Good morning! I hope the world is being good to you and you’re being good to it.

Grab your coffee or beverage of choice and share a thought with me!

One of the things I like about driving in more scenic areas is the vast stretches of undeveloped land. There will be the occasional town and rest stop tucked in the landscape’s nooks, but most of the scenery is as clean and natural as we can expect these days. Whether it’s thick forests or rolling golden plains, untouched land can stoke the imagination.

Growing up, many of the family vacations traversed open spaces and even crossed some of the route Lewis and Clark forged during their grand expedition to the West. As I gazed to the horizon with Weird Al’s Bad Hair Day serving as my roadtrip soundtrack, I wondered if the land still had any secrets or if, at some point in history, every inch of that lonely ground had felt human footfall. I even heard stories of missile silos strewn throughout the area, secret relics of another volatile time. Occasionally, a dilapidated homestead could be seen from the road, and I couldn’t help but wonder what that lifetime must have looked like.

During a more recent trip, the road carved through thick forests and lake areas that undoubtedly hold their own mysteries. What creatures and happenings may these biomes hold amongst their silent pines and streams? I never strayed from the path, but I could imagine Bigfoot peering out from behind each tree or still-standing shelters from the explorers of yore waiting to convey their stories to any lucky enough to stumble upon them. Remaining on the heavily traveled routes still yielded natural beauty now forever stored in the capsule of memory. So remote and rugged these areas, the wonder grows when you think about the effort necessary to develop such places and introduce any semblance of civilization.

Be it plain or forest, I can’t imagine what it must have been like for those individuals laying eyes upon the sights and terrain with no idea what lie around the next tree or beyond the horizon. How do you begin to plot your next move? How do you decide where’s a good spot to settle? While so much of the world is uncovered, there are still areas requiring some pioneer spirit, and I like to believe there are still surprises out there.