The Back Route Home From the Lake

Spent the last week on the road up in various parts of Utah. Stopovers included Cedar City, Provo, Logan and Bear Lake. It's funny... the whole duration of the trip -- which seemed like a month, not a week, and that in a good way -- I was thinking how profound and meaningful so much of the experiences were along the way, and I figured I'd pour out a pretty lengthy and heartfelt blog entry upon my return home. But as I sit here to type it, it's just not flowing onto the page...

Maybe it boils down to this:

(1) It was really great to get away from the office for awhile. The trip was about 93% free of distractions and work-related brain cycles. This was much needed, and was valuable.

(2) It was really great to re-connect with family I had fallen more or less out of current contact with. This included aunts, uncles and cousins all over the place -- and some siblings too, really. It was remarkably nice to get back into touch with them, spend time with them, eat with them, see their new homes and new family members, etc. In many cases, I was meeting people that were, either actually or effectively, brand new people to me.

(3) It was great to see my daughter thriving, exploring and discovering new people and experiences. She absorbs attention and interaction with as many people as possible, and she seems to love new adventures. It is fun to watch her on trips like this.

(4) It was touching to circle around past places and people I have old memories with, adding a new layer of memories on top of them. Visiting places and people I've known more or less all my life, and doing so with my daughter, who is now as old as I was when I had first contact with these same places and people, was pretty fascinating.

(5) It was amazing to drive through lots and lots of Wide Open Spaces. Without going into too much detail, the trip -- especially the return trip -- was essentially about 14 hours worth of road time that only touched maybe three towns of any non-rural tenor. So, I saw lots, and lots, and lots of Western Scenery. Lot's of mountains. That was a non-trivial experience, pyschologically.

(6) It was exciting to see the front end of long awaited matters finally approaching. This is all about the idea of finally seeing a cabin by the lake come to be. It looks like it may be close. The more it sinks in, the more exciting it is... in ways I never really thought about when it was a more casual and far-off thing. I think it will have impacts and value beyond what I expected.

Incidentally, Provo, Utah has a curious and quirky graffitti problem: