It’s funny seeing how the pictures I imagined during a childhood full of reading don’t quite match up with reality.

Nowadays, when I read historical fiction I have fun Googling the places I’m reading about, researching the historical figures, and delving deeper into the real-life account behind the fictional story.

As a child of course I had school books to look through, but even the best of books (or especially the best of books) leaves a lot of room for the imagination to take over.

Following the Oregon Trail and seeing all the places that I read and dreamed about for so many years has been fun, enlightening, and quite surprising at times.