Really interesting post, Tom. One thing I'd like you to explore more along these lines is the conflict between your tired body and active mind. The piece sets that up really well but I think there's still room for more exploration.
Also, is creating these kinds of "mental models" possible because you're not 25 and in a rush all the time? Is it natural to "see more" as you get older? Or, is there a way to train your brain to slow down even while your body and work and kids and etc. etc. etc. are saying "Go, go, go."
I really love this piece Tom. I envy your lifestyle. Slow travel is the only way to do it. I particularly love your line about the interstate bullying the landscape. So true. Thanks for sharing.
If you wrote a book like this dedicated to the American West, with these photos, I would buy it in a heartbeat. As far as your question, you've got me thinking now about writing a post of my own regarding the experience of mental models. I don't know why, but the more vast an environment the more it improves my mental state. I joke that the perfect retirement spot would involve isolation in deep, thick woods or the wide open plains and fields of tornado alley. I need to feel small and that makes me feel inspired.
I enjoyed this very much Tom. As you probally know from the stuff I write, I often take road trips and avoid the interstates. I have found the people I meet in small towns are very interesting. Good Job.
Pace very much dictates how much of the world you see and how you experience it. When we went to Egypt (in our younger days), we stayed at the "locals" hotels -- where everyday Egyptians would stay. Hard to give an equivalent in North America off the top of my head, but if you've seen the old, cheap (but clean) pensiones throughout Europe, you know what I'm talking about.
In any case, we'd see the tourists bussed in from the Ramada to the Pyramids, and the tourists bussed back out to their air-conditioned rooms, and we wondered if Cairo wasn't just a backdrop for their slideshows back home. (Not that I'm snobby about it, though I'm sure it comes off that way -- and I'm sure on some level I am, and isn't *that* irony delicious? -- but if you travel through a country in a bubble, all you're gonna see are the pretty signs and flashing lights that go past your window rather than the real people and real lives behind them, and it makes me wonder if that's the weird, surreal feeling some people say they have in Las Vegas, because it's designed to be all façades -- the lack of substance *is* its substance -- and that's rather unsettling in itself, at least on such a grand scale.)
Now, in all fairness, I can't say we saw all of the "real" Egypt either -- not sure anyone from outside can with only a month. But I've done the hit-and-runs and I've done the "immersive" tours, and I agree with that adage: the cheaper you go, the closer you get to the people and the "real" place. There's got to be a metaphor for Interstates in there somewhere.
As for the mind running a mile a minute -- taking roadtrips is like creative catnip to me. I've often asked my wife to "write this down" so I don't forget later. Some great discussions during those trips, too.
Last word -- speaking of AI, when you type in "pensiones" into Google -- say, to check spelling -- all you get is hits on old-age pensions and of course the Pension Riots going on right now in France. Google seems to be getting worse and worse at interpreting what I mean, to the point where I wonder if it's being purposefully obtuse. (I mean, I had the spelling right, and it still thought I meant a word that's close rather than give me anything on the actual word I correctly typed... It assumed *I* was wrong for some strange reason...) Or maybe it just wants to push me in its own, sponsored direction...
In any case, thanks for the thoughtful read. Hope this comment wasn't too frenetic...! lol
What a beautiful landscape to explore, thank you for sharing it with us. I’m particularly stuck by your words, “Interstates bully the landscape: they flatten hills and straighten curves and self-importantly avoid small towns.” How much life is in these small spaces that we miss by taking the fastest route.
Ah, yes, time...I wonder if it is actual the power behind the throne of most human mischief. Once we get out of our immortal stage of life and enter middle age, many of us suddenly realize that we're all really perched precariously on the face of a cliff and at some point, our perch will crumble and we'll be over, done, kaput, dead...out of time. I'm beginning to think that time It is the grand motivator - money, power, sex are just its obnoxious children. Like it or not, time is whipping us into the future despite the creams, surgeries, and pills that promise the ability to "turn back time" or the machines and gadgets that are pimped to us as time savers (as if we can actually drop an hour or two in some time bank). "Saving time" is just a con to get us to cram more stuff into our lives. George Carlin had it right, I think, in his schtick about "stuff" (watch it if you haven't) but I think it also works with a twist. Because we're so short-lived, we try to cram more stuff into our lives, as if one can find meaning in living even more frenetically. I'm beginning to think that the real path to meaning isn't the highway, but the slow way. It's probably cheaper, too. So, as you and I have talked, I'm following the inclination of my rebellious and contrary nature (and raising a middle finger to The Machine), and trying to slow down, take more time, be less efficient, resist multi-tasking, and when I can, leave the truck parked and walk more. You'll be one of the first to know it goes. Really nice piece and fine writing, Tom!
Really interesting post, Tom. One thing I'd like you to explore more along these lines is the conflict between your tired body and active mind. The piece sets that up really well but I think there's still room for more exploration.
Also, is creating these kinds of "mental models" possible because you're not 25 and in a rush all the time? Is it natural to "see more" as you get older? Or, is there a way to train your brain to slow down even while your body and work and kids and etc. etc. etc. are saying "Go, go, go."
