Wednesday, August 10, 2016

WST: Final Reflections


While driving home from Charlotte, I pondered this experience and want to share some thoughts/realizations:
  • I can live in the same room with someone else for more than a week and still be civil.
  • I discovered "Mountain Monograms," something very new to a Florida flatlander.
  • Traveling with the opportunity to do regular loads of laundry makes a HUGE difference. I believe next time I can manage two weeks with a small carry-on or a big backpack!!!
  • Nancy and FB have many conversation topics in common since they live in the same state and are politically aware.
  • My brother’s sense of humor is wickedly dry.
  • Never travel without Febreze.
  • A metal fork is worth "borrowing."
  • Railroad maintenance is a precise endeavor.
  • Lewis and Clark were braver than I thought.
  • Powder River Basin coal is everywhere in the West.
  • I never associated South Dakota with oil wells.  
  • Sage smell permeates everything west of the Missouri River.
  • I stood on a the rim of a caldera!
  • There must be a hundred Indian tribes in this country!
  • This vast land is "stoic;" also, intoxicating, monotonous, monochromatic, amazing, and enthralling.
  • "Sheep rocks." Inside the car joke.
  • Al Capone's legacy is stronger than Eliot Ness's.
  • "Ignoranus" - stupid and an asshole. (from Stone Barrington audio book.)
  • Thomas Jefferson was not a trusting soul; he expected conspiracies.
  • Nancy is droll when you last expect it.
  • Central pivot irrigators changed farming.
  • The Missouri River is the embodiment of sinuous.
  • Most of the “West” is shades of brown and yellow.
  • The Great Plains are intimidating even in a car doing 80 MPH; I cannot imagine how endless they must have seemed to the passengers in a Prairie Schooner.
  • The Kia Sedona is a great car for three adults traveling together; everyone has enough room for their incidentals.
  • The "Law of Large Tonnage" means the bigger boat wins!
  • Never stay in motel that costs less than $60 a night.
  • Morning coffee-drinkers are bemused by those of us who are cold caffeine drinkers.
  • The Internet is everywhere (almost); we only had “No Service” in three places during all that driving. So, I was never frustrated for very long when I wanted an answer to something, like “What are the mounds we just passed?” or “What’s the size of the Little Bighorn battlefield?”
  • Mom is still with us; we talked about her almost every day.
  • Traveling requires cooperation and concession.
  • Electric coolers are wonderful. (Thank you, Jean!)
  • Three weeks are too long for a traveling vacation; 10-14 days would be much better.

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