. ²³

After driving on the highway, making good time, the road leads me into to a city where all traffic breaks loose. There are few if any bypasses around the cities here.

I have been looking at the map and have found a route that will not involve to many cuotas (toll roads) because after that 500 pesos cuota drive from the west coast to Morelia, I don′t want to spend that much money for road fair again when I can take the slow highway for free even if I need to drive through crowded cities.

This route begins first on federal highway 43 north out of Morelia at an elevation of over six thousand feet and continues on the plateau to Irapuato in the state of Guanajuanto where I then turn northwest on Federal highway 45 first to Leon still in the state of Guanajuanto, still over six thousand feet in elevation.

I continue driving on the same highway to Aguascalientes in the state of the Aguascalientes (13) and I begin to increase in elevation while driving up to the continental divide somewhere near the city of Zacatecas in Zacatecas state (14).

Taking this route has kept me near to the mountain just to the west of the continental divide and then crossing the divide somewhere near the city of Zacatecas, which is a large city with an elevation of over eight thousand feet and I arrive here just as the sun begins to set.

At this junction, I am to turn northeast on federal highway 54 which goes all the way to Monterrey but I am not sure if I want drive to Monterrey tonight so I stop and have supper at a restaurant which turns out to have overpriced lousy food. When I leave the restaurant, I decide to continue on to Monterrey.

Twice tonight, during the drive between Zacatecas and Monterrey, I am stopped by military road blocks who want to search my car for drugs. I tell them that I don′t understand Spanish and one of the guards laugh. Also, both times another one of the soldiers comes over and tells me in English that they need to search my car. I readily agree and the soldier begins searching. He finds and looks at my aspirin, vitamins and water purifiers but leaves them and passes me through.

I continue on through Saltillo, in the state of Coahuilla and into Monterrey where I stop at the d-mart and park for the night.

It is very late and go right to sleep. (Day 53)

I awake after nine and drive to my friends home. When I arrive, Senor Hernandez Martinez comes up to my car and shakes my hand. I ask him if I could park here for a little while and he says it is ok. I work on my computer until the battery needs charging and then leave and go to the coffee shop I found here in Monterrey just before I left here on the first of January.

I had recorded it in my GPS and now I just follow the directions and soon arrive for coffee, WiFi connection, a plug for my charger and of course, the piano bar. I walk in with my computer, purchase an alto cafée del dia using my coffee card and then wonder just how much money I have left on my card. So I go on line and find there to be about five dollars left. Also I check how much the coffee I just purchased cost me and find it has deducted $1.39 from my funds. Wow, I reload my card and buy a large slice of Pastel Tres Chocolates and a second cup which is a total of 68 pesos but only $5.26 US. Now, the triple chocolate cake by itself would have cost five or six dollars in the US. Later, I even have a ham and cheese sandwich for $2.86 which is a bargain even in a North American franchise store.

While traveling into and around México and while visiting the congregations, particularly in Michoacán, I have truly enjoyed seeing the beautiful mountain ranges with the many lakes and I loved my visit to two of the monarch sanctuaries where I was to do several miles of hiking on the mountain well above ten thousand feet.

Further, I have seen so many beautify sunrises and sunsets, enough to last most people a life time but for me, I will keep looking for that beauty each day. What I have not seen, not even once here in México, even though I have searched hard in order to see one, I have not yet seen a rainbow. Maybe, it is not my time to see one here yet.

Still, more important that any physical feature in the heavens and on the earth, is what I have come to learn about the people who live here in this land. These are a humble people who are kind, generous, well mannered and have good values. They work hard, keep their homes clean and provide well for their families. They appreciate good friends and openly and warmly show their feelings with their hugs and kisses. These are the people that I have come to desire to live among.

However, what I have found to be much more beneficial for me during this initial part of my journey is what I have gained in a spiritual way and which has provided me with memories and treasures I now hold dear. This journey has taught me so very much about the need to be self-sufficient but not self-reliant; to take care of my own needs but always doing so by trusting fully in Jehovah′s every provision upon this path I am even now stepping on.

Too, I have come to even more so cherish the need to keep close to the brotherhood and never to miss the meetings. Also, I have come to fully appreciate the need for ever increasing personal study and prayer, but especially when wayfaring, because it is during this time when I find that my life becomes more fully involved in serving and worshiping Jehovah.

The higher purpose for my sojourn here in México was to find the place where Jehovah can use me fully in his service and immediately after talking to the Circuit Overseer last week, I realized that I have found just such a place, the English Congregation in Patzcuaro, Michoacán.

Now that I have found what I had come looking for, I have an even great need to supplicate Jehovah for his help in making the move there because there are still many obstacles, both external and internal in the way of my obtaining this goal.