I really love this piece Tom. I envy your lifestyle. Slow travel is the only way to do it. I particularly love your line about the interstate bullying the landscape. So true. Thanks for sharing.
If you wrote a book like this dedicated to the American West, with these photos, I would buy it in a heartbeat. As far as your question, you've got me thinking now about writing a post of my own regarding the experience of mental models. I don't know why, but the more vast an environment the more it improves my mental state. I joke that the perfect retirement spot would involve isolation in deep, thick woods or the wide open plains and fields of tornado alley. I need to feel small and that makes me feel inspired.
I enjoyed this very much Tom. As you probally know from the stuff I write, I often take road trips and avoid the interstates. I have found the people I meet in small towns are very interesting. Good Job.
Pace very much dictates how much of the world you see and how you experience it. When we went to Egypt (in our younger days), we stayed at the "locals" hotels -- where everyday Egyptians would stay. Hard to give an equivalent in North America off the top of my head, but if you've seen the old, cheap (but clean) pensiones throughout Europe, you know what I'm talking about.
In any case, we'd see the tourists bussed in from the Ramada to the Pyramids, and the tourists bussed back out to their air-conditioned rooms, and we wondered if Cairo wasn't just a backdrop for their slideshows back home. (Not that I'm snobby about it, though I'm sure it comes off that way -- and I'm sure on some level I am, and isn't *that* irony delicious? -- but if you travel through a country in a bubble, all you're gonna see are the pretty signs and flashing lights that go past your window rather than the real people and real lives behind them, and it makes me wonder if that's the weird, surreal feeling some people say they have in Las Vegas, because it's designed to be all façades -- the lack of substance *is* its substance -- and that's rather unsettling in itself, at least on such a grand scale.)
Now, in all fairness, I can't say we saw all of the "real" Egypt either -- not sure anyone from outside can with only a month. But I've done the hit-and-runs and I've done the "immersive" tours, and I agree with that adage: the cheaper you go, the closer you get to the people and the "real" place. There's got to be a metaphor for Interstates in there somewhere.
As for the mind running a mile a minute -- taking roadtrips is like creative catnip to me. I've often asked my wife to "write this down" so I don't forget later. Some great discussions during those trips, too.
Last word -- speaking of AI, when you type in "pensiones" into Google -- say, to check spelling -- all you get is hits on old-age pensions and of course the Pension Riots going on right now in France. Google seems to be getting worse and worse at interpreting what I mean, to the point where I wonder if it's being purposefully obtuse. (I mean, I had the spelling right, and it still thought I meant a word that's close rather than give me anything on the actual word I correctly typed... It assumed *I* was wrong for some strange reason...) Or maybe it just wants to push me in its own, sponsored direction...
In any case, thanks for the thoughtful read. Hope this comment wasn't too frenetic...! lol
Very fun read. A great reminder that it's all about the journey and less about the destination.
Your writing is gorgeous, Tom. Thank you so much for sharing.
And I'm so envious of the SCALE of your landscape!
I wrote a really long, beautiful comment for you, but it was eaten by the internet. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be. It was thoroughly musey.
I could give you notes, since you asked, but you've been given so much to go on already, maybe I'll just sit this one out.
Liked the birdwatching section. Feels nostalgic for me now. 😁
looking forward to more about the acequias, Tom, perhaps with water? Nice post.
What a beautiful landscape to explore, thank you for sharing it with us. I’m particularly stuck by your words, “Interstates bully the landscape: they flatten hills and straighten curves and self-importantly avoid small towns.” How much life is in these small spaces that we miss by taking the fastest route.
Can’t wait to practice slow pace travel. I’m planning to take motorcycle trips on the Backcountry Discovery Routes, https://ridebdr.com/
The Oregon route should be fun. I’ll be close to The Dalles, where I’ll stop and see the grand kids.
It's a beautiful photograph nevertheless.
Ah, yes, time...I wonder if it is actual the power behind the throne of most human mischief. Once we get out of our immortal stage of life and enter middle age, many of us suddenly realize that we're all really perched precariously on the face of a cliff and at some point, our perch will crumble and we'll be over, done, kaput, dead...out of time. I'm beginning to think that time It is the grand motivator - money, power, sex are just its obnoxious children. Like it or not, time is whipping us into the future despite the creams, surgeries, and pills that promise the ability to "turn back time" or the machines and gadgets that are pimped to us as time savers (as if we can actually drop an hour or two in some time bank). "Saving time" is just a con to get us to cram more stuff into our lives. George Carlin had it right, I think, in his schtick about "stuff" (watch it if you haven't) but I think it also works with a twist. Because we're so short-lived, we try to cram more stuff into our lives, as if one can find meaning in living even more frenetically. I'm beginning to think that the real path to meaning isn't the highway, but the slow way. It's probably cheaper, too. So, as you and I have talked, I'm following the inclination of my rebellious and contrary nature (and raising a middle finger to The Machine), and trying to slow down, take more time, be less efficient, resist multi-tasking, and when I can, leave the truck parked and walk more. You'll be one of the first to know it goes. Really nice piece and fine writing, Tom!