Freedom in a Can: Adventures with Hamlet

The sun warms my back in a way that it hasn’t since mid-September as we glide through the outskirts of Fritch, TX on our bikes.   The weather in the Midwest has been so cold and icy that it’s been at least a month since we’ve been out for a ride, and it feels amazing to be back in the saddle and wearing shorts .   This is why we made our way to the southwest in December.   The neighborhood through which we ride has probably seen better days.   It’s not the number of trailer homes that give me this feeling, as much as the state that many are in.   Also, vehicles in various life stages parked throughout the properties out numbering the homes at an average of 3 to 1 is a little worrisome, but then again, we’ve lived in Appalachia and have seen plenty of areas where the line between yard, driveway, and kennel gets a little blurred. Drawn as we are to rural areas with vast horizons, we’ve seen pet management strategies of all kinds, so it comes as no surprise when at the top o

“Where are you now?” our friend texts. “Kansas” we reply.  “What’s in Kansas?” “A road to the Southwest,” and it is as unfair as it is true,  but how can I capture my recent discovery for this state in one pithy text?   While crossing the Great Plains it’s easy to get the impression that they occupy the middle of our continent, just for the sake of occupying it; as if their only job is defining either side by keeping them apart.   Like a vast ocean of featureless gray water, we imbue the far shore with a level of beauty that it hasn’t necessarily earned – we’re just so glad to see the limitless horizon broken up by something else.   The front range of Colorado benefits from this, especially as you approach it from the east.   Yeah okay, it’s stunning, and I fall for Boulder’s Flatirons every damn time I see them, but the beauty there is made more so because we’ve traveled across the great grassland.   They stand there completely confident in their aesthetic,