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Salmon River Canyon. A View North, Back Towards White Bird, Showing The Road’s Gradual Descent To River’s Side.

….“…. flowing between high canyon walls.” (Cont. Next)

North end of Huge Parking Lot for Roadside Rest Area and a nice Sandy River Beach, Skookumchuck Recreation Site (Click Here For Satellite View.)
Salmon River Gorge, ID. Note boulders that are volcanic rock. These surely came out of similar appearing rock seen at road cut in canyon wall at right.
….We are now four miles South of White Bird. After the bridge shown in the previous photo, US-95 went up and over a small mountain range. After this, the highway took a steady down grade to practically the level of the river, as seen /\ Above /\ Photo.
….The new highway has been fairlly straight, with its steady, reasonable grade down, ever since the Grangeville Plateau. Clearly, it is much safer and more amenable to high speed traffic than the ~22 switchbacks on White Bird Hill!!

But How Did Idaho Find The Money For The Very High Bridge Plus Expensive Road Relocation To Make The Newer, Wide, Straight Modern Superhighway?
….How could this be justified in this remote, arid, lowly populated region? A quick look at your Idaho map will show the answer. This is only road between the widely separate, but clearly well populated Northern and Southern regions of Idaho.
….Moreover the only other North-South road corridors are 120 miles to the East, and even farther to the West.
….Why is this so? More map study will show the major (and long) North-South mountain barriers both East and West of US-95. In addition, the deep precipitous Salmon River Gorge, combined with the Snake River (Hells Canyon) to the West, are together additional North-South barriers to road construction. (These rivers after all, are just following the North-South Mountain folds generally true of the West.)
….So, do you get the point? Roads respond to Geology, and Geography. Here the Salmon River Gorge, makes the ONE GOOD WAY through these precipitous mountains. The fast and heavy long distance traffic on this road, both justify and make good use of this highway in its modern form.

NOTE: AFTER the Blue Link above comes up, you can ClickDrag the Satellite View, back North along US-95, to see town of White Bird, ID. Then North & bit East, you can see the ZMM Narrator’s rough & tough gravel road back in 1968, with some 22 switchbacks, winding down White Bird Hill!! .
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The Bright Sun on the Nearly Vertical Walls of the Gorge.

….“Here the heat is tremendous and the glare from the white canyon rock is blinding. ….

Metaphoric Bridge Connection:
….The Narrator’s “the heat is tremendous and the glare …. is blinding.“ poetically amplifies, and metaphorically connects to, the barren life defeating “ugliness of technology“ here and throughout this Chapter 25.
(Cont. Next)

South end of huge Parking Lot for Roadside Rest Area and a nice Sandy River Beach, Skookumchuck Recreation Site, Four Miles South Of White Bird, Salmon River Gorge, ID. This photo was taken in late afternoon, and for the most part I was in the shade of the Canyon Walls. You can imagine what the bright heat would have been like with the noon sun directly South, while beating straight down through perfectly clear desert dry air, into this parched un-vegetated gorge!
….(Better photo needed.)
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From The South End Of A Huge Parking Lot For A Roadside Rest Area, We See A General View of Salmon River Canyon Looking South.
…Part Of The Nice Sandy River Beach, Is The Small Narrow Tan Area This Side Of Distant Trees At River Edge.


….“ …. We wind on and on through the bottom of the narrow canyon, nervous about fast-moving traffic and oppressed by the fiery heat. .
....The ugliness the Sutherlands were fleeing is not inherent in technology. It only seemed that way to them because it’s so hard to isolate what it is within technology that’s so ugly. But technology is simply the making of things and the making of things can’t by its own nature be ugly or there would be no possibility for beauty in the arts, which also include the making of things. Actually a root word of technology, techne, originally meant "art." The ancient Greeks never separated art from manufacture in their minds, and so never developed separate words for them.
” (Cont. Next)

Metaphoric Bridge Connection:
… The ZMM Narrator says how much “ oppressed by the fiery heat. metaphorically connects to how we are oppressed by => .. what it is within technology that’s so ugly.

