I have always thought about driving as something special. Oh, I don't mean being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic in the sweltering heat with a broken air conditioner. Nor do I mean navigating the New York State Thruway in a blizzard with visibility barely extending past your windshield while trying desperately to find an exit - any exit!
Now those may well be character building experiences but they are not anything I would care to repeat. Nor would I regard them as fun. With the mundane drive to work, fetching groceries and chauffeuring the kids to school events is there any room for driving fun?
Over the years, I have lived in a number of states across the country and travelled quite a bit. What I find special is that starting from just about anywhere you can hop into your car and treat yourself to incredible scenery or drive to exciting and interesting places.
Living in Western New York, we would visit the mighty falls at Niagara to enjoy its splendor, sip a cup of coffee and be back home all in just a couple of hours. A little farther and we're enjoying the offerings of Toronto.
A day trip to the Finger Lakes was just a fun drive and nothing could be more relaxing and refreshing than a long weekend in the 1000 Islands area. And I can't forget the quick drive to Panama Rocks and spending the day roaming through the lush forest and searching for ancient fossils!
There have been many stops in between and my homebase is now in Southeastern Idaho. Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park are both less than a two hour drive from here while the Wind River mountains are reachable in just over three hours.
The scenery is nothing short of magnificent and there is practically no end to the possibilities for exploration, hiking, climbing or just hanging out. Did I mention that the night sky at these elevations is awe-inspiring?
These days it's a little harder get to these places with the high cost of gasoline but one simply has to set one's priorities properly! That new pair of shoes and broken garage door will just have to wait! :)
