The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

After a radio conversation, the officer confides to the group he doesn’t have space in his squad car for everyone. He only takes Rodeo and Val to jail, demanding the others wait 20 minutes until he can return. As Rodeo is leaving, he says to Coyote, “Down through the clouds. Go to your roots. Remember Eureka” (280). Coyote realizes he has given her a coded message.

Coyote informs Lester and Salvador that she is going to sneak back into the bus and drive it the rest of the way herself. Coyote knows how to drive the bus and Rodeo was encouraging her to do this with his coded message. Lester says he’s not going to let her do it, though Coyote tells him she intends to do it anyway. Salvador says he is going with her, an offer she accepts since he is her true friend. They sneak into the bus through the attic door, find the hidden the spare key in the roots of the tomato plant, and take off toward Poplin Springs howling like coyotes.

As Coyote drives down the interstate in Yager, Salvador notices a police car is behind them. The officer tries to drive alongside of them and look inside the bus. Coyote has donned sunglasses and a floppy hat to disguise the fact that she is only 12 years old. The officer decides to pull them over. He and Coyote engage in a cat-and-mouse game as they come upon the exit to Poplin Springs. Pretending to pass the exit, Coyote turns at the last moment, forcing the officer to continue down the interstate. Coyote drives into the town, recognizing all the places she remembers from her childhood. She comes to the park, hearing the police siren approaching. She sees that construction vehicles have already taken out the trees in much of the park.

Salvador tells Coyote to leave him to deal with the police, and Coyote races to the part of the park where the box was buried. She avoids people who try to grab her and jumps into a ditch where the trees used to be. A young workman named Travis asks what she is doing, and Coyote explains what she is seeking. He shows her a big pile of dirt adjacent to the trench and she starts digging. When Travis tries to pull her out of the trench, she kindly asks him to help her. He enlists the aid of another worker. Using shovels, they dig through the pile of dirt that gets smaller and smaller. Salvador joins them as the police officer stands up above the trench, watching angrily. They begin to give up hope of finding it when Coyote’s shovel strikes a metal object. Carefully, she unearths it and locates the box that she promised her mother she would find.

Coyote cradles the box, climbs out of the ditch, and begins to walk toward the park’s one remaining shade tree. People around her stand watching, trying to figure out what happened, though they don’t try to stop her or speak to her. They ask Salvador what the box is. He explains it is a memory box and contains memorabilia from her family. When they ask where her mother is, Salvador explains that she is dead and that Coyote wants to be alone.

As she walks, the police officer tries to stop her. She does not respond to him until the officer grabs her by the arm. Instantly, Gladys the goat rams the police officer, knocking him to the ground and leaving him stunned. Coyote explains that the goat is not mean, but very loyal. She explains to the officer that she’s going to sit down under the tree for a few minutes and look through the box, after which she will be glad to be arrested. She sits beneath the tree and opens the box.

Coyote shares a memory of walking with her family in the wilderness to the top of a mountain when she was a little girl. She runs ahead of the others. When she gets to the top, she turns and watches them walking toward her. As her mother draws near to her, she stops and looks around at the majestic natural scene. Then she turns to Coyote and gives her the most beautiful smile she has ever seen, a smile that expresses the full depth of a mother’s love to her child. And Coyote smiles back, returning her mother’s love with an expression that needs no words.

Sitting in the shade underneath the tree, Coyote slowly begins to go through the memory box. Everything she sees and touches is incredibly poignant. She looks at a note left for her from her baby sister Rose that says she loves Ella, because Ella loves her no matter what. She looks at many things that bring back overwhelming memories.

She hears her father, who calls her “Coyote.” She asks him not to call her Coyote today, saying, “Not now. I’m not Coyote right now. Okay, Dad” (324). To her surprise, her father sits down it begins to look through the box with her.

Ella and her father look through the memory box together. They discuss a particular family photo. She makes her dad call the girls by their names, which is extremely difficult for him. He also calls his wife by her name, Anne. It is an extremely meaningful moment for them. They get up when they hear the police officer behind them clear his throat. As they walk through the park, Salvador joins them, along with Gladys, who is now perfectly calm. Travis, the worker who helped them find the box, stops them. Ella thanks him and he is gracious in accepting her thanks. As they are walking, she asks her dad how he got to the park. He explains that he got a ride from her grandmother. When Ella sees her grandmother, she races across the park and hugs her.

Coyote explains how she worked her way out of the trouble she caused. She and her father escape serious consequences and she was required to speak to a counselor and received several stern warnings from authority figures. Ultimately, it was determined that Rodeo was not an unfit father or a dangerous person but instead just a “certified weirdo” (333).

They say goodbye to Val as her parents come to get her to take her back to Minnesota. They say goodbye to Salvador, with Coyote being close-mouthed about the farewell, saying he was still her best friend. They also take Gladys the goat home and Coyote says she misses her as well. They stay with Coyote’s grandmother for a few days. When Coyote sees Rodeo fixing up the bus, she knows they will soon be traveling again. They also bought a bus ticket for Lester to go back to Tampa to rejoin his band.

Coyote tells her father she wants to find a home, not in Poplin Springs, but a permanent home somewhere without wheels. She insists also that they are taking her mother and sisters so that they will not have to be left behind anymore, saying, “I’m not leaving ‘em behind, not ever again. We’re a family again” (336).

The final chapter finds Coyote and Rodeo back on the highway riding in Yager. The memory box is under Coyote’s bed. Rather than simply rambling, the father and daughter are now looking for a place to call their new permanent home. Coyote says that she no longer hides her feelings about her loved ones, and she talks about them again. Rodeo now refers to his daughter as Ella and asks her to give him a “once-upon-a-time” as they drive.