South End of Huge Parking Lot, Roadside Rest Area, Skookumchuck Recreation Site, Four Miles South Of White Bird, Salmon River Gorge, ID.
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View Back Towards White Bird. The River Is So Close To The Canyon Walls That =>
…The Road Cut Had To Be .“Blasted Out Of ” The Nearly Vertical Cliffs!


….“The way to solve the conflict between human values and technological needs is not to run away from technology. That’s impossible. The way to resolve the conflict is to break down the barriers of dualistic thought that prevent a real understanding of what technology is ... not an exploitation of nature, but a fusion of nature and the human spirit into a new kind of creation that transcends both. When this transcendence occurs in such events as the first airplane flight across the ocean or the first footstep on the moon, a kind of public recognition of the transcendent nature of technology occurs. But this transcendence should also occur at the individual level, on a personal basis, in one’s own life, in a less dramatic way. .. The walls of the canyon here are completely vertical now. In many places room for the road had to be blasted out of it. ” (Cont. Next)

Metaphoric Bridge Connection:
… The ZMM Narrator says how restricting are “ The walls of the canyon here are completely vertical now. metaphorically connects to you can’t => .. run away from technology. That’s impossible.

Salmon River Gorge, ID.
….Narrative And Landscape Connections, Which Henry Gurr Calls “Metaphoric Bridge Connections => It is just impossible to leave this canyon as it is, because of its steep walls & because it is just impossible to build a road through the surrounding mountains. And metaphorically this is just as impossible …. to run away from technology.
..****************..
….Volcanic rock is seen everywhere. Of all rocks, volcanic lava is very tough and durable against being worn down. Although the river clearly wins, it can do so only by just enough to carry the water! AND => This is the reason the canyon walls are so steep and close to the water.
….Next photo explains sign at right.
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Photo at 287w 1667ft, which is ~13 twisty river driving miles (10 miles straight line) South of White Bird, ID.
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As This Sign Explains => Land Rising While The River Cuts Down, Generally Results In Very Deep Canyons.
….This Is Also True Of West Virginia’s “New River Canyon” and Colorado’s “Grand Canyon”.
……. BUT, Why Is the Canyon So Narrow and Walls So Nearly Vertical?
ANSWER: Very Narrow, Steep-Walled Steep, Near Vertical Canyon Walls Probably Are Due To => The Tough Volcanic Rock, Which Cuts Straight Down, And No Wider Than It Has To.
…This Is True Of The Volcanic Rock Recognized In The Previous Photo, The /\ Above /\ Photo, and Next Two Photos.


…. “No alternate routes here. Just whichever way the river goes. It may be just my imagination, but it seems the river’s already smaller than it was an hour ago. .. Such personal transcendence of conflicts with technology doesn’t have to involve motorcycles, of course. It can be at a level as simple as sharpening a kitchen knife or sewing a dress or mending a broken chair. The underlying problems are the same. In each case there’s a beautiful way of doing it and an ugly way of doing it, and in arriving at the high-quality, beautiful way of doing it, both an ability to see what "looks good" and an ability to understand the underlying methods to arrive at that "good" are needed. Both classic and romantic understandings of Quality must be combined.” (Cont. Next)

Metaphoric Bridge Connection:
…Corresponding Metaphorically to the canyon road’s “No alternate routes… the river is narrowing“, Narrator’s discussion of Quality “narrows” to the only choice possible => In Mechanics & Everyday Chores, we have. “No alternate routes …meaning metaphorically that => “ Both classic and romantic understandings of Quality must be combined.

The Salmon River Gorge, ID. Here I stopped to study this sign, which explains more about the lava flows mentioned previously. …. But now, as I am composing this paragraph, I suddenly realize => I should have taken a better photo of the dramatic walls of the gorge seen (partly) in this and prior photo.

