So yesterday morning found me riding down Hwy 101 between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, California. To the left were big, beautiful hills. Not quite mountains, because Colorado teaches one to respect the difference. But they were stunning nonetheless. To the right, the beautiful Pacific Ocean, my old buddy and nemesis.
Riding down that road it was hard not to think about what a beautiful place this country is. Even when we’re arguing about politics, or religion, or what the law should be—a quick drive in almost any state of our union will take you someplace gorgeous.
This most recent trip took me to two of the country’s most beautiful places. I revisited both the Rockies, and the western coast. There’s this weird question I get asked sometimes when geography is the topic: “beach or mountains.” It confuses me, because they’re both stunning. It’s like asking if I prefer sunrises or sunsets. Or who’s the most beautiful woman in the world. It’s a fool’s errand. Beauty doesn’t work that way. It just is.
But between the mountains, the beach, and the sound of the tires spinning across the highway, I drifted into a rather fun reminiscence about some of the gorgeous places I’ve been privileged to see in this, my country. It didn’t happen chronologically, but turned into more of a moving map with pictures from my memory.
I started with Jakey’s invitation to show me New England. While it’s my least favorite part of the country, that has nothing to do with how pretty it is. From the amazing foliage in fall, to the cranberry bogs, it was truly a feast for the eyes.
New York City is gorgeous in that industrial way that civilization turns a horizon into a skyline. And even now, with the scab of the World Trade Center marring the view by its absence, it is beautiful.
D.C. is pretty … more so if you stay in the car, but a drive up George Washington Parkway from the beltway in the North, past the National Cathedral, the monuments, and National Airport can be breathtaking (unless you’re in a hurry to get somewhere and it’s rush hour).
The Atlantic coast is breathtaking.. North Carolina’s outer banks, South Carolina’s coastal cities, Florida’s beaches, from Daytona to Fort Lauderdale, down through Miami, and up the West Coast—picture-perfect from the first moment almost to the last.
And there’s the South.
Strange fruit trees aside, if you’ve never seen an avenue lined with Mississippi magnolias, or dirtied your hands in Alabama red-clay, you should. They’re beautiful. Louisiana—sexy by every measure—plus the food’s amazing, although that’s a different story. And then there’s Texas. Again, not my favorite … but not because it’s an eyesore by any means.
New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada’s Lake Tahoe, the MOUNTAIN views of Salt Lake City. California, Oregon, the rest of the gorgeous Pacific Northwest. Mount Rainier is stunning, especially when you see it with the Space needle in the foreground.
I would never forget the heartland---God’s country. Miles and miles and miles of some of the most fertile ground on the planet. Catch it at the right time of year, and there are amber waves of grain, acres of waving sunflowers, or empty fields are far as the eye can see. It has a special beauty of its own.
The Grand Canyon, the Northern Lights, Maui … there’s just no end to the simple beauty that America can call it’s own.
I’ve been blessed to see many of the sights that make up the world’s prettiest postcards. And even though I’m well on my way to carmudgeondom, there are still some that stop me in my tracks. There is no sarcasm about my awe of the Rocky Mountains. No cynicism about fall foliage, or wisecracks about ocean waves breaking on the beach. Whether you like your views from skis, driving by, wearing a bikini, biking, hiking, or through the lens of a camera—one of these days when you hear about red states, and blue states---ignore the political implications and think about sunrises and flowers blooming. It’s a beautiful America.
Do you have a favorite piece of America you’d like to rave about?
Peace, prosperity, pleasure … and bah humbug.
--Stew.
(17 Dec 06)
Riding down that road it was hard not to think about what a beautiful place this country is. Even when we’re arguing about politics, or religion, or what the law should be—a quick drive in almost any state of our union will take you someplace gorgeous.
This most recent trip took me to two of the country’s most beautiful places. I revisited both the Rockies, and the western coast. There’s this weird question I get asked sometimes when geography is the topic: “beach or mountains.” It confuses me, because they’re both stunning. It’s like asking if I prefer sunrises or sunsets. Or who’s the most beautiful woman in the world. It’s a fool’s errand. Beauty doesn’t work that way. It just is.
But between the mountains, the beach, and the sound of the tires spinning across the highway, I drifted into a rather fun reminiscence about some of the gorgeous places I’ve been privileged to see in this, my country. It didn’t happen chronologically, but turned into more of a moving map with pictures from my memory.
I started with Jakey’s invitation to show me New England. While it’s my least favorite part of the country, that has nothing to do with how pretty it is. From the amazing foliage in fall, to the cranberry bogs, it was truly a feast for the eyes.
New York City is gorgeous in that industrial way that civilization turns a horizon into a skyline. And even now, with the scab of the World Trade Center marring the view by its absence, it is beautiful.
D.C. is pretty … more so if you stay in the car, but a drive up George Washington Parkway from the beltway in the North, past the National Cathedral, the monuments, and National Airport can be breathtaking (unless you’re in a hurry to get somewhere and it’s rush hour).
The Atlantic coast is breathtaking.. North Carolina’s outer banks, South Carolina’s coastal cities, Florida’s beaches, from Daytona to Fort Lauderdale, down through Miami, and up the West Coast—picture-perfect from the first moment almost to the last.
And there’s the South.
Strange fruit trees aside, if you’ve never seen an avenue lined with Mississippi magnolias, or dirtied your hands in Alabama red-clay, you should. They’re beautiful. Louisiana—sexy by every measure—plus the food’s amazing, although that’s a different story. And then there’s Texas. Again, not my favorite … but not because it’s an eyesore by any means.
New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada’s Lake Tahoe, the MOUNTAIN views of Salt Lake City. California, Oregon, the rest of the gorgeous Pacific Northwest. Mount Rainier is stunning, especially when you see it with the Space needle in the foreground.
I would never forget the heartland---God’s country. Miles and miles and miles of some of the most fertile ground on the planet. Catch it at the right time of year, and there are amber waves of grain, acres of waving sunflowers, or empty fields are far as the eye can see. It has a special beauty of its own.
The Grand Canyon, the Northern Lights, Maui … there’s just no end to the simple beauty that America can call it’s own.
I’ve been blessed to see many of the sights that make up the world’s prettiest postcards. And even though I’m well on my way to carmudgeondom, there are still some that stop me in my tracks. There is no sarcasm about my awe of the Rocky Mountains. No cynicism about fall foliage, or wisecracks about ocean waves breaking on the beach. Whether you like your views from skis, driving by, wearing a bikini, biking, hiking, or through the lens of a camera—one of these days when you hear about red states, and blue states---ignore the political implications and think about sunrises and flowers blooming. It’s a beautiful America.
Do you have a favorite piece of America you’d like to rave about?
Peace, prosperity, pleasure … and bah humbug.
--Stew.
(17 Dec 06)
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