The bard referenced is Tom Robbins, the misunderstood region is the Pacific Northwest, more specifically, Western Washington. Even more specifically, the Skagit Valley region of Western Washington.
I particularly liked the poetic part of the article which described the Skagit Valley, a location where I spent all my formative years...
He once said he didn't know the plot of his books before he started writing; you'd be forgiven if you weren't sure of them when you were done reading either.
But then you'd come across a description of the Skagit Valley, where he made his home, and plot seemed secondary.
"It is a landscape in a minor key," he writes in "Another Roadside Attraction." "A sketchy panorama where objects, both organic and inorganic, lack well-defined edges and tend to melt together in a silver-green blur. Great islands of craggy rock arch abruptly out of the flats, and at sunrise and moonrise, these outcroppings are frequently tangled in mist. Eagles nest on the island crowns and blue herons flap through the veils from slough to slough. It is a poetic setting, one which suggests inner meanings and invisible connections."
For decades Tom Robbins lived in the Skagit Valley town of La Conner, which is sort of the Skagit Valley's #1 tourist town. Due to La Conner's waterfront attractions along the Swinomish Channel, with the Rainbow Bridge acting as a scenic backdrop.
Before I moved to Texas I lived in the Skagit Valley town of Mount Vernon, on the east side of that town, a couple miles from Big Rock, it being one of those 'great islands of craggy rock arch abruptly out of the flats", alluded to by Tom Robbins in Another Roadside Attraction.
Hiking to the top of Big Rock was a frequent happening, for me...
Back during the pandemic, on YouTube, I met a New Zealand family who billed themselves as The New Zealand Family. Their YouTube videos I was watching were of a genre known as reaction videos.
The New Zealand Family seemed mostly to be reacting to videos about America.
Here is how The New Zealand Family describes their YouTube channel...
What's up NZedders! We are a family of four from New Zealand who has always had the dream of travelling to America. After the pandemic hit and international travel wasn't an option we decided to explore America and its amazing culture online. Our online family keeps growing and we want to bring you all on our journey as we try, taste and see everything the USA has to offer for the first time! Our goal is to travel to all 50 States and dive deep into what gives each one its own incredible, unique charm.
Well. I knew The New Zealand Family had made it to America, because I'd watched a couple YouTube videos documenting their RV trek up the American West Coast, including the Oregon Coast, where I watched them visit the Sea Lion Caves, finding that interesting, seeing how that attraction had been upgraded since last I was at that location.
Then, last night I saw a new video from The New Zealand Family, titled New Zealand Family see Seattle for the first time (NFL LEGEND AND AMAZING WEATHER!)
Seattle has long been my favorite city. Seattle regularly shows up on lists listing cities for various attributes, like "Best Skylines in the World" or "World's Most Scenic Cities".
I have not been to Seattle since August 14, 2017. At that point in time, I was appalled seeing all the homeless camps as we drove through Seattle on I-5. It was shocking to me.
Well.
In this video from The New Zealand Family I was pleased to learn that those homeless camps are no more, that that problem has been greatly mitigated.
Another thing I enjoyed, watching this video, is it was my first look at the re-built Seattle waterfront, and how it looks now, with the Alaskan Way Viaduct removed. That is what you see in the screencap at the top, the New Zealand mom and dad walking on the Seattle Waterfront, with no double decker elevated highway blocking the view.
A Seattle local acted as the guide for The New Zealand Family, taking them to some of Seattle's well known locations, like Pike Place, the aforementioned waterfront, and the Space Needle.
In the video, The New Zealand Family did not make it to Westlake Center, where they could have ridden the Monorail to Seattle Center and the Space Needle.
They did not make it to Pioneer Square, which is the location of the Seattle Underground, an attraction much talked about in the video, and walking distance from the stadium where the Seahawks do their football thing and the ballpark where the Mariners do their baseball thing.
The New Zealand dad apparently is a big Seahawk fan, and hopes to attend a game, one day, and was real excited to meet a former Seahawk when they were at Pike Place.
They also did not take a ride on the Seattle Link light rail, riding the tunnel through downtown, with its five themed stations, including the one at Westlake Center.
I'm suspecting The New Zealand Family may do another video or two or three of their time in Washington. Driving across one or two of the floating bridges. Crossing one of the mountain passes over the Cascades to Eastern Washington. Going to the Washington Pacific Coast, which is a bit different from the Oregon Coast, and includes Olympic National Park, and the Hoh Rainforest.
Or they may make it to Mount St. Helens. That volcano was discussed in the Seattle video.