…….Another very different, example of this deep-narrow nearly vertical wall canyon cutting, may be seen on the Arizona-Nevada border. Here, the Colorado River (same river as Grand Canyon), has eroded a likewise very narrow, but much deeper cut into => A lava flow that once flowed into & filled up the then existing Colorado River Canyon. This formed a tight “plug” of strong, very durable volcanic rock. Over the years, the river gradually eroded a deep and very narrow cut. This resulted in very close, nearly vertical walls formed of very strong (and relatively new) rock.
….And note well => All this was just perfect for minimizing the cost of Hoover (Boulder) Dam, which was built into this Very Narrow & Most Unusual, Very Deep Place.
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This Line Of Jagged Rocks, Surplus From the Dynamite Blasting, Are Used To Provide a Guard Rail.
….Metaphorically => The Narrator Says We Need Similar Protection From “Stylized Cars And Stylized Outboard Motors And Stylized Typewriters And Stylized Clothes.”


….“The nature of our culture is such that if you were to look for instruction in how to do any of these jobs, the instruction would always give only one understanding of Quality, the classic. It would tell you how to hold the blade when sharpening the knife, or how to use a sewing machine, or how to mix and apply glue with the presumption that once these underlying methods were applied, "good" would naturally follow. The ability to see directly what "looks good" would be ignored. .. The result is rather typical of modern technology, an overall dullness of appearance so depressing that it must be overlaid with a veneer of "style" to make it acceptable. And that, to anyone who is sensitive to romantic Quality, just makes it all the worse. Now it’s not just depressingly dull, it’s also phony. Put the two together and you get a pretty accurate basic description of modern American technology: stylized cars and stylized outboard motors and stylized typewriters and stylized clothes. Stylized refrigerators filled with stylized food in stylized kitchens in stylized houses. Plastic stylized toys for stylized children, who at Christmas and birthdays are in style with their stylish parents. You have to be awfully stylish yourself not to get sick of it once in a while.” (Cont. Next)

Metaphoric Bridge Connection:
… The ZMM Narrator discusses the importance of “ The ability to see directly what "looks good" would be IGNORED. “ which results in overwhelming “Stylish Technology Products”…. And, a river edge Guard Rail metaphorically connects to how we need for protection from => You have to be awfully stylish yourself not to get sick of it once in a while.

Salmon River Gorge, ID.
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Photo at 287w 1667ft, which is ~13 twisty river driving miles (10 miles straight line) South of White Bird, ID.
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A Small Well Watered Green Shady Oasis In The Dry, Dry, Hot, Hot, Canyon.

….“ …. It’s the style that gets you; technological ugliness syruped over with romantic phoniness in an effort to produce beauty and profit by people who, though stylish, don’t know where to start because no one has ever told them there’s such a thing as Quality in this world and it’s real, not style. Quality isn’t something you lay on top of subjects and objects like tinsel on a Christmas tree.
…. Real Quality must be the source of the subjects and objects, the [seed] cone from which the tree must start.
.. To arrive at THIS Quality requires a somewhat different procedure from the "Step 1, Step 2, Step 3" instructions that accompany dualistic technology, and that’s what I’ll now try to go into.
.... After many turns in the canyon wall we stop for a break under a scrubby little patch of small trees and rocks. The grass around the trees is burned and brown and scattered with litter from picnickers. .. I collapse into some shade, ….
” (Cont. Next)

South End of Huge Parking Lot, Roadside Rest Area, Skookumchuck Recreation Site, Four Miles South Of White Bird, Salmon River Gorge, ID.

…. In this dry, sun-baked, otherwise treeless canyon, how do trees find water? TopoZone shows a small side canyon that comes into this Roadside Rest Area from the East (left). This may be the water source for the really nice, green, grassy park just beyond some buildings deep into these trees.
….In this otherwise beautiful canyon, the Narrator’s discussion of “technological ugliness “ is Metaphorically Mirrored in the supreme ugliness of “scattered with litter from picnickers“, which I am sure you can adequately visualize without a photo from me.
….This beauty/ugly contrast only serves to increase the Narrator’s depression and sadness.

