So, as I sit here, listening to some Sister Hazel via acoustic, I wanted to get down some thoughts I had.
A little bit ago I was out north of Laramie, thinking the sunset conditions were pretty good. It was and I got some pretty good shots - flickr.com/photos/jamyam
Anywho, the part I wanted to write down was when I was out there, there was a couple of moments where it was completely silent. The only thing I "heard" was the wind blowing into my ears. And then I thought...hm...when was the last time it was this quiet? The only recent time I could think of that was when I went snow shoeing with Laura and her family in the Snowy's. I remember standing there and it was totally quiet...or was it? Not completely 100%. Why? I heard cars off the distance...it's amazing how far away you can hear cars from.
[Ugh, let me go let Kip out, he's barking...]
Ok, back. So, back to what I was saying. Even when the cars were