Most New Englanders have a poor sense of geography. We have always had difficulty distinguishing between the states west of the Connecticut River (technically, Vermont is a New England state, but it is inhabited chiefly by New Yorkers and people who pronounce the letter “r” oddly). We New Englanders know vaguely that there are Appalachian mountains, then a big flat place where they grow corn and soybeans and all the states have names that begin with vowels, and then west of that there are mountains and deserts and big square states. We pity those New Englanders who have to go live in California, because they will be so very far from the ocean.
Corn and soybeans along Interstate 80 in Illinois
Today, Carol and I drove through flat states whose names begin with vowels. We started driving this morning in Ohio, drove through northern Indiana, across midstate Illinois, and then across the Mississippi River into Iowa.
Crossing the Mississippi River along Interstate 80
The landscape was fairly flat in Ohio, sloping gently down towards Lake Erie; it was heavily developed south of Chicago, covered with industrial buildings, big box stores, and housing developments; it was fairly flat through midstate Illinois but even here it rolled gently; and here in Iowa, the landscape consists of low, rolling hills with winding creeks in the valleys between the hills. In short, the landscape is far more diverse than New Englanders think it is.
We are spending the night just south of the Amana Colonies in Iowa. We had some Schild Brau Amber lager beer at dinner, brewed locally by the Millstream Brewing Company. Carol comes from Iowa, and as we walked around, she said it felt somehow familiar: the cicadas, the fireflies, the silos half hidden behind the low hills, the fields of corn. And tomorrow we will continue driving across the flat states, getting farther and farther from the ocean.
“We pity those New Englanders who have to go live in California, because they will be so very far from the ocean.” LOL!
Of course, when I lived in California, I heard Missouri referred to as “the East Coast”.
Today you should begin to see the Rockies
If you continue west out of those vowel states, you will find flat. Be prepared of a lot of Nebraska. Not far west of Omaha–the last place to begin with a vowel–the true Great Plains that stretch from Oklahoma into Canada begin. Flat. Pool table flat. And this time of year brown. You will grow to treasure the ribbon of cottonwoods lining the North Platte as it meanders on either side of the Interstate. Then, somewhere west of Grand Island, the blue saw teeth of the Rockies will dimly appear. It will take a good long time to reach them. But then think of those folks in ox carts, Conestogas or even pushing hand carts who could see their delicious coolness tantalizing ahead for weeks. And who, upon finally reaching them, found not solace but agonizing toil up the steep grade to the Great Divide.
We have always had difficulty distinguishing between the states west of the Connecticut River
Ah, this explains the attitude toward half of Connecticut. (Despite living in the New York half, I always pledged my allegiance to the New England half by being a Red Sox fan.) But isn’t the Massachusetts west of the Connecticut the real Massachusetts? Boston doesn’t quite cut it. Cambridge, no way. And let’s not even get started about the Cape and the Islands.
Oh, and Vermont is much more New England than New Hampshire, because New Hampshire is just Boston’s bedroom.
-former Vermonter
some of us who are going to live in Vermont, have family there since 1783 so not all are New Yorkers, but lots are . . .
Dan,
It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. I’ve done it several times and I just keeping thinking, “Ah, home,” when you describe certain things. For the record, Nebraska is not ALL flat. I-80 is (pretty much), but if you were to go north, you would come to the beautiful rolling sandhills. NOT flat.
I just finished reading “My Antonia” by Willa Cather. It is a gorgeous piece of work. Don’t know if you’d be interested, but I thought I’d suggest it.
Be well, my friend.
Mindy