NOTE: In ZMM passage above you see “THIS” in all caps, which duplicates emphasis in original ZMM text.
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A View Up, Up, Up The East Canyon Wall To The Pure Blue Sky Far Away.

….[“ .... After many turns in the canyon wall we stop for a break under a scrubby little patch of small trees and rocks. The grass around the trees is burned and brown and scattered with litter from picnickers. .. I collapse into some shade, …. ” ] “ …. and after a while squint up at the sky, which I haven’t really looked at since we entered this canyon. Up there above the canyon walls it’s cool and dark blue and far away. .. ” (Cont. Next)

South End of Huge Parking Lot, Roadside Rest Area, Skookumchuck Recreation Site, Four Miles South Of White Bird, Salmon River Gorge, ID.

Metaphoric Bridge Connection.
The Narrator sits in the hot, dry dust amongst the trash of civilization and wistfully views the pure blue cool sky far away. In so doing, the Narrator is metaphorically contrasting present day “technological ugliness syruped over with romantic phoniness“ with a “pure” ideal that could be achieved with proper application of his Quality and other forms of human caring.
….The Narrator said (previous photo caption) they were dejected by the ugly trash, Metaphorically Conforming with some of the more ugly, “stylized” parts of technology.
..****************..
This Roadside Rest Area, Is Clean, Neat, & Orderly, In Exact Opposite Contrast With The Narrator’s Statements =>
….When I was at this Rest Area, this was a perfect little park - shady, green, grassy, well-irrigated, AND clean, orderly, with NO trash.
… It was squeezed (sandwiched) between the highway and the huge, roaring Salmon River deep in the Scenic Gorge! In addition, this Modern, Roadside Rest Area actually provides a wonderful, long, wide, sandy swimming beach at the water’s edge.
….Judging from the huge size of the parking lot, this must be a very popular swimming and recreation area when the season is “just right”. However, the place was nearly empty when I was there: Ditto for the Narrator’s statement, so we may conclude that mid-summer is not “just right”, for local people? …Or is this possibly due to day of week, where a Weekend is more popular than a Weekday?
….The existence of such a cool green park and beautiful swimming beach is unmentioned by the Narrator. Were these amenities not there in 1968, or are they ignored as being incompatible with the Chautauqua?
….OR … Was the Narrator afraid to cool off and refresh with a swim in the river? Clearly a possibility in 1968. Depressed people do not do what is obvious and needed to regain strength. You can hear the Narrator’s fatigue and dejection in his weary statement describing how they get back on the cycle, next photo.

NOTE: As Mentioned Previous Photos: This Roadside Rest Area And A Nice Sandy River Beach, Is Called => The Skookumchuck Recreation Site, Click Here For Satellite View.
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Looking Over The Narrator’s Shade Trees, We See Up, Up, Up The West Canyon Wall =>
…. Here In the Shadow From the Late Afternoon Sun, Is Found A Small Partial Relief From The ZNN Narrator’s .“ Oppressed By The Fiery Heat.


….“Chris doesn’t even go over to see the river, something he’d normally do. Like me, he’s tired and content just to sit under the scant shade of these trees.
.... After a while he says there’s an old iron pump, it looks like, between us and the river. He points to it and I see what he means. He goes over and I can see him pump water onto his hand and then splash it onto his face. I go over and pump for him so he can use both hands. Then I do the same. The water feels cold on my hands and face. When done we walk to the cycle again and climb on and pull back on to the canyon road.
….. Now that solution. Throughout this Chautauqua so far this whole problem of technological ugliness has been looked at in a negative way. It’s been said that romantic attitudes toward Quality such as the Sutherlands have are, by themselves, hopeless. You can’t live on just groovy emotions alone. You have to work with the underlying form of the universe too, the laws of nature which, when understood, can make work easier, sickness rarer and famine almost absent. On the other hand, technology based on pure dualistic reason has also been condemned because it obtains these material advantages by turning the world into a stylized garbage dump. Now’s the time to stop condemning things and come up with some answers. ..
” (Cont. Next)

South End of Huge Parking Lot, Roadside Rest Area, Skookumchuck Recreation Site, Four Miles South Of White Bird, Salmon River Gorge, ID.