Yes, I am fully convinced that we are deep into these last days and that this system has very little time left. Too, I am deep into my last days, especially upon becoming sixty this year, for according to the Bible at Psalm 90:10, in all practical purposes I have about ten or twenty years left in my life if the system were to last as long as that.

So, in order for me to feel that my efforts will have been worthy of the one who has called me out of the world to be one of his servants, I have set my goal as to be able to spend as much of these last years in the full time service and doing so in such a place where I feel God has directing me to be. Therefore, I look forward to that day when I have moved to Patzcuaro!

"Is this trip a vacation?" some have asked me. Yes, at times, that is what this journey seems to be, even to me, but this journey is nothing like what most people would consider to be a vacation. I call it wayfaring but in sooth, it is very much like vacationing, especially when it comes to the travel, to the meeting of new friends, to the exploring new places and even more so when it brings me closer in an awareness of the fauna and the flora surrounding me, or to a better awareness of the celestial sphere above me or even to an improved understanding of those in the global village sitting next to me here at a coffee shop in a foreign land.

However, the similarity to a vacation ends with the purpose of this sojourn, that of the search for the location outside of the US where there is a greater need for those of us who have dedicated our life to make known the Good News of God′s Kingdom. Then when the search has found such a location to where my move would allow me, once located there, to reasonably be able to thrive in that location, then my goal would be to help as many of the locals as I could to come to know better the Sovereign Lord of the heavens and the earth. ( Acts 4:24)

Please don′t misunderstand these words of mine nor what I desire, I am not an ascetic nor a recluse or any other type of person bent on extreme self-denial for religious or any other reason. On the contrary, I love a comfortable house to retire to after a long day of work or preaching; I enjoy sitting in a comfortable chair and having good music to listen to or a good movie to watch; I love a glass or two of fine scotch while relaxing by a crackling fire on a winter′s eve, especially after a well prepared tasty meal; I love watching children play or even better, joining in with the games; and I love to be with my family and friends enjoying wholesome activities and association.

But, all these things and more are the things I desire to ensure that I will continue to enjoy in the coming paradise. ( Luke 23: 43) So, now, especially since the years are numbered for both this system and myselƒ, methinks I must needs be in the vanguard of our assigned work of helping others to come to know about these wonderful things that God has in store for the future. ( Psalms 37: 11, 29)

Yes, for what lies ahead, I am willing to give up, at least for the duration of these last days, all those comforts that a settled lifestyle provides. Too, in my endeavor to resume the austere lifestyle that is the heritage of a wayfarer, I have even sold or given away as much of my material possessions as I am able to, particularly those ones that play no part in allowing and helping me to pursue this life of a wayfarer. Well, except for the home in Washington I still own, but hopefully, time will allow me to dispossess it also.

So, now my plan is to stay in Monterrey tonight in the parking lot of the d-mart and then early in the morning, head for the border, crossing it some time in the early afternoon and afterwards go to the meeting tomorrow night in Laredo. I know this is crossing the border much sooner than I had originally planned, which would of had me cross nearer to the end of February but having completed what I came here to do in México my desire is to spend some time in Texas while the weather is still the way I enjoy it, not hot and humid.

After my stay in Texas, I will return to Washington and wait there for my home to sell and while waiting, prepare myselƒ for the Journey On. (Day 54)

One last time to go to the baño and then soon, it will no longer be called a baño, but instead, I will call it a bathroom. I awake before sunrise and wait until I see the dawn before leaving. The trip north is uneventful until I reach the border.

I had decided to try a different location to cross and end up crossing at the commercial or truck bridge.

During the many previous Canadian border crossings at the commercial crossing, there has never been a problem to cross in a car, but here on the US side at the Mexican border, it is a different story. Methinks, it is because my vehicle is not commercial that I am given a ticket by the US border guards for what they call an intensive search, to include an initial search, an x-ray and finally a strip search on the dock.

After passing the first two without a question, when I arrive at the dock for the final search, the guard just gives me a passed certificate without asking me to unload my things and visually check them. This whole search session took three hours but during the wait, I was able to read several magazines and chapters of my Bible.

Upon arriving in the US, I go directly to the WiFi restaurant for a burger and to call and have my car insurance coverage taken off hold. Next, I go to Lake Casa Blanca State Park take a hot shower and wash my car, the two things that I found it hard to accomplish south of the border.

Then, I ready myselƒ for the meeting tonight.

Upon arriving at the hall at seven-thirty, many of the friends say welcome back. Afterwards, I drive my van to the d-mart and retire for the evening. (Day 55)