country roads
Dear Mom,
I want to write you novels about my trip to Idaho because it was a religious experience. I feel like maybe these "religious experiences" are starting to sound cliche and too collegey... but it was really unlike anything I have ever done. I remember family vacations, and how there's always an agenda and everyone needs to be pleased, and there's always some amount of stress that accompanies the fun. Now I know why you love to travel, because I think this is probably the kind of trip you used to go on all the time. We traveled for thirteen hours on the first day, stopping at EVERY small town on the map. We took a tour of a train depot in Dayton for $3; fell asleep in a big park in Pomeroy; took pictures of chickens in Dixie; walked the streets of Waitsburg like we were in a museum. Everyone was essentially up for anything, and there was no reason to leave or stay anywhere. It was such an obligation-free thing. We all pitched in and got a campsite at this beautiful national park on the Snake--made sandwiches with roasted buns and hotdogs over a campfire and fell asleep in the freezing cold under the stars. There was no moon and no lights--the stars shone brighter than they did in Sun River! There was a shooting star about every minute. We all woke up at the crack of dawn and hiked up this big hill to watch the sun rise over the river. Set out home on a different route through the mountains stopping at a few more small towns along the way. Saw about eight million deer that would just stop in the middle of the road and stare at us--one group of them had white tails, which is apparently a pretty big deal, according to Mac who lives in the Dalles and had never seen one before. Got horribly lost but didn't care--we just turned around and started over again, laughing the entire way and playing twenty questions. We were all so happy the whole time. Kazuto, who's from Japan, and I talked about the difference between American and Asian culture--it was SO COOL to hear how he felt experiencing all of what we were experiencing. I could never go into detail about how wonderful the whole thing was. I want to go back and just start writing about it and not stop for a day. I haven't had a chance to sit down and write everything yet, but I will, I hope.
Anyway, sorry I rambled--I just had to tell the whole story. Which I didn't--I left out a lot of really great little details. Most of our friends are annoyed with us because we can't stop talking about it. I feel completely changed.
I want to write you novels about my trip to Idaho because it was a religious experience. I feel like maybe these "religious experiences" are starting to sound cliche and too collegey... but it was really unlike anything I have ever done. I remember family vacations, and how there's always an agenda and everyone needs to be pleased, and there's always some amount of stress that accompanies the fun. Now I know why you love to travel, because I think this is probably the kind of trip you used to go on all the time. We traveled for thirteen hours on the first day, stopping at EVERY small town on the map. We took a tour of a train depot in Dayton for $3; fell asleep in a big park in Pomeroy; took pictures of chickens in Dixie; walked the streets of Waitsburg like we were in a museum. Everyone was essentially up for anything, and there was no reason to leave or stay anywhere. It was such an obligation-free thing. We all pitched in and got a campsite at this beautiful national park on the Snake--made sandwiches with roasted buns and hotdogs over a campfire and fell asleep in the freezing cold under the stars. There was no moon and no lights--the stars shone brighter than they did in Sun River! There was a shooting star about every minute. We all woke up at the crack of dawn and hiked up this big hill to watch the sun rise over the river. Set out home on a different route through the mountains stopping at a few more small towns along the way. Saw about eight million deer that would just stop in the middle of the road and stare at us--one group of them had white tails, which is apparently a pretty big deal, according to Mac who lives in the Dalles and had never seen one before. Got horribly lost but didn't care--we just turned around and started over again, laughing the entire way and playing twenty questions. We were all so happy the whole time. Kazuto, who's from Japan, and I talked about the difference between American and Asian culture--it was SO COOL to hear how he felt experiencing all of what we were experiencing. I could never go into detail about how wonderful the whole thing was. I want to go back and just start writing about it and not stop for a day. I haven't had a chance to sit down and write everything yet, but I will, I hope.
Anyway, sorry I rambled--I just had to tell the whole story. Which I didn't--I left out a lot of really great little details. Most of our friends are annoyed with us because we can't stop talking about it. I feel completely changed.