….When I was there June 30, 2002, I could find no evidence of any hand water pump. Perhaps it is incorporated into the two small buildings in the park, for which local groups may have a key.
….. (Better photos needed.)
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Looking South, This Quiet, Peaceful Scene Of The Canyon & River Bridge Ahead, Has a Blue Appearance =>
….This Because It Is Mostly Illuminated By Blue Light From The Blue Sky, =>
…….But Notice Small Places, Which Are in Direct Sunlight (Such As The White, Distant Building And The Brown Cliffs Beyond Bridge), By Contrast, They Are Normal Colors.
..****************..

THE NARRATOR MENTIONS “PEACE OF MIND” 24 TIMES IN ZMM !!
..****************..

….“ Peace of mind isn’t at all superficial to technical work. It’s the whole thing. That which produces it is good work and that which destroys it is bad work.
….The specs, the measuring instruments, the quality control, the final check-out, these are all means toward the end of satisfying the peace of mind of those responsible for the work. What really counts in the end is their peace of mind, nothing else.
….The reason for this is that peace of mind is a prerequisite for a perception of that Quality which is beyond romantic Quality and classic Quality and which unites the two, and which must accompany the work as it proceeds.
….The way to see what looks good and understand the reasons it looks good, and to be at one with this goodness as the work proceeds, is to cultivate an inner quietness, a peace of mind so that goodness can shine through.
” (Cont. Next) (ZMM passage bolded by HSG ZMMQ Site Editor)

In Salmon River Gorge, Two miles North of Riggings, ID. Ever since coming into the Salmon River Canyon after White Bird, ID …US-95 has been East of the River. But, as you see ahead in the /\ Above /\ Photo => US_95 will crossover the Salmon River via the bridge ahead, after which US-95 will be on the West side of the Salmon River. This “crossover” is necessary, because the river ahead, in two places, runs tight to very high vertical cliffs, along the East Canyon Wall, leaving no place for a road. (You will see these high near vertical cliffs, in the Next Photo.)
….AND, There Are Two More Reasons For Shifting US-95 To West Of The River =>
...A) The road needs to provide easy, continuous, access to the town of Riggings, ID, which is ahead on the West riverside, where the town uses the available fairly large flat areas. And
…B) As you will learn in the Next Photo, the road will follow a South Trending River Fork called “The Little Salmon River”. Since the main Salmon flow there comes in from the East, the road will need to be on the West Side to follow this Little Salmon River. Otherwise, a bridge would be needed crossover this main flow, coming in from the East.
….Thus, ahead the ZMM Route will be along this Little Salmon River at our East side, until we are well up to the valley of New Meadows, ID 30 miles ahead.
..****************..
ATMOSPHERIC EXPLANATION:
….When the atmosphere is free of moisture, the sun is very intense, and hot, and the sky is pure, pure blue. In this condition, the sky naturally sends down blue light, and thus objects are colored blue. This is mostly noticed in shadow areas, where there is not much normal, white sunlight illumination directly from the sun.
….People who live in areas of greater atmospheric moisture rarely see this because sky moisture sends down a lot more hazy white light, and this covers up the effect of the blue sky light.
….This strange blueish coloration will be seen in the Next Photo, and was seen in the Previous Two Photos.
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In the Late Afternoon Shadow From The Sun =>
….The Town and the ZMM Traveler Find Welcome Relief From the Intense Sun.


