A sense of place

This is a picture of the view from my mother's favorite rest stop.






Now, it does amuse me that my mom even has a favorite rest stop...but only a little because I have one too, but that may be another post. This rest stop is on highway 14, which runs along the Columbia River from Vancouver to the Umatilla bridge crossing. Highway 14 starts out green and lush and ends up in the dry high desert and this rest stop is at this edge, where the trees begin to give way to the dry gold grasses.

The bigger idea here is that if this is the view from a rest stop why would anyone want to live anywhere other than the north west. It was 105 degrees in the Portland metro area yesterday. We headed west on 26 to avoid the heat; it worked. In and around Rockaway Beach it was not only cooler, but overcast and foggy. (In case you were wondering, you do still need sun block on overcast days). Driving up and down the coast, I was struck by that thought. This is the most beautiful area, how could I ever want to live anywhere else. Obviously, I don’t live at the coast, but I love the fact that the place where I’ve chosen to put down roots is in such a centralized location that I am able to access all of this scenic variety.