Today was by and large a driving day. One of the day’s most interesting stories comes from the drive through northern New York. Touring Parliament was pretty cool.

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Posted at 01 September 10 at 23.09 in Travel

There is nothing quite like spending time alone with nature to figure out what the hell is going on. It is remarkable how quiet the trails were. The most noteworthy part of today’s hike — besides the two miles I walked almost straight uphill — was the challenge I was presented by an abandoned, restored fire tower at the top. This trip has been inspiring. This fall, or at the latest, next spring, I’m going to hike into the woods on a similar course, eat some lunch, read Walden, sleep, eat some dinner, and hike back.

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Posted at 31 August 10 at 23.08 in Travel

Today was a good day. Though I suggested early on that politics would not have much of a place in this series, it is hard to visit the Franklin Delano Roosevelt home and library and not have something to say about them — especially when the key exhibit was about the passage of the Social Security Act. Saratoga Springs is my kind of town, built around horse racing, mineral baths, relaxation, forests, trees, outdoors, and eating and drinking.

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Posted at 30 August 10 at 22.08 in Travel

The only thing I actually did today was go to Cooperstown, which was awesome but not inspiring in terms of creative writing, and drive from western New York to eastern New York. As a result, what follows is mostly another day’s worth of observations summed up and shared. Tomorrow we get back on track.

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Posted at 30 August 10 at 00.08 in Travel

What is most interesting about Niagara Falls is that everyone talks about how the Canadian side is more impressive than the American side, and the reason why is because the falls that collapse from American soil into the lake are the most bad ass, but they can only be seen effectively from the Canadian side. So there we are with the perfect metaphor for American power: no matter how much strength we have (and no matter how irrationally), the only way to truly appreciate ourselves is to view it from another land.

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Posted at 28 August 10 at 23.08 in Travel

If today’s schedule looks even more sparse than yesterday’s, that’s because I’m getting good at these days that deviate from plan but turn out to be something I’m quite happy with just the same. And if Detroit is the real fucking deal, Toronto is fucking hot. A commenter noted that one of the funny things about these essays is that they’re not really about travel at all.

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Posted at 27 August 10 at 23.08 in Travel

From one point of view, today was another day of missed opportunities. However, from another point of view, today was exactly what it needed to be. For better or for worse, Detroit is the real fucking deal.

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Posted at 26 August 10 at 23.08 in Travel