Heading west to my new position with the National Park Service in Utah. I have left Ohio after a quick stop in Cleveland to visit my daughter. It seems that the leaving is always difficult, even when embarking on a new and exciting adventure. Especially when leaving family and friends behind and heading off into unknown territory. But I have left and have driven half way across the country – Davenport, Iowa the first night and now just outside of Denver.
On this marathon drive across the country, I thought of John Steinbeck’s words, written in the 1960’s – “When we get these thruways across the whole country…… it will be possible to drive from New York to California without seeing a single thing.”
The perils of high-speed travel and the interstate highways system – ‘seeing’ the world at 70mh, sleeping in my car in Walmart parking lots.
But then there is the speed and efficiency of getting from point A to B – Richer in time, Poorer in seeing the countryside. But Denver and Boulder today and on into the Rockies. I hope the benefit will be more time to explore the mountains before I start work in southern Utah on the second of January in the new year.