Driving, driving, driving… I write tonight from a hotel somewhere in Washington. I drove through Idaho, Montana, and Idaho again. I made one stop in Butte, Montana, where I had lunch, walked around a bit and went on an underground history tour. More about that later.

In the 10 minutes or so I walked through town, 2 random people on the street said hello to me and smiled. What the??? This isn’t Boston. The old people on the tour with me were very friendly as well. It’s an entirely different mindset that pervades life here. As I was preparing to leave the campsite this morning, a man approached me and asked about my Massachusetts license plate. He said he moved here (to Idaho) 15 years ago from Mass. and he’ll never go back. Hey buddy, I’m thinking exactly the same way…