….“So the thing to do when working on a motorcycle, as in any other task, is to cultivate the peace of mind which does not separate one’s self from one’s surroundings. When that is done successfully then everything else follows naturally. Peace of mind produces right values, right values produce right thoughts. Right thoughts produce right actions and right actions produce work which will be a material reflection for others to see of the serenity at the center of it all. That was what it was about that wall in Korea. It was a material reflection of a spiritual reality. …. Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value.
.... A town called Riggins comes up and we see a lot of motels, ….
” (Cont. Next)

In The Salmon River Gorge, Entering Riggings, ID. Just South of Riggings, the major flow of the Salmon River comes in from the East. ….But US-95 follows ever upward on the West side, a South trending branch called the Little Salmon River.
..****************..
….Did You AUTOMATICALLY => Notice The “Blue-Ish Cast” => To The Foreground Scenery AND Remember Why?
…AND Ditto For The Distant Cliffs, AND Did You Remember Why They Are Normal Colored?

…. One Of My Dry Air, “Deep Canyon” California Mountain Photos Shows This “Blue Coloring Effect” Quite Dramatically. Click Here.
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From The Hot, Dry, Barren Salmon River Canyon =>
….We Come Back Up To Cooler, Moist, Meadows, Surrounded By Green Forests.


….“ …. and afterward the road branches away from the canyon and follows a smaller stream. It seems to head upward into forest.
.... It does, and soon the road becomes shaded by tall, cool pines.
” (Cont. Next)

In The Valley of New Meadows, ID. Just as the Narrator described in the passage above, the road does indeed branch from the main river channel and follow a smaller stream ever upward.
….Here we follow the Little Salmon River in an ever narrower V shaped canyon, and eventually arrive into trees, which suddenly widens to this beautiful wide flat valley, shown in /\ Above /\ Photo.
To Read About How It Is That => “A Narrow V Valley Can Suddenly Widen Into A Beautiful Wide Flat Valley.” Right Click and Open In A New Tab.
NOTE: AFTER this Blue Link Comes Up => You will have to take into account, that moving “upstream” reverses a “downstream” explanation.
(Better photos of all this scenery, are needed.)
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The 45th Degree Parallel Building and Tourist Information Kiosk.

….“Resort signs appear. We wind higher and higher into unexpectedly pleasant, cool, green meadows surrounded by pine forests. ” (Cont. Next)

In the distance is the entrance to town New Meadows, ID. All the scenery after Riggings, ID, actually does well correspond to the Narrator’s descriptions. However, the only “Resort signs appear ” I remember seeing was this Travel Information Kiosk.
..****************..
….This Kiosk Building, besides providing Tourist Information, also celebrates US-95’s crossing of the 45th Parallel, as we travel South, along the ZMM Route. The “45” here signifies that you are exactly halfway between the Earth’s Equator (Zero Degrees) and the North Pole (90 Degrees).
…In the /\ Above /\ Photo, just right of the Kiosk, is a brown sign post, which also announces this same Message for South going traffic, as you will see in Next Photo.
…. The crossing of the 45th Parallel is UN-mentioned by the Narrator.
..****************..
…. Naturally, as done many times previously, here I wanted to check the accuracy of my GPS. Two successive “Save Way Points” on my handheld GPS receiver unit, read acceptable results as below:
…WayPt 291 = 45.0063622 Degrees North & 116.280445 Degrees West.
…WayPt 292 = 45.0059545 Degrees North & 116.2804128Degrees West
..****************..
To See A Satellite View Of This Location, Click Here. And AFTER this Satellite View Comes Up, look closely to see where “45th Parallel Dr” crosses US-95, at which point the Tiny, Roundish Kiosk will be seen. It’s a puzzle why the Google Satellite coordinates for this point are not exactly 45 degrees, but at 45.006428, -116.280366.
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In the Center of This Fresh, Green “New Meadow” Valley, the Left Sign Says, “45th Parallel. Halfway Between the Equator and the North Pole. [Please] Pass With Care!!”
….The Right Sign Advertises Property For Sale.


….“ At a town called New Meadows we fill up again and buy two cans of oil, still surprised at the change.” (Cont. Next)

In the distance, you can discern the entrance to New Meadows, ID.
….All the scenery after Riggings accurately fits the Narrator’s description.
(Better photos of all this scenery are needed.)
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After We Pass This Green Field and Two Bushes of Blooming Wild Rose At Center & Right, We Will Head Down to Dry, Sandy Country.
….At Left, The Clouds Are Pink From The Sunset, With Corresponding End Of Day Down Feelings For The Narrator.


