The asphalt interstates will always be there, and until Capitalism collapses under its own weight, Union Pacific will always operate everywhere indefinitely like the well oiled clockwork machine that is has turned our continental landscape into.
My point being, ditching your possessions, throwing a farewell party, and bugging out into this beautiful world of ours is always a tempting option. In many cases, it is the only option as we, the disenchanted working class, find ourselves refugees in a culture which we despise. The open road offers every potential that stagnation and resignation can't possibly provide for us. But alas, it abounds with a plethora of drawbacks. For every reason to get up and move, there is an equal or greater force that tells us to slow down. It's an issue of opportunity and motivation.
The reasons to travel are painfully apparent to those who know the road - economy sucks? hometown is a wasteland? Warrants? Always wanted to climb that one stupidly challenging mountain in the horizon? Just got out of a lousy relationship and need 5,000km between you and your lover?
Everyone has their reason.
Sometimes it just takes the distant blast of a freight air horn to send shivers down your spine, and make your feet itch straight through your boots, and the next thing you know, you're down at that familiar hop-out wondering what would happen if you don't look back. It's hard to feel the violent vibration of metal mercilessly impacting iron and not drown in a flood of creosote soaked memories.
Just as we find our reasons to migrate, we eventually find reasons to hibernate. On a long enough timeline, our bodies slow down. We get exhausted. We grow weary. We miss people. We miss places. Even the most restless wanderlust soul wants to sow seeds in a garden of their own.
I found my reason to get off the road, and it was the last thing I expected (...a JOB!?). Not a high paying one, but one which makes me profoundly happy - working as a "habitat restoration tech" across a diverse array of obscure, fragile, and protected ecosystems along the California coast. I work my bones to dust 55 hours a week. I'm currently living in my truck. The work ain't making me wealthy, but it does keep me healthy. The standing offers to travel abroad are always lingering in the background, but It will take a lot to move this stone next time around. Despite this, the lure of chaos, new friends, new sunrises, and distant soils will forever hang precariously before me, reminding me of the beauty that exists when one climbs out on a limb and reaches for the question mark. But I pause and remind myself that one cannot hear the hushed voice of the forest when rushing past.
There is a time for everything. It's just an issue of opportunity and motivation.
Like I said, everyone has their reason.
So Long Ramble Short....Why Did you Stop?
Sick of being constantly harassed by authority for trying to survive? Sick of being woken up by tweakers at 3am? Sick of being sick? Tired of being Tired? All those tickets across all those state lines start catching up with you? Or maybe that album couldn't record itself under that overpass.
My point being, ditching your possessions, throwing a farewell party, and bugging out into this beautiful world of ours is always a tempting option. In many cases, it is the only option as we, the disenchanted working class, find ourselves refugees in a culture which we despise. The open road offers every potential that stagnation and resignation can't possibly provide for us. But alas, it abounds with a plethora of drawbacks. For every reason to get up and move, there is an equal or greater force that tells us to slow down. It's an issue of opportunity and motivation.
The reasons to travel are painfully apparent to those who know the road - economy sucks? hometown is a wasteland? Warrants? Always wanted to climb that one stupidly challenging mountain in the horizon? Just got out of a lousy relationship and need 5,000km between you and your lover?
Everyone has their reason.
Sometimes it just takes the distant blast of a freight air horn to send shivers down your spine, and make your feet itch straight through your boots, and the next thing you know, you're down at that familiar hop-out wondering what would happen if you don't look back. It's hard to feel the violent vibration of metal mercilessly impacting iron and not drown in a flood of creosote soaked memories.
Just as we find our reasons to migrate, we eventually find reasons to hibernate. On a long enough timeline, our bodies slow down. We get exhausted. We grow weary. We miss people. We miss places. Even the most restless wanderlust soul wants to sow seeds in a garden of their own.
I found my reason to get off the road, and it was the last thing I expected (...a JOB!?). Not a high paying one, but one which makes me profoundly happy - working as a "habitat restoration tech" across a diverse array of obscure, fragile, and protected ecosystems along the California coast. I work my bones to dust 55 hours a week. I'm currently living in my truck. The work ain't making me wealthy, but it does keep me healthy. The standing offers to travel abroad are always lingering in the background, but It will take a lot to move this stone next time around. Despite this, the lure of chaos, new friends, new sunrises, and distant soils will forever hang precariously before me, reminding me of the beauty that exists when one climbs out on a limb and reaches for the question mark. But I pause and remind myself that one cannot hear the hushed voice of the forest when rushing past.
There is a time for everything. It's just an issue of opportunity and motivation.
Like I said, everyone has their reason.
So Long Ramble Short....Why Did you Stop?
Sick of being constantly harassed by authority for trying to survive? Sick of being woken up by tweakers at 3am? Sick of being sick? Tired of being Tired? All those tickets across all those state lines start catching up with you? Or maybe that album couldn't record itself under that overpass.
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