End of the road might be where we should start

After 24 days on the road, we’re almost home. My wife, Alison, and I left home Oct. 7 to take a little drive out West to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We sort of had an idea of what to expect, but not really. Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw and the people that we met along the way.

Our trip began by visiting some of Alison’s family. We stayed in a camp on the appropriately named Lake Superior for a couple of days. This lake might as well be an ocean. It’s one thing learning about our Great Lakes, but it’s another thing entirely to stand on the shore and experience their vastness.

The same can be said about our departure from Duluth, Minn., to South Dakota. I’m not sure what you all think about our country, but one thing I can now state with some certainty is that there’s a whole of flat going on in the Midwest. Vermonters are rather accustomed to being surrounded and protected by beautiful, soft-edged mountains. That’s the first thing you miss when you come upon the Midwest. As the mountains recede the sky grows much larger.

Driving through miles and miles of flat, fertile land supporting corn, wheat, soybeans, cattle and lord knows what else reminds you that these folks are feeding the nation. It was interesting to experience the drastic and dramatic changes of the landscape as we approached the Badlands. The ground seems to explode before your very eyes. We’re not talking about soft hills here. It felt like the earth just spit out agitating sheer, jagged spires, as if the earth had indigestion. I’m not sure that there’s anything like these rock formations anywhere else in the world, but either way they must be seen to be believed.

That’s also true of our final, western destination: Yellowstone National Park. Sure, we’ve all heard about this national treasure and maybe seen the show “Yellowstone,” but nothing can prepare you for the experience of driving through this majestic park that we all own. Everywhere your eyes fall is a postcard. Spectacular views and wildlife rain down upon you. The beauty is breathtaking. The fact that you’re up around 8,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level contributes greatly to the shortness of breath.

We saw pronghorns, elk, deer, mule deer, snow white mountain goats, coyotes, wolves (they’re scary), a mama grizzly bear with two cubs — she was scarier — a zillion buffalo, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs and wild burros. Yes, they look tame, but don’t try feeding them. Once the chips run out, they’ll turn on you, as will any wild animal.

Looking back, it really wasn’t so much about the vistas and the wildlife as it was the people. One of the reasons I’ve always wanted to do this trip was to get out of my comfort zone. You may not be aware of this, but we Vermonters truly do live in a bubble. We live close together in tight-knit communities. If someone wants to do something like put up a communications tower or an affordable housing project, we all come together to share our opinions and sometimes argue various points of view to death.

Vermont is a state of 9,615 square miles and 643,000 people. Wyoming, on the other hand, has 98,000 square miles and 579,000 people. Get your head around that. There are fewer people in Wyoming and they sure are spread out. You will see a house with some outbuildings way off the road and then drive for many miles before you’ll see another house. I couldn’t help but wonder what these folks do if they run out of butter. Miles and miles separate people and towns.

It does seem as though these people aren’t wild about neighbors and not all that hot about government intrusion. They live in isolation because they want to.

I met some truly wonderful people with whom I had nothing in common, that is, until I started talking to them. We are all Americans, and we all want pretty much the same thing. We want to be able to raise our children in a safe environment. We want to work hard, save money and retire with dignity. We have way more in common than the constant chatter of division would allow you to believe.

Oh sure, we are a nation divided, which plays right into the hands of those who wish to capitalize on division. But get in your car, get out of your comfort zone, go meet people out there who live differently from us, and you’ll discover that we are not as divided as you might think.

Talking with each other might very well be the answer to most of our problems. Enjoy the ride.

Bob Stannard has been a Vermont political commentator for over two decades. He is an author, musician and former state legislator and lobbyist.