Summer Correspondents
Wrap Up

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When we last heard from our summer correspondents Randi Somers and her 11-year-old grandson Jesse, they had driven and camped their way across the country, from Homer, Alaska to the East Coast... and they'd just come from the top of the Empire State Building. During their journey, Randi and Jesse have taken in everything from the glitz of Las Vegas to thunderous Niagara Falls, and after stopping by our nation's capital, they turned around to head west through the prairies. They've met quite a few characters along the way, including a new friend in Bonner's Ferry, Idaho named Mike Oehler. He's the author of The Hippy Guide to Survival in Y2K and he lives in seclusion in an underground home he built on a woodsy homestead. Mike talked a little philosophy with Randi as he led her through the hills to his home.

Jesse in a Nebraska cornfield Jesse and his cousin Thorin playing bumper boats

Jesse and Thorin at Evan's Plunge in Hot Springs, South Dakota Jesse and Thorin swimming in a local stream in Hot Springs

Climbing up for a better view of Mt. Rushmore Jesse feeds the local wildlife in Oregon

Jesse and his mom pose at totem poles at the south end of Cassiar Highway in British Columbia Jesse and Mom on a footbridge crossing the headwaters of the Yukon River in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Jesse and Mom at the Giant Sloth exhibit in Beringia Museum, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Oehler: "I'm hoping to build a three-story house; I'm hoping to sit up there and watch civilization crumble, drink martinis."

Randi: "Do you like having company here?"

Oehler: "Sometimes it's nice to have people. If Y2K gets nasty I expect a lot of refugees. If the electricity goes down, the government's going to seize it during martial law. I wouldn't stay in the cities. So many of my neighbors are saying 'if they come around looking for my food, I'm going to shoot 'em. Well never mind the golden rule, it's pure pragmatic. There are gonna be 40,000 refugees. Do you want 40,000 enemies or 40,000 friends?"

I think I'd rather have 40,000 friends. Well, on their way home, Randi and Jesse searched for the real American West. And they found it in the Black Hills, where a a four-man band called The Cowboys played authentic Western music.

Randi and Jesse took in a performance and talked to singer Jim Lovell, from Hot Springs, South Dakota..

Lovell: "Western music is basically about nature...the hills...and some about the hereafter. The cowboy wondered a lot about the hereafter and sang about it.

Randi: "What's the difference between Western music and the country western music of today?"

Lovell: "One illustrates the almost forgotten law of the west: hard work, clean livin', and personal honor, and the other violates those virtues."

[singing "America the Beautiful"]

Randi: "I've been singing that song a lot at the wheel..."

Lovell: "Really? It's a natural for you, the places you've seen this trip!"

Randi: "Oh yeah, coming across Utah, it was absolutely spectacular."

Lovell: "We hate to think this kind of music will ever die. If it does, so does a piece of America."

Well, after two and a half months on the road, Randi and Jesse have made it safely back to Homer, Alaska. Randi's already back at work and Jesse's just started the sixth grade. I talked with them about their cross-country journey.