This novel is based on fact. Though it is based on fact, this novel uses fictional events, places and characters. Parts of the novel are humorous, while other parts are exciting and interesting. I am attempting to follow the lives of my father's parents, John and Elizabeth Taylor, from the time of the Civil War, their marriage, their lives and adventures in different states, their travels across the country by wagon train and their lives in Tacoma, Washington. My dear aunt told me stories many years ago. Some I remember and some I remember only parts of. She was a very young girl at the time and experienced many of these things. I learned many things by asking questions. When relatives and people learned that I was interested in writing a book of this nature, they came forward with letters and stories of their own that I was able to use. Grandpa John was a tailor and made his living this way. Later in years he became fascinated with the railroads and became an engineer. I found this book to be fascinating to write and wishing that I could have been there and lived in such times before the machine revolution changed the world.