10 latest experiences http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nicholasadams en-us Western Massachusetts really resembles Vermont a lot more than it does the eastern side of Massachusetts. There are a few cities much larger than anything you would find in Vermont, but in general, the hills of Vermont roll on down through Massachusetts almost as if the state border was a completely arbitrary straight line written on a map on the whim of some British governor-general, or something like that. The hills do, however, slowly flatten out. So, the occasional mountain stands out from the flatter landscape much more than it would in northern Vermont, where it would be just one more mountain top in a massive range of pine tree covered mountain ranges. Enter Mt. Tom, one of the largest in Western Mass. It takes about an hour to climb, and the views of the Pioneer Valley are lovely. The blue sky slowly fades into a hazier white as it gets closer to the green horizon line. The pollution might be part of the reason for this, but it also has something to do with just how... Mt. tom, united states, United States NicholasAdams Thu, 09 Aug 2007 23:21:14 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nicholasadams/experience/694 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/694 Just as living in concord with one's self is a fundament of a life of peace and true liberty, so has Concord, Massachusetts played a vital role in the history of the United States of America. Concord is twenty five miles west of Boston, and it was here that some of the first battles of the Revolutionary War took place. It was also here that, less than a hundred years after the Revolutionary war, the New England transcendentalists created some of the most numinous and quintessentially American literature the world has ever seen. It was on pages that America's Revolutionary War would continue to be fought for the first half of the 19th century, and like the military actions beginning in 1776, the literary revolution would begin in Concord. For 19th century literary authors, there was one giant who stood above all of their fellow contemporaries, Thomas Carlyle. And for Carlyle, there was likewise one grand hero of literature alive in that time, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here in... Walden Pond, United States NicholasAdams Thu, 09 Aug 2007 21:38:59 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nicholasadams/experience/692 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/692 Gualala river is a perfect place to camp in the summer. It is popular among Californians, but not so well known that it gets too crowded, even at peak season. It's about three hours north of San Fransisco, if you take the curvy, epically beautiful route 1. The problem with the two lane route 1, however, is that if there is just one slow driver that is too obstinate to pull over and let people pass, there can be a solid twenty mile-long back up. That day we had the unfortunate fate of running into the mother of these traffic jams. After several hours of stagnation, my friend Steve and I got out and walked for about an hour. Our little legs made progress along the road that was roughly equitable with the cars. Gualala river, california, united states, United States NicholasAdams Thu, 09 Aug 2007 20:12:03 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nicholasadams/experience/685 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/685 If route 66 is America the Old, a gone-by road conquered by the new transcontinental mega-highway just several miles away, then California's coastal route 1 is the America the Deathless, America the Eternal. Whereas route 66's abandoned structures bespeak a part of America that has left itself, route 1's cliffside majesty of crashing blue Pacific waves on one side and imperial Redwoods on the other tells a tale of an entirely different variety. The land itself directly states to the traveler: “I will gladly walk away, and crumble your highway into the sea, with all the cars on it, long before you will take from me a dime of mine or an eternal second belonging to I, the unconquerable America beyond your actor-governors and idiot-presidents, beyond even your Constitution.” It is as imposing as Mt. Olympus and as kingly or queenly as Machu Pichu. At the height of the day, five of us – myself, my father, and three friends that were soon to drive cross country with me in the ... California, United States NicholasAdams Thu, 09 Aug 2007 01:43:31 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nicholasadams/experience/681 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/681 There is no road like route 66. It used to be the most American of roads. In simpler, more innocent times, its two lanes formed the main east-west cross country road. Bob Dylan wrote songs about it; Neil Cassady barreled down it with Kerouac glimpsing out the window at his side; and those who never made it all the way from stodgy East to New West would get stuck waitressing at the innumerable diners that sprung up where the desert land met the road, like blue-green algae on the river edge where the water moistened the land. Just like the two related spirits of simpler times and innocence died in the sixties – and like two Kennedy brothers died – so did the two lanes of route 66: Another road, this one a large, eight lane highway capable of carrying modern weighty American industry on its back, grew up a few miles away, parallel to the whole stretch of route 66. This quick death left a thousand abandoned businesses' buildings still standing, but with no one working or ... Death valley, United States NicholasAdams Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:44:00 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nicholasadams/experience/669 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/669