This tour was designed to sell books in states west of St.Louis...It exceeded 65 days and 6,500 miles. This part of the country is known as a good area to have a book tour. The area has a reputation for friendly bookstores. Up to California it was notably friendly, though in some parts of California the friendliness was not as readily felt. California has other qualities that make it a state deserving a visit. In fact, as a travel experience the area we ventured into would be impossible to duplicate. No scenery anywhere can match the Kansas low hill plains and patterned fields, the Colorado peaks and valleys blanketed in snow, the Nevada sharp contrasts, the Utah glimmering rock slabs touching the clouds, and California grandeur from orchards and flowering fields to the acres of giant twirling windmill arms of Indio. Passing through Utah one sees the great salt plains which become snow very imperceptively. Special messages placed by dedicated artists in the form of tall pebbles sticking up bravely above the salt or snow spell out the names of loved ones--many enclosed in a heart. The bonuses of Arizona are revealed proudly in miles of cactus rock gardens with New Mexico's adobe dwellings echoing the desert atmosphere. In Texas and Oklahoma greener and taller trees begin to emerge along the roadways as the lush foliage of Arkansas strikes out and compels you to esteem them. And then suddenly the Missouri side of the picturesque Ozarks demands your focus on coming home.