“It should not be denied... that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led West." - Wallace Stegner
I could have not said it better myself. The most rugged, raw and fresh ideals have been discovered by those who have found themselves in the West. From California's golden beaches that graze the waters of the pacific, to Arizona's desolate and vision questing deserts, to the mysterious beauty of Utah's red rocks, it's Colorado's rock solid rocky giants that push far into the wild Montana skies that brings about an awakening. It's all the same when you lose yourself in the wilderness and spirit of the West only to find yourself for the first time deep within.
How could one define the West? By capitalizing the word itself shows an implication of it's power and gives it a sense of scope. That scope begins somewhere in South Dakota's Black Hills or at the edge of Colorado's Rockies. It takes you from New Mexico's magical high desert to the unique powers of Wyoming's Yellowstone. Oregon and Washington hold a magic deep within their moss covered greenery, a spirit of fairies and fire...but it's California that for me has seemed to have the best of all the Western states combined.
The words spoken of "Go West, young man" have been used in music, movies, books and other forms of artistic expression but it seems to not only apply to men but women as well and it appears to be the fuel of a free spirit or outside the box thinker.
On a level of intuition and spiritual guidance the West represents a place to deeply connect with one's inner voice, a place to discover one's own psychic abilities as it seems to amplify the laws of science and physics for many.
On a level of logic and intellect the West can create an environment to push people to see what is beyond the next mountain top or how to find beauty within a land that does not support the physical life force but only the spirit of a human, the desert.
In early America people arrived on the east coast in places such as Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and South Carolina. There was a time when eastern Kentucky's "Cumberland Gap" was considered the wild west. But it was the most rugged adventurists that forged the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon or those that chose to look for gold in the mountains of Colorado and California. There is something in the spirit of adventure that the east and mid west both lack, a sense of originality and freedom would appear to be more stifled in many regions back east.
While I do enjoy certain areas in the east such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia none of them seem to hold the power of the states that stand west of the rocky mountains. For me, there is nothing better than driving across the great plains and deep into the mountains. I have done this on numerous occasions and have done so via South Dakota's black hills, Colorado's rocky mountains and New Mexico's high desert/Cimmaron Canyon.
The power that rushes within is indescribable as the straight line roads begin to twist and turn and the landscape starts to elevate almost as if you were ascending beyond just the physical realm. You can cross many miles of wide open spaces and all types of terrains before arriving on the golden coast of California, Oregon or Washington.
Back east there is a hustle and bustle, a repressive feeling in places like Washington DC, New York City, Chicago and Florida. A hurried, frantic and materialistic lifestyle. A sense of people lacking awakening to the adventures that are yet to be had in the wild west.
When I return to the west from back east I always feel a sense of adventure and gratitude, to know that I'm returning home to "God's country", to a place where people treat one another with an overall better sense of humanity, a place that speaks boldly, a place that doesn't have a disconnected negative attitude and a place where anything is possible.
When the people back east, who tend to be smaller minded and more negative tell the people in the West something can't be done or something isn't possible the people of the West say "Watch me!!". It's that very attitude from both parties that have paved the path they now walk. East represents complacency, a sense of settling for what was first discovered or what was first offered up to one's consciousness. West represents adventure, freedom, personal inner spiritual ascension, defying the odds of what people said couldn't be done and DOING IT(even in times much less technologically advanced than now), plus the scenery is far superior!
A friend of mine who is a native of Washington state once said to me while visiting her "We are the descendants of rugged pioneers, people who ventured as far West as they could go". This friend, who lives on San Juan Island which is about as far West as you can go in this country also said to me in response to me telling her everyone kept telling me to "Go West, young man" over the years; "Now that you've come about as far West as you can..go within, young man." and it's that very attitude from a native Westerner that speaks volume about what "Going West" or the magic of the West itself represents.
Many of my friends over the years have grown up in the east or mid west and have found home in places such as Colorado, Arizona and Washington. I love all of the West but it really comes down to California for me, it's the only place I have ever felt at home and without growing up in the east I would have never had the blessing of contrast to know just what I was missing but now that I'm here, I don't ever want to leave.
If you live in the east and are in search of answers that lie within, come visit any one of the wonderful western states and watch it change your life forever.
-Zachary Hill 2011(C)
Written: Big Bear Lake, California 2011
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