I spent the summer of 1986 living back at my home in Bismarck, ND. All my free time was shared with a smart, wonderful, incredibly beautiful girl. In the fall I returned to Oregon for my third year of optometry school. I wrote this song just before Christmas during a very stressful and anxious time. All of life was about balancing clinic and classes and worrying about final exams. The stress level was high, but the one calming, motivating thought I had was knowing that I'd be going home soon. The original version of Winter Twilight was written and recorded in my bedroom with two cassette players, stacking up the guitar lines and vocals back and forth. I brought the finished cassette home with me for Christmas and played it for Lynn. I know that this song is not the reason she eventually married me, but it didn't hurt.