Category: Deerlodge

Something that the other Grand Canyon does not have is a bunch of little chimneys rising out of the canyon walls that blow out whisps of steam on occasion. Remarking on this phenomenon to a geologist friend, he seemed to think it was a cause for alarm rather that wonder (like that the whole place could blow up at any time).

I wondered if there was something particular about being in the West that is transformative for me. I’ve felt that before, both on my first trip across the country and in my time in Texas.

The mountains emerged first as a dim shadow on the horizon that may have been any sort of meteorological phenomenon. Then they began to take shape as something solid but with as yet to be determined shape and form. I started to wonder if this might not be an analogy for the way I would come to understand myself in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

There’s a very real way in which traveling doesn’t make sense. A business trip is different, given that you have work to do….But traveling, especially by car or by train or by boat, has the potential to leave one wondering what they were thinking when they decided to set out in the first place.