{"id":3562,"date":"2015-12-14T06:53:07","date_gmt":"2015-12-14T13:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/?p=3562"},"modified":"2015-12-16T15:27:19","modified_gmt":"2015-12-16T22:27:19","slug":"journey-surprises-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/?p=3562","title":{"rendered":"Journey Surprises Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the video:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_66159\"  width=\"700\" height=\"394\"  data-origwidth=\"700\" data-origheight=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VHE8eRoJJ_w?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The sculpture park in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/?p=424\">South Dakota <\/a>was still one of the oddest and definitely most surprising experiences. It ties in with the more general unexpectedness of all the roadside things people have built in this country. Even though I had seen a few of the roadsideamerica.com type things when I last lived here, I had no idea they were part of a larger pattern, especially from the Midwest and Texas westward, Americans like to build weird and wonderful stuff by the side of the road:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3505\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446687076668.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3505\" class=\"wp-image-3505 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446687076668-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"wpid-wp-1446687076668.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446687076668-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446687076668-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446687076668.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3505\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">South Dakota<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2141\" style=\"width: 172px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-12-11.12.29-e1442200219897.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2141\" class=\"wp-image-2141 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-12-11.12.29-e1442200219897-162x300.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-12 11.12.29\" width=\"162\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-12-11.12.29-e1442200219897-162x300.jpg 162w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-12-11.12.29-e1442200219897-554x1024.jpg 554w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-12-11.12.29-e1442200219897-300x554.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-12-11.12.29-e1442200219897.jpg 954w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 162px) 100vw, 162px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2141\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Abilene, Texas<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_1978\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-04-12.34.55-1-e1441563003389.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1978\" class=\"wp-image-1978 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-04-12.34.55-1-e1441563003389-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-04 12.34.55-1\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-04-12.34.55-1-e1441563003389-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-04-12.34.55-1-e1441563003389-1024x771.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1978\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Antonio, Texas<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_1959\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-03-13.36.37-1-e1441561969866.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1959\" class=\"wp-image-1959 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-03-13.36.37-1-e1441561969866-300x207.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-03 13.36.37-1\" width=\"300\" height=\"207\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-03-13.36.37-1-e1441561969866-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-03-13.36.37-1-e1441561969866-1024x707.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1959\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Houston, Texas<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2467\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-26-11.57.26-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2467\" class=\"wp-image-2467 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-26-11.57.26-1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-26 11.57.26-1\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-26-11.57.26-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-26-11.57.26-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2467\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phoenix, Arizona<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2930\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-13-11.32.20.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2930\" class=\"wp-image-2930 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-13-11.32.20-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-13 11.32.20\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-13-11.32.20-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-13-11.32.20-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2930\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Portland, Oregon<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_3213\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142256467-e1446214359166.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3213\" class=\"wp-image-3213 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142256467-e1446214359166-210x300.jpg\" alt=\"wpid-wp-1446142256467.jpg\" width=\"210\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142256467-e1446214359166-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142256467-e1446214359166-300x429.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142256467-e1446214359166.jpg 706w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3213\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cut Bank, Mountana<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_3224\" style=\"width: 188px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-29-14.51.04-e1446216130539.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3224\" class=\"wp-image-3224 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-29-14.51.04-e1446216130539-178x300.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-29 14.51.04\" width=\"178\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-29-14.51.04-e1446216130539-178x300.jpg 178w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-29-14.51.04-e1446216130539-609x1024.jpg 609w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-29-14.51.04-e1446216130539-300x504.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-29-14.51.04-e1446216130539.jpg 873w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 178px) 100vw, 178px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3224\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minot, North Dakota<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_3243\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446261332256.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3243\" class=\"wp-image-3243 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446261332256-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"wpid-wp-1446261332256.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446261332256-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446261332256-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446261332256.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3243\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamestown, North Dakota<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2667\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-03-12.46.36.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2667\" class=\"wp-image-2667 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-03-12.46.36-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-03 12.46.36\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-03-12.46.36-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-03-12.46.36-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2667\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Western Utah, near the Bonneville Salt Flats<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2217\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-17-10.10.15.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2217\" class=\"wp-image-2217 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-17-10.10.15-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-17 10.10.15\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-17-10.10.15-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-17-10.10.15-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2217\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Groom, Texas<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Juts how much of the east part of this country is a giant forest surprised us both. So much of this country is still wild in all parts of it.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446689122242.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3518\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446689122242-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"wpid-wp-1446689122242.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446689122242-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446689122242-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446689122242.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>We were both also surprised at how undeveloped some parts of the country were. The South is still quite empty even being older and even some of the North East had dirt roads. Somehow, I had thought there would be more in the East than in the Midwest. It&#8217;s not to say the Midwest has no dirt roads, but parts of it do feel much fuller than the South did to me. For instance, the towns were more spaced out in the South than I thought they would be.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_3535\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446693588587.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3535\" class=\"wp-image-3535 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446693588587-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"wpid-wp-1446693588587.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446693588587-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446693588587-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446693588587.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3535\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Middle of Nowhere, Alabama<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We were surprised at how much bigger the sky could feel. From about Oklahoma west to Arizona, the sky felt ten times bigger than it does in England or the rest of the country. It meant that you could get the feeling people get looking up at the stars at night during the day\u00a0and that you could see weather systems and sort of &#8216;steal&#8217; sun from 50 miles away, so a cloudy day would\u00a0rarely\u00a0feel as cloudy as it does in much of the world:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-14466939573141.jpg\"><br \/>\n<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694350675.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3547\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694350675-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"wpid-wp-1446694350675.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694350675-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694350675-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694350675.