Hey Josh, This was quite wonderful. I've had a more religious turn of mind lately... certainly a surprise as I'm such a milquetoast churchgoer and wishy-washy in most things. These observations are beautiful and aligned with the idea that there is some generative, creative force behind all this. And yeah billions of years of evolution explains it all, too. I know any religion talk is a serious ymmv situation so I'll leave it at that, but I'll say, too, that your reminder here to pay attention and document such things is good for the soul, at least mine. We recently drove ~ 30 hours roundtrip from Portland to Bashaw, Alberta. This meant hours in the smoke through Spokane plus a change of plans because the air quality at our first destination was off-the-charts bad. It's hard not to be utterly discouraged at the landscape outside the car windows (and the news coming in through my AirPods) but there were still flowers to see even among the weeds when we stopped for gas and snacks. Keep writing... lots of good things and beauty in this world.
Loved this, Josh. Great essay—definitely thought-provoking. Beautiful pics and clips. I was also glad to read that you had good “cover” for taking that shot of the bison!
Cover was rule #1!! Thankfully, most folks we saw were responsible. The signage was crystal clear, but ranger staffing was low, so we were nervous about what folks were going to do, but by and large folks were very responsible. I'm glad your liked this one!! I'm working on the third and final of my triptych bits right now, for either toys Friday or next...
Fantastic essay and journey, Josh! This all reminds me that if you zoom out far enough, our entire biome is an impossibly thin layer of goo attached to the rocks and invading all the little nooks and crannies.
Rub your fingernail on your tooth...
So hard to believe that it could only have ever happened here.
Exactly!!! I was just thinking about exactly that working on the Landscape essay last week, that there’s this thin film of life and it just sloughs off if we let it. So precious, and yet so not universally appreciated. I think the more that folks get a chance to stop and breathe, the more they’ll appreciate the abundance of life everywhere — we just have to find more ways to catch our breaths so we can witness it.
My book sequel, when I get a chance to write it, will touch on what happens when we lose that luxury. I'd been thinking about the negatives people would have to get through, but now I'm realizing I should also include some positives.
My wife and I were just wondering how many traffic stops include "But Google told me to take a left."
It really is interesting, though, to think about how knowledge storage has changed. The Guinness Book of Records was written by the Guinness brewing company to settle bar disputes... I store a lot of medical knowledge online.
Yup. That's where the book goes. I'll talk about it a bit when I launch the fiction tier :), your timing is solid!! But here in realsies world, there is a true pivot happening among college-aged kids and younger whew they want tangible, things and experiences, and I'm excited to see where that leads.
They did have a tinge of that hot, subtle, rotten egg about them -- maybe unsurprisingly, the whole park did. We noticed it more when we drove out and lost it than we did driving around within . . .
Lol, a person can get used to anything. I remember during my first deployment, everything smelled awful, but then in April we drove into Baghdad one day, and the oleander was in bloom. It was like Heaven.
It looks indeed one of the Rosaceae family. More detailed I don’t dare to go. Embarrassingly as it may sound, I am not good at plant species identification. A good identification app might be more help, although they might ask for another photo of its leaves.
Can tell you though it likely has a deep and extesive root system that is in symbiosis with a mycorrhiza fungi to get most of the water that is availible in that dry place. It also likely keeps it stomata close for a large part of the day to avoid evaporation of that precious water. Explaining why it is small, as closed stomata means no photosynthesis.
Love this! When I study resilience in people, I'm often reminded of the tremendous power (and commonness!) of resilience all around us in the natural world.
Amen. And that natural world is everywhere you look — when I lived in Southeast D.C., we had more wildlife than I had living in the suburbs, and it helped balance the chaos of the day to day. Now, with our half acre abutting a conservation easement, it’s heaven on Earth. When I post our conversation later this summer, I’ll have to do some social with some of the wildlife pics attached.
If I'd gone the travelogue route, I'd focus on the 100+ hours sitting in the car :) . . . I honestly did not expect to write about the trip, but ended up getting ideas for three separate posts. The series concludes next time. Thanks, Rob.
They really are, they separate you from the familiar and the gears start churning. And thankyou! I'm really glad you have liked these, you're ealier note helped convince me this was the way to go!
Hey Josh, This was quite wonderful. I've had a more religious turn of mind lately... certainly a surprise as I'm such a milquetoast churchgoer and wishy-washy in most things. These observations are beautiful and aligned with the idea that there is some generative, creative force behind all this. And yeah billions of years of evolution explains it all, too. I know any religion talk is a serious ymmv situation so I'll leave it at that, but I'll say, too, that your reminder here to pay attention and document such things is good for the soul, at least mine. We recently drove ~ 30 hours roundtrip from Portland to Bashaw, Alberta. This meant hours in the smoke through Spokane plus a change of plans because the air quality at our first destination was off-the-charts bad. It's hard not to be utterly discouraged at the landscape outside the car windows (and the news coming in through my AirPods) but there were still flowers to see even among the weeds when we stopped for gas and snacks. Keep writing... lots of good things and beauty in this world.
