Conclusion
CONCLUSION : TRACTORS ACROSS AMERICA 2009
October 16th 2009: The calendar has moved forward nearly six weeks from the conclusion of the trek across the United States and all members have returned home and settled back to reality again. The tractors are being returned to Australia, each one now famous after the accomplishment of having travelled all the way from Maryland to California with only one serious break-down.
There have been many comments made about the friendliness and helpfulness of the American people and the beauty of the countryside and these have not been exaggerated – everywhere the group went they were met with an enthusiastic response. The many members of tractor and antique machinery groups in particular gave of their time and expertise as well as providing assistance with transportation to local places of interest. Without their aid, many interesting visits would not have eventuated and we will always be grateful for all the assistance given.
During the 18 months while this trek was in the planning stage, many contacts were made with interested Americans and without fail, these people became good friends after only spending a short space of time with them. The usual response was that people felt that they knew us even though we had just met in person. Without these contacts our trek would not have been as successful as it was, and we will endeavour to keep in touch with these kind people. In other cases contacts were made along the way, but always the degree of helpfulness was amazing.
Among our group of trekkers, there are those who deserve thanks for special assistance – Wendy for organizing the trek uniforms which drew much attention. We were mistaken for members of one of the University teams, and questioned about which basketball team the men belonged to, but the main attraction was the ability to find trekkers in Wal-Mart – the blue and orange really stood out!
Then, when the team was separated through circumstance and change of route, thanks go to Anne for her assistance with web diary notes covering the tractors’ travels over the final stage of the journey.
Reading through the complete diary now makes the whole trip come alive again and gives a sense of achievement for what was often a ‘labour of love’; the notes and photographs very often completed after a full day of adventures when the brain had to be forced to focus on the facts, faces and places of the day, but the result was well worth the effort.
This website was designed and updated by Joanne Smith at YaZoogle and we must indeed show our appreciation for her patience and dedication to this mammoth task.
Thanks to our many readers – we hope you enjoyed coming along on our journey.
Your scribe,
Kerry Bywaters
Transworld Tractor Treks