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>We were\u00a0surprised how amazing the nature of the West was:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3551\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446695008897.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3551\" class=\"wp-image-3551 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446695008897-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"wpid-wp-1446695008897.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446695008897-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446695008897-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446695008897.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3551\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Red Hills in Arizona<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Things there were bigger:<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694483944.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3549\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694483944-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"wpid-wp-1446694483944.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694483944-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694483944-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wpid-wp-1446694483944.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Weirder:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2574\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-28-12.24.24.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2574\" class=\"wp-image-2574 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-28-12.24.24-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-28 12.24.24\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-28-12.24.24-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-28-12.24.24-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2574\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joshua Trees in Arizona<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2368\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.37.04-e1443037433372.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2368\" class=\"wp-image-2368 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.37.04-e1443037433372-300x252.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-23 09.37.04\" width=\"300\" height=\"252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.37.04-e1443037433372-300x252.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.37.04-e1443037433372-1024x859.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.37.04-e1443037433372.jpg 1974w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2368\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saguaros in Arizona<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2376\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.34.13-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2376\" class=\"wp-image-2376 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.34.13-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-23 09.34.13-1\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.34.13-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.34.13-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.34.13-1-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-23-09.34.13-1-230x230.jpg 230w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2376\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Other cactuses and\/or spiky things in Arizona<\/p><\/div>\n<p>And generally more epic:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3095\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-21-15.46.01-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3095\" class=\"wp-image-3095 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-21-15.46.01-1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-21 15.46.01-1\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-21-15.46.01-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-21-15.46.01-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3095\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Twin Falls, Idaho<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_3099\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-21-16.42.28.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3099\" class=\"wp-image-3099 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-21-16.42.28-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-21 16.42.28\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-21-16.42.28-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-21-16.42.28-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3099\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Twin Falls, Idaho<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2247\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-18-14.06.44.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2247\" class=\"wp-image-2247 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-18-14.06.44-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-18 14.06.44\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-18-14.06.44-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-18-14.06.44-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2247\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eastern New Mexico<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2268\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-19-11.25.14.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2268\" class=\"wp-image-2268 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-19-11.25.14-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2015-09-19 11.25.14\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-19-11.25.14-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-19-11.25.14-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2268\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Albuquerque, New Mexico<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2869\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-10-16.24.01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2869\" class=\"wp-image-2869 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-10-16.24.01-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-10 16.24.01\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-10-16.24.01-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-10-16.24.01-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2869\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Near Seaside Creek Beach on Route 1 in Northern California<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2880\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-11-15.35.01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2880\" class=\"wp-image-2880 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-11-15.35.01-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-11 15.35.01\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-11-15.35.01-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-11-15.35.01-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2880\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jedediah Smith Rewoods State Park, California<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_2884\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-11-16.07.08.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2884\" class=\"wp-image-2884 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-11-16.07.08-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-11 16.07.08\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-11-16.07.08-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-11-16.07.08-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2884\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Near Patrick Creek in Northern California<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_3208\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142120823.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3208\" class=\"wp-image-3208 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142120823-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"wpid-wp-1446142120823.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142120823-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142120823-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/wpid-wp-1446142120823.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3208\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marias Pass, Montana<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A conviction we&#8217;ve both come away with surprised me at the very least. We are now both massive fans of the state system. If anyone wants to impose something on the whole country, no matter how fab the idea, I&#8217;d be wary. The state system means that 300 million people can live at least 50 different ways and if they don&#8217;t like the way things are done in their state, they can move to another with it just being &#8216;moving&#8217; rather than &#8217;emigrating&#8217; (i.e. visas, new language, completely new system to have to plug into, etc). This is a great thing. Making 300 million people live the same way is never going to work brilliantly, but the fact that the people in Vermont can live one way which looks very different from how many people in New York live which looks that much more different from how the people in Alabama live, which are all entirely different from how the people in California live, this is wonderful! It means someone who doesn&#8217;t like being a Californian hippie can move to Alabama and become a conservative baptist (<a href=\"http:\/\/simpsons.wikia.com\/wiki\/Ned_Flanders\" target=\"_blank\">Ned Flanders<\/a> anyone &#8211; it probably has happened), while someone who grows up in Alabama and finds it not fitting can move to California to be a counterculturalist or go to Philadelphia and just more comfortably be a democrat or whatever this person\u00a0happens to want within the 50 options.\u00a0This is excellent. State lines do matter. This is and isn&#8217;t one country. In some ways, the states are like little countries of their own.<\/p>\n<p>At any rate, we were thrilled to know the options we wanted do really exist. The UK is much more centralized which meant meaningful variations were harder to come by. We know if our first choice state doesn&#8217;t work out, we have several different options in terms of laws, culture and weather.<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned in the near future for part two of what surprised us and several more analysis videos before we blog about Christmas in Britain and actually moving to our chosen state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the video: The sculpture park in South Dakota was still one of the oddest and definitely most surprising experiences. It ties in with the more general unexpectedness of all the roadside things people have built in this country. Even&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[214,178,297,227,93,246,204,270,274,289,286,277,234,222,135,285,258,205,231,200,237],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abilene","category-alabama","category-analysis","category-arizona","category-beach","category-california","category-houston","category-idaho","category-idaho-falls","category-jamestown","category-minot","category-montana","category-nevada","category-new-mexico","category-north-carolina","category-north-dakota","category-redwoods","category-san-antonio","category-sonoran-desert","category-texas","category-utah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3562"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3562"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3793,"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3562\/revisions\/3793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hijenx.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}