Go west, young man.

Yesterday, after my curiosity got the better of me, I searched for and located an on-line version of a game my wife mentioned playing in her childhood. I decided to load my wagon with family and supplies and take a chance on The Oregon Trail.

My first attempt was disastrous resulting in several members of my party drowning during a poorly planned river crossing and ending with my own untimely demise out on the prairie. My wife joined me on my second attempt to make it to the West Coast and together we were far more successful. This time we only lost two members of our party and almost made it. But a sudden blizzard, we encountered while crossing yet another mountain range, caused the computer to freeze bringing our misadventure to a sudden end.

Despite the hardships we encountered on our journey, we have not been deterred from another attempt to cross this great nation of ours in a wagon pulled by a team of oxen. If the pioneering spirit strikes you as well, you can play The Oregon Trail at: http://www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.html.