Amen. This was beautiful to see waking up today... let's get in a call next week, message me!!
Loved this, Josh. Great essay—definitely thought-provoking. Beautiful pics and clips. I was also glad to read that you had good “cover” for taking that shot of the bison!
Cover was rule #1!! Thankfully, most folks we saw were responsible. The signage was crystal clear, but ranger staffing was low, so we were nervous about what folks were going to do, but by and large folks were very responsible. I'm glad your liked this one!! I'm working on the third and final of my triptych bits right now, for either toys Friday or next...
Fantastic essay and journey, Josh! This all reminds me that if you zoom out far enough, our entire biome is an impossibly thin layer of goo attached to the rocks and invading all the little nooks and crannies.
Rub your fingernail on your tooth...
So hard to believe that it could only have ever happened here.
Exactly!!! I was just thinking about exactly that working on the Landscape essay last week, that there’s this thin film of life and it just sloughs off if we let it. So precious, and yet so not universally appreciated. I think the more that folks get a chance to stop and breathe, the more they’ll appreciate the abundance of life everywhere — we just have to find more ways to catch our breaths so we can witness it.
No time for nature... I have the compendium of human knowledge in my pocket.
My book sequel, when I get a chance to write it, will touch on what happens when we lose that luxury. I'd been thinking about the negatives people would have to get through, but now I'm realizing I should also include some positives.
Eye contact...
My wife and I were just wondering how many traffic stops include "But Google told me to take a left."
It really is interesting, though, to think about how knowledge storage has changed. The Guinness Book of Records was written by the Guinness brewing company to settle bar disputes... I store a lot of medical knowledge online.
Yup. That's where the book goes. I'll talk about it a bit when I launch the fiction tier :), your timing is solid!! But here in realsies world, there is a true pivot happening among college-aged kids and younger whew they want tangible, things and experiences, and I'm excited to see where that leads.
What do those sulfurous springs smell like?
They did have a tinge of that hot, subtle, rotten egg about them -- maybe unsurprisingly, the whole park did. We noticed it more when we drove out and lost it than we did driving around within . . .
Lol, a person can get used to anything. I remember during my first deployment, everything smelled awful, but then in April we drove into Baghdad one day, and the oleander was in bloom. It was like Heaven.
Amen. And especially where you were when you were, it was a shock to the system. Which is a reminder of how beautiful all places are when at peace.
Very true. I made a point of finding out what they were. Alas, they are not cold hardy in my zone.
Is that dog rose an American dog rose?
Alas, believe it's an invasive variety, albeit beautiful . . . @Femke de Jong , might you know the flower in the opening image?
It looks indeed one of the Rosaceae family. More detailed I don’t dare to go. Embarrassingly as it may sound, I am not good at plant species identification. A good identification app might be more help, although they might ask for another photo of its leaves.
Can tell you though it likely has a deep and extesive root system that is in symbiosis with a mycorrhiza fungi to get most of the water that is availible in that dry place. It also likely keeps it stomata close for a large part of the day to avoid evaporation of that precious water. Explaining why it is small, as closed stomata means no photosynthesis.
Awesome!!! And I'm slowly starting to learn more about those fungi and stress, that's the same process my kid is studying :)))
I will wait for the reply before going to dig it up, lol.
This was my source: https://www.indianadunes.com/outdoor-adventures/nature-discovery/indiana-dunes-flower-quest/july/ . . . Unfortunately, Substack doesn't seem to allow hyperlinks to text in their captions
I believe it . . I remember seeing those on base in Germany. I doubt anyone had planted them, but they grew easily ten feet tall.
Wow!!
Yep, in German they are called Heckenrose, hedge rose.
Love this! When I study resilience in people, I'm often reminded of the tremendous power (and commonness!) of resilience all around us in the natural world.
Amen. And that natural world is everywhere you look — when I lived in Southeast D.C., we had more wildlife than I had living in the suburbs, and it helped balance the chaos of the day to day. Now, with our half acre abutting a conservation easement, it’s heaven on Earth. When I post our conversation later this summer, I’ll have to do some social with some of the wildlife pics attached.
What a great adventure. I love this take on it — a theme so much more interesting than a typical travelogue.
If I'd gone the travelogue route, I'd focus on the 100+ hours sitting in the car :) . . . I honestly did not expect to write about the trip, but ended up getting ideas for three separate posts. The series concludes next time. Thanks, Rob.
Trips are great mental nucleation sites for thinking along new lines. Your Grand-West-Trip posts have been great.
They really are, they separate you from the familiar and the gears start churning. And thankyou! I'm really glad you have liked these, you're ealier note helped convince me this was the way to go!