The Midnight Hour....

The road before me stretches out as far as I can see. The evening had been delightful, and I have stayed too long. The world seems very dark as the midnight hour approaches. But home I need, and to it, I must go. A compelling force moves you towards your desire. Above and all around me, the night is bewitching. A full,frigid, silvery moon, stands guard, high in a bluish gray velvet sky...no stars. Tonight, it seemed, this could have been any road, leading anywhere, at any time in history.
The road winds, gently at time, abruptly at others, leading you eventually up and out of the coulee and onto a nice straight state highway. Here and there the reflective signs 'flash' a message at you...curve ahead....deer crossing. The occasional yard light tells you of the century we live in. Most of the river road is just trees, curves, rocks rolling down from hill sides, drop-off road sides that lead down to the meandering river below. It's a small river in this cold season, but it becomes a roaring, snarling monster with the spring rains.
So much of this road is just that....a road through the countryside. Tucked in between the crumbling sandstone ridges of tumbling rocks, and the river, no one lives here. It takes so little imagination to put yourself into a sleigh, behind a dark horse, who is trotting rapidly homeward to a warm barn.
It's the kind of moonlight night you see on christmas cards, and from the back of memory come the words "Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie, beneath thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars, go by".
I drive slowly, aware of the hour, the lack of a cell phone and the extreme aloneness of my journey. The road is snow packed and icy. In 7 miles of river road, only one other car. That is what makes it memorable, and an adventure. Maybe I am young Almonzo Wilder driving my faithful horse to find the homesteader with wheat to sell. Alone on this frostly night, looking for a light, looking for home.