Complex sentence: Attracted by the state's beauty, she returned for several visits before making the decision in 1977 to move there--alone, as her son Lonnie, now 17, was deemed old enough to make his own decisions, and he chose to remain in Minnesota.
Split into simpler sentences: Attracted by the state's beauty, she returned for several visits before making the decision in 1977 to move there--alone. Her son Lonnie, now 17, was deemed old enough to make his own decisions, and he chose to remain in Minnesota.