Red Sox Nation needs a nap.

The past seven days have been almost too much to handle for baseball-loving fans. It started a week ago with the middle game of three straight, elimination-preventing wins.

It continued through 6,000 miles of travel in a 36-hour span and culminated with the start of a knock-down, drag-out, steel-cage match with the hated Yankees.

How much more can we take?

Countless inches of newsprint have been dedicated to what the Sox have been doing. Some of the best sportswriters in the country are devoting their attention to this battle of Boston vs. New York, Athens vs. Sparta, Good vs. Evil.

There isn’t much more I can add to what’s already been said about this team, but as a guy who saw every pitch and traveled every mile of that stretch with the Sox, I can tell you there are images burned in my memory that will never be forgotten.

The travel. Oakland to Boston. Boston to Oakland. Oakland to New York. I still can’t figure out what time zone I’m in. It was a wild, exhausting ride … and I didn’t have to play any baseball. This Red Sox team has amazed me in a lot of ways, but the most remarkable aspect of this feat to me is the way overcame this tiring stretch and won Game 5 in Oakland and Game 1 (against a rested Yankees team) in New York.

The off-field intrigue. After winning their first game of the ALDS on Saturday, the Sox returned to the clubhouse to see a notice reminding them to pack for four days.

It was a subtle gesture, pointing out that a win in Game 4 would send everyone to Oakland, where another win would send the team to New York. As we know now, that’s exactly what happened.

By contrast, the A’s didn’t pack before coming to Fenway for Sunday’s game. Their plan was to win, spend the night in Boston, then go on to New York. It took them longer to finally get to the airport, where they waited more than an hour for their plane and crew to be ready. As a result, the Sox hit the West Coast long before Oakland.

The shenanigans. First, there was the alleged barroom brawl involving A’s pitcher Tim Hudson.

Then there was the Monday night celebration around Fenway Park that grew out of hand. Amazing that a first-round playoff win could set off that kind of celebration. Boston Mayor Tom Menino has vowed to keep it from happening again. Let’s hope he’s successful.

The gestures. Derek Lowe had a few for the A’s after getting the final out in Game 5. Byung-Hyun Kim had a few for Sox fans on both coasts. If you were wondering, neither was sign language for “Cowboy Up.”

The fog. The entire team and its traveling party were a little bleary-eyed upon returning to the East Coast on Tuesday morning, but no one was as foggy as Johnny Damon.

He suffered a Grade 2 concussion in a frightening collision with Damian Jackson. Damon waved to the crowd as he was wheeled into an ambulance. At the time, he thought he was running off the field in his final game with Oakland, saying goodbye to the crowd.

How about that? He was barely coherent, and made the nicest gesture of the night.

The headlines. We’ve often been told that the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry is a one-way relationship; that Boston fans obsess over beating New York while no one in Gotham cares.

Didn’t seem that way this week. On Wednesday, one NYC tabloid featured a front page picture of Babe Ruth with “NO WAY” across the top. The next day, after a Boston win in Game 1, the back page screamed “CURSES.” The rivalry is alive and well, and the young guns from Boston have the Evil Empire worried.

The hair. It’s become a region-wide epidemic. My son, Jack, has a “Cowboy Up” buzz cut. What more can I say?

No doubt, the intensity will pick up even more as this series continues. Who can imagine the reaction if Boston wins the battle and heads to the World Series for the first time in 17 years?

Regardless of the outcome, The Nation will always be able to look back at this incredible week of baseball. Seven days that blended into one and brought New Englanders

together in a giddy stretch of hardball heaven.

Curse be damned, this has been a lot of fun.

Lewiston native Tom Caron covers the Red Sox for NESN.