The Road Less Traveled

We took a road trip to the western side of the Catskills this weekend.  The trees were all dressed up for Fall.  Unfortunately, the sun was not cooperating so the photos are less than spectacular and the below photo, sadly, is not mine.  I did, however, manage to get Tammy to sign the purchase order for a new 12.5 megapixel digital SLR to replace my ancient 6 megapixel camera.  Blaming the camera for my artistic shortcomings is an argument I have been using since my first Kodak Brownie.   Intellectually I know the pixel count barely makes a difference (technique and composition are way more influential) in what the eye perceives,  but I am doing my part to stimulate the economy so the Tea Party can quietly disappear.  If we are all making money then what do they have to bitch about?  It certainly isn't the erosion of our civil liberties since many of them are apparently against the separation of church and state.  I don't know of any more fundamentally American civil liberty than our right to worship, or not worship, as we please, without an official endorsement from the government.

But driving along route 28 at the height of the fall foliage season diverts one's attention away from the physical self  to a more emotionally based peace of mind.  For most people anyway.  In spite of our common objectives, the other leaf peepers on the highway still manage to disturb my idyll as they motor along at a velocity significantly less than that which is clearly posted.  Of course to really enjoy the natural array, one must exit the car and proceed at a pedestrian's pace.  Motorcyclists (a favored mode of transport in the Catskills) like to think they are getting down and dirty with nature as they barrel along the highway, but at 50 miles per hour their conversation with the trees is more perfunctory than profound.

In fact there is a grave misconception in many natural areas around the United States  that one can actually enjoy the surroundings without exiting the vehicle.  Many tourists drive along the winding national park roads at a snail's pace snarling all the traffic behind them.  If they happen to notice a spectacular view do they pull over and get out of the car?  No. They slow up even further, roll down the window, and the passenger snaps the picture without even taking her bare feet off the dashboard!  The beautifully air brushed toe nails live to see another day.

I take a different tack.  I race along at 20 miles over the speed limit so that I waste little precious time in the car getting to my next scenic destination.  Plus, by barely slowing down around hairpin turns I am easing congestion and the resulting waste of expensive petroleum that comes from stop and go driving.  One time on Antelope Island in Utah I was practicing this technique when a park ranger happened to be on the very same road.  After a deliberative time period of examining my New Jersey driver's license he proceeded to lecture me about the importance of slowing down to enjoy the scenery "here in Utah".  Apparently he was not familiar with my above mentioned theory but in the interest of not further tainting his opinion of New Jersey drivers I decided to nod in quiet concordance.

Don't get me wrong.  I  love driving on blue highways.  It is being lectured by an officer of the law who doesn't understand the subtlety of  my perspective on life that irritates me.  He has it all wrong.  It is the destination, not the journey, when traveling through life........in a car.