Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Eye of the Beholder

Two weeks away from the wide open spaces of Idaho was most interesting.  I can't do it all justice in one post, so I will begin with this ...

I landed in Pittsburgh and rented a very small economy car to drive to Erie, PA.   Beautiful green trees with splashes of red were everywhere!  Freeway exits in Idaho are spotted miles away, as are the various conveniences surrounding those exits.  In woody Pennsylvania, if one isn't reading signs she may miss the exit entirely.  At the very least, she will be unable to spot any of the conveniences surrounding that exit.  (I did not miss exits.  I avoided them.)  The "ways" are not FREE.  I encountered toll highways. 

In Idaho, as in Utah, Colorado, Nevada, and most western states, mountains are clearly identified.  Hills are not mountains!  Apparently, the wooded hills I was traversing were mountains.

When I spotted the warning road sign "Falling Rocks" I naturally looked heavenwards.  It's a normal reaction for a Westerner! We expect to see rocky cliffs threatening to loose small boulders sending them tumbling to smash our vehicles. There was nothing heavenwards.  Rather, there was a raised median that was sloughing mud and a few small rocks into the barrow pit.  Hence, the "Falling Rocks" warning!

Their lake is vast.  I wanted to call the shoreline a coast.

It's all relative!

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