In the city
24/08/16 06:30
The campground where we are staying is located in a grove of tall trees. Some of them are 150 feet tall and most have very large trunks. The trees mute the sound from the surrounding urban area and provide a very nice place for camping. But at night when I lie in bed, there is constant background from Interstate 5. The highway is the main corridor between Seattle and Portland and has constant traffic. Here it is three lanes of traffic in each direction. Just a couple of miles north it becomes four lanes that are constantly full of vehicles heading to and from Tacoma and Seattle. The people who live here adjust to the traffic and get used to the crush of other people. Those of us who are visiting from less populated areas are more aware of the people and constant noise.
The city of Olympia is about the same size as Rapid City. Our home, however, is the big town in the region and serves as a hub for the surrounding rural areas. People come to Rapid City to shop, obtain health care, and engage in the entertainment of the more urban setting. You have to drive more than 300 miles in any direction to get to a city that is larger than our town. Olympia, on the other hand, sits right next to other towns and cities with much less open space. We wouldn’t consider ourselves to be out in the country as we drive past Ft. Lewis and Mcchord Air Force Base and then into Tacoma. Tacoma has over 200,000 people and Seattle is home to over 650,000.
The world really is getting more crowded as the human population grows. Last week, we visited Natural Bridge, a beautiful feature on the Boulder River right at the end of the paved road. When I was a child and young adult we would be the only people there most of the time when we visited. But there were at least a dozen people there when we visited and the parking lot has been expanded to accommodate more cars. Yesterday we took our grandchildren to three different parks. All had large groups of children from day care and summer school programs who were visiting the parks as a part of the end of summer activities. The children had to wait to play on parts of the playground equipment because of all of the other children who were playing.
Of course there are still ways to gain solitude even in the midst of this urban setting. It only takes a few minutes to be alone on the surface of the water when I paddle. Even though I am surrounded by urban areas, I can be alone with the water and the creatures that live there. There are also mountain hiking trails within a reasonable driving distance where one can be alone. The high peaks of the cascades are still rugged and filled with wilderness. On the other hand the highways leading up into the mountains are filled with quite a bit of traffic and one has to get off of the main roads and perhaps even park and walk a bit to be truly alone.
It is simply easier to find solitude where we live. I can just go out the door and walk a little was to be alone.
As the world’s population grows, more and more people are settling in cities. Humans are pretty adaptable animals and can learn to live in very crowded conditions. The jobs and other activities of humans are concentrated in coastal regions around the globe with the centers of the continents being the least populated places for the most part. In addition the far north and far south parts of the globe, where winters are most extreme have less population. Those polar regions, however, have far more tourists than was the case a decade ago. More people means more visitors to even the most remote locations and there is an upsurge in adventure travel for vacations.
I can’t begrudge people who live in urban areas their desire to visit remote locations. Even our Black Hills are a magnet for those who live in cities and we gain a lot of benefits from the many visitors who come to our region and help our economy by spending their funds. Hospitality is an important human quality and it is good for us to exercise our skills as hosts on a regular basis. I know that if I lived in an urban area I would be quick to head for more remote places whenever I had the opportunity. Although at our current life phase the lure of grandchildren makes it easy for us to choose where to go for vacations, for most of our life camping has been the preferred way of spending time off from work. When we visit the city, we find a campground in a relatively quiet and secluded place. This grove of old growth trees has become our regular campground for the past four years.
As the human population of the globe continues to grow, succeeding generations will face the challenge of preserving wilderness and learning to share the quiet places. They will also learn new skills and develop new ways of living closely in dense urban areas. Public transportation will become an important factor in dealing with the crowds of people that need to travel to and from work and other activities in urban cores. Urban planning will have to be exercised to provide for all of the amenities that people need.
I feel fortunate to have grown up in a time when there were fewer people and more open spaces. I’m not naturally a city person and I feel grateful to live in the hills where the neighbors are a bit farther away. I know that it is a luxury that some people will never experience. I am privileged in so many ways.
For now, for me, cities are places to visit and I am grateful to have a less populated place to call home.
The city of Olympia is about the same size as Rapid City. Our home, however, is the big town in the region and serves as a hub for the surrounding rural areas. People come to Rapid City to shop, obtain health care, and engage in the entertainment of the more urban setting. You have to drive more than 300 miles in any direction to get to a city that is larger than our town. Olympia, on the other hand, sits right next to other towns and cities with much less open space. We wouldn’t consider ourselves to be out in the country as we drive past Ft. Lewis and Mcchord Air Force Base and then into Tacoma. Tacoma has over 200,000 people and Seattle is home to over 650,000.
The world really is getting more crowded as the human population grows. Last week, we visited Natural Bridge, a beautiful feature on the Boulder River right at the end of the paved road. When I was a child and young adult we would be the only people there most of the time when we visited. But there were at least a dozen people there when we visited and the parking lot has been expanded to accommodate more cars. Yesterday we took our grandchildren to three different parks. All had large groups of children from day care and summer school programs who were visiting the parks as a part of the end of summer activities. The children had to wait to play on parts of the playground equipment because of all of the other children who were playing.
Of course there are still ways to gain solitude even in the midst of this urban setting. It only takes a few minutes to be alone on the surface of the water when I paddle. Even though I am surrounded by urban areas, I can be alone with the water and the creatures that live there. There are also mountain hiking trails within a reasonable driving distance where one can be alone. The high peaks of the cascades are still rugged and filled with wilderness. On the other hand the highways leading up into the mountains are filled with quite a bit of traffic and one has to get off of the main roads and perhaps even park and walk a bit to be truly alone.
It is simply easier to find solitude where we live. I can just go out the door and walk a little was to be alone.
As the world’s population grows, more and more people are settling in cities. Humans are pretty adaptable animals and can learn to live in very crowded conditions. The jobs and other activities of humans are concentrated in coastal regions around the globe with the centers of the continents being the least populated places for the most part. In addition the far north and far south parts of the globe, where winters are most extreme have less population. Those polar regions, however, have far more tourists than was the case a decade ago. More people means more visitors to even the most remote locations and there is an upsurge in adventure travel for vacations.
I can’t begrudge people who live in urban areas their desire to visit remote locations. Even our Black Hills are a magnet for those who live in cities and we gain a lot of benefits from the many visitors who come to our region and help our economy by spending their funds. Hospitality is an important human quality and it is good for us to exercise our skills as hosts on a regular basis. I know that if I lived in an urban area I would be quick to head for more remote places whenever I had the opportunity. Although at our current life phase the lure of grandchildren makes it easy for us to choose where to go for vacations, for most of our life camping has been the preferred way of spending time off from work. When we visit the city, we find a campground in a relatively quiet and secluded place. This grove of old growth trees has become our regular campground for the past four years.
As the human population of the globe continues to grow, succeeding generations will face the challenge of preserving wilderness and learning to share the quiet places. They will also learn new skills and develop new ways of living closely in dense urban areas. Public transportation will become an important factor in dealing with the crowds of people that need to travel to and from work and other activities in urban cores. Urban planning will have to be exercised to provide for all of the amenities that people need.
I feel fortunate to have grown up in a time when there were fewer people and more open spaces. I’m not naturally a city person and I feel grateful to live in the hills where the neighbors are a bit farther away. I know that it is a luxury that some people will never experience. I am privileged in so many ways.
For now, for me, cities are places to visit and I am grateful to have a less populated place to call home.