….“But as we leave New Meadows I note the long slant of the sun and a late afternoon depression begins to set in. At another time of day these mountain meadows would refresh me more, but we’ve gone too long. We pass Tamarack and the road drops down again from green meadows into dry sandy country.
.... I guess that’s all I want to say for the Chautauqua today. It’s been a long session and perhaps the most important one.
….Tomorrow I want to talk about things that seem to turn one toward Quality and turn one away from Quality, some of the traps and problems that come up.
.... Strange feelings from the orange sunlight on this sandy dry country so far from home. I wonder if Chris feels it too. Just a sort of unexplained sadness that comes each afternoon when the new day is gone forever and there’s nothing ahead but increasing darkness.
” ( Bolded text, at left, is ZMM Book’s emphasis.) (Cont. Next)

Eleven miles after Tamarack, ID. More depression and fatigue for the Narrator and, no doubt, Chris. But except for the Narrator’s wondering about what Chris notices, we never hear about Chris, unless Chris really voices it strongly.
…The ZMM. Narrator is mostly always reporting about own thoughts, feelings, and state of emotion.
..****************..
My ZMM Route research notes say “Smell of sage in the left over heat of the day. …. The new forming blossoms of wild rose smell of sweet raspberry”.
….It is interesting that a Google Earth View July 20, 2017 (also Google Satellite View), for this WayPt = 293, shows not only the open field, but also the Two Rose Bushes, the Electric Pole, plus the line of bushes on down the highway! It also shows a Distant Red Barn, but not the same one.
….In fact, I observed wild rose bushes like this, all the way from here to well into Oregon. Indeed, some 21 straight line miles West, at the Brownlee Campground, the Narrator quotes from a long Omar Khayyàm Poem about => “ “The First Summer Month That Brings The Rose.”
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End of Day .... Strange Country .... Empty Highway .... Isolation .... Loneleness.

….“The orange turns to dull bronze light and continues to show what it has shown all day long, but now it seems to show it without enthusiasm. Across those dry hills, within those little houses in the distance are people who’ve been there all day long, going about the business of the day, who now find nothing unusual or different in this strange darkening landscape, as we do. If we were to come upon them early in the day they might be curious about us and what we’re here for. But now in the evening they’d just resent our presence. The work day is over. It’s time for supper and family and relaxation and turning inward at home.
….We ride unnoticed down this empty highway through this strange country I’ve never seen before, and now a heavy feeling of isolation and loneliness becomes dominant and my spirits wane with the sun.
" (Cont. Next)

Two miles North of Indian Valley, ID.
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Sunset Illuminates the Dry Desert.

….“We stop at an abandoned school yard and under a huge cottonwood tree I change the oil in the cycle. Chris is irritable and wonders why we stop for so long, not knowing perhaps that it’s just the time of day that makes him irritable; but I give him the map to study while I change the oil, and when the oil is changed we look at the map together and decide to have supper at the next good restaurant we find and camp at the first good camping place. That cheers him up." (Cont. Next)

Fifteen miles to Cambridge, ID. After the town of Tamarack, I look carefully for an abandoned school, or even a school building converted to other purposes. I could not discern any likely possibilities.
….Does any one know where this school might have been? Photos needed.

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(Photo = 111-1158cb ...... ZMM Page = 268 ...... WayPt = 294k 3323ft)
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Darkness Conceals Main Street.

…“At a town called Cambridge we have supper and when we are finished, it’s dark out. We follow the headlight beam down a secondary road toward Oregon …. " (Cont. Next)

Cambridge, ID. After the 25 mph sign, the next white sign says JCT with the Rt71 partly obscured by tree leaves.
….This is the right turn to go northwest to the Notorious Snake River and Oregon border. Further North, the Snake River goes through the even more notorious Hell’s Canyon.

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(Photo = 111-1160cb ...... ZMM Page = 269 ...... WayPt = 295w 2673ft)
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