A few hours ago, Jenna and I finished the drive from Southern Oregon to Colorado. When on long drives, I'm always struck by the enormity of this land. You can drive for hundreds of miles and never see another soul on the dusty rural highways of the western United States. And all along, the language, culture, and national identity of the places and people remains constant.
With our departure to London so close at hand, I couldn't help but wonder how the vast stretches of our massive homeland will compare to the small, compact, incredibly diverse nations in western Europe. In the time it took to cross a stretch of Nevada desert, I've heard a drive through western continental Europe could have taken us through more than a few distinct, sovereign nations, with their own languages and customs, histories and constitutions.
Such a thought is profoundly novel and exciting to me, an American who shares his cultural heritage with fellow citizens living as far as 3,000 miles away.
It is an enormous country for sure. And when you drive back here in a year, as you enter lovely Oregon, you will be struck with how amazing this part of the country is. We are lucky to live you and you are lucky to get to experience so many other cultures and geographies. It will be interesting to see how those experiences affect how you look at Oregon.
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