There are two vignettes for this state,
both took place on cross country drives.
Driving cross country from Boston to Utah with one of my childhood friends, Amber, was quite a journey. Amber did most of the driving, but one day I took over and drove for hours across the planes of Kansas and Nebraska while she slept.
Miles and miles of vegetation sliding by hour after hour. Some may not enjoy that. I thought it was incredible. It amazes me what variety there is in this world - of things that grow, of people who do such different things, cities vs farms...
On top of my personal interest and interaction, I also couldn't help but think of My Antonia by Willa Cather. I've read that book a number of times, and even wrote a paper about nature being treated as a character in the book - so many great personifications used! There is a passage that came back to me during the trip - about sunflowers. I drove by field after field of them (that's right, not just corn!) and thought about the story of Mormon Pioneers planting sunflowers along the trail as a way to both mark the trail West and provide food for those that followed them. Genius.
The other vignette is from another cross country drive, this one with my family.
Family road trips are awesome. On this one we decided to stop and visit some family friends who had moved to Nebraska. It was fun to see them, and experience a little bit of life in a place so different than what I was familiar with.
We went to Council Bluffs. I remember feeling peaceful staring out across the windswept prairie. And reviving some of my "Laura Engles Wilder" dreams of living on the land. I remember being fascinated by the history and stories of those who settled that land.
I'm not sure I am actually cut out for a "live off the land" kind of life, but I sure enjoy dreaming about it!
Driving cross country from Boston to Utah with one of my childhood friends, Amber, was quite a journey. Amber did most of the driving, but one day I took over and drove for hours across the planes of Kansas and Nebraska while she slept.
Miles and miles of vegetation sliding by hour after hour. Some may not enjoy that. I thought it was incredible. It amazes me what variety there is in this world - of things that grow, of people who do such different things, cities vs farms...
On top of my personal interest and interaction, I also couldn't help but think of My Antonia by Willa Cather. I've read that book a number of times, and even wrote a paper about nature being treated as a character in the book - so many great personifications used! There is a passage that came back to me during the trip - about sunflowers. I drove by field after field of them (that's right, not just corn!) and thought about the story of Mormon Pioneers planting sunflowers along the trail as a way to both mark the trail West and provide food for those that followed them. Genius.
The other vignette is from another cross country drive, this one with my family.
Family road trips are awesome. On this one we decided to stop and visit some family friends who had moved to Nebraska. It was fun to see them, and experience a little bit of life in a place so different than what I was familiar with.
We went to Council Bluffs. I remember feeling peaceful staring out across the windswept prairie. And reviving some of my "Laura Engles Wilder" dreams of living on the land. I remember being fascinated by the history and stories of those who settled that land.
I'm not sure I am actually cut out for a "live off the land" kind of life, but I sure enjoy dreaming about it!
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