#214 Paths and Roads

 

The topic for this post—late as it is—is paths and roads, the highways and byways we choose or are forced to travel. This topic is dictated by the current path Anne and I have had to travel recently. It’s a path littered with boxes and bags filled with too many things—extra clothes, dishes, books, photos, hats and much, much more. We’ve chosen to move into a single floor home from a three story home and thus have been forced to downsize from three bedrooms and a basement to two bedrooms and a den (small bedroom size but no window). And neither of us have been good about throwing or giving things away.

With fantastic help from Anne’s sister, her husband and son, Anne’s cousin from Redmond, and various friends, we’ve managed to get everything out of our house of 38 years and put it somewhere in storage, the new garage, or the new house. Now comes the next hard task of deciding what we need to and can keep, and what must go to family, friends, and favored local charities. It’s long road, but we’ve chosen it and are happy with our choice.

That leads me to the path for this post. I’ve poured over files of photos (digitals are easy keepers) for interesting paths and roads we’ve taken in the past. Hopefully, the paths and roads I find in may files will remind you of choices you’ve made and paths you’ve traveled. And may those bring back good memories for you. 

I’ll begin and end our travels with parts of the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. In between I hope to present some salient comments to guide our way.

The Road Not Taken   by Robert Frost

“Two road diverge in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both…” 

A younger Anne hiking the Cascade mountains in the early 1970s.

The Birks of Aberfeldy

A darling belle and lovely Scottish bluebells.

A typical path through an old Scottish forest.

“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”  —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Danger Road in Colorado.

The beech road into Drummond Castle near Crieff in central Scotland.

Birch forest in Cairngorm National Park, Scotland.

The Bridge to Nowhere on Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides -- the road literally ends after you cross the bridge.

“Roads are a record of those who have gone before.”  —Rebecca Solnit, writer,   historian, activist

Dunnattor Castle

The climb to the fifth green at St Fillans GC, Scotland--many attempt it, few make it.

Heavy traffic on the Glen Lyon road. Guess who has the right of way.

Leadhills, Scotland, is one of the highest villages in the UK.

“People don’t take trips, trips take people.”  —John Steinbeck

Branklyn Garden path, Perth, Scotland.

Highland Gate

Farm road in Sma'glen, Scotland.

Tree tunnel near the east coast of Scotland south of Aberdeen.

“I may not have ended up where I intended to go, but I think I’ve ended up where I intended to be.”  —Douglas Adams

The myriad of paths at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley.

A unique path at Johnston Creek near Banff, Alberta, Canada.

Glen Lyon, the longest glen in Scotland.

Rush hour in Glen Quaich, Highlands.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” Lewis Carroll

Path into the Red Cullins, Isle of Skye.

This path leads to the oldest capital of Scotland, Dunadd.

Yewe shall go no farther!

“…Two roads diverged a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference.”

NEXT: Scotland May Be Calling