Returning to the Mountains

Returning to the mountains is not simply a choice but necessity. In a world which is so very loud, the quietness there is peace. I have been to Maine, to Pennsylvania, Vermont— but no place like this. Nothing in this country could possibly come close to the beauty that is the Sawtooth Mountains, and while I endeavor to see much more of that state, this will suffice for now. On Sunday I will return for a week as I explore Spring rentals.

I never imagined visiting this place. It’s quite remote, and so unless you are an avid skier and outdoorsman or someone with personal or family connections to Idaho, it’s unlikely you’ll visit. When I told my coworkers I was going there last Fall, they sent me potato memes. I suppose it’s good that the standard license plate says “famous potatoes” so that most people in these United States continue to think that it looks like Iowa, cementing that confusion. It of course looks nothing like Iowa, even if some parts may. 

I have only known big city living. I have never spent a lot of time apart from vacation in rural areas. Yet when I travelled here I never felt such serenity as someone with many hypersensitivities. I have also never experienced such stunning wilderness. So I have longed to return there from the moment I left. It’s why I’ve talked so much about it, because it calls to me on a spiritual level.

I can honestly understand why people, especially those who grew up there, are so protective of it. They fear overdevelopment or having the cultural fabric changed. I wouldn’t endeavor to change a thing except for some of the more extreme politics. I’m not trying to move there, as Los Angeles will remain home for the foreseeable future. Yet, I respect the rugged libertarianism of that place. There’s something admirable and endearing about being resourceful and living off the land and minding your own business. I can get down with that! Let’s just maybe respect climate science and not throw queer and trans people under the bus too? Small government also means not regulating people’s private lives…

Alas, I don’t really care about all the mega church people there. I can safely ignore them, along with the rest of the fundamentalist potato Taliban, it’s just a joke now. It was just shocking to be on the receiving end of Christian bigotry is all. I have learned to laugh at that experience now, and anyways that happened two and a half hours away from where I’ll be. 

I cannot wait to start my novel in the final resting place of Ernest Hemingway, a novel about Paris, liberation and personal growth. It feels right, it feels destined. While it’s only a week, it’s a start until I can return again.