I couldn't tell if it was nature or civilization calling her back, just that Mom was accepting the call.

If you try to make everything look like the plan, then you're going to miss a lot and spend the whole adventure being frustrated.

The car-house came to rest in a car kennel surrounded by sky. Only the crowns of a few mountains joined us in the sky, still dripping with

"Why would there be a parking lot if there were nothing to see? People who drive sedans don't go up a dirt road for nothing."

Death sat self-consciously behind them all, its bloodthirsty depths and time-stained teeth awkwardly out of place among the picnic tables, r

Oscar sees many magical things in Monument Valley and meets one of his heroes

"Oh look! A cairn." Mom veered toward a little stack of rocks. I sniffed the pile. "Hello, Karen. My name is Oscar."

"Heights... I can't... I'm too scared to get close enough to take a good picture," she admitted. "I was kind of hoping you'd do it for me."

The monster halted and let out a screech like a carrion bird. Then it backed up for a closer look.

"Oh well. I suppose you've learned your lesson. Please move out of the way so we can go."

"Look, Mom. My piddle puddle is smoking!" I said proudly. "And have you noticed these strange droppings?"

The car-house picked up speed as it rolled toward the blinding whiteness. As we zoomed in, the grid lines on the ground began to show.

Even the raindrops were prickly, as if it were raining wasps. Beside the trail, the bristle bushes bloomed with food wrappers and underpants

"Imagine that! A truck stop! Who does she think she’s talking to?" Mom pulled the seat leash across her chest like a diva cape.

"Sheesh, there's absolutely nothing here," Mom narrated. "There have got to be trails around here somewhere."

I took a flying leap inside and shook the wet from my fur into the blanket. Mom humphed onto the bed beside me and peeled off her wet socks.

Mystery drew me forward until the rocks spread in a wide circle. I followed the rocks' instructions and stopped in the center of the henge.

The trail turned shiny as a mirror and the river turned to stucco as we ran. I squinted to keep the rain out of my eyes as the world outside

This looks more... residential Like the sort of place where people live when they aren't allowed within a thousand feet of a school or playg

The leash may have been gone, but the bond we'd built over so many thousands of miles could never be unhitched. When Mom let me off the lea