Go West Young Man
"Go West, young man" is a phrase often credited to the American author Horace Greeley concerning America's expansion westward, related to the then-popular concept of Manifest Destiny. It was first stated by John Babsone Lane Soule in an 1851 editorial in the Terre Haute Express, "Go west young man, and grow up with the country." So... I'm borrowing the phrase from both.
Today is day eleven of the Big Trip. We left Montana and headed west to Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. We are spending the evening in John Day, named for the nearby John Day River, which had been named for a Virginian member of the 1811 Astor Expedition, John Day. So much for the history lessons.
Almost eleven hours of driving through BIG states and lots of territory. The thing that amazed us the most was the diversity of the landscape. We saw vast plains (again) planted with wheat and what we think alfalfa. It is horse country and cow country. We saw buffalo (or some really BIG cows). We drove through a number of National Forests and State Parks. So we saw mountains and drove switchback roads that would make almost anyone car sick.
The one amazing thing about the drive today is how big America is and how different, and the kinds of people that we meet.
Our waitress at Tonya's Diner was the only person working the floor, when a group of people from church piled in and started rearranging tables and chairs so that everyone could sit together. She kept her cool; her smile and attitude never wavered. She made lunch special for us and the church people. The club sandwich was great. Cibachrome (Lee) had the patti-melt and salad.
For more family fun geocaching adventure check out the RiverWalk GeoTour in Columbus GA
For more details
VisitColumbusGa.com
800.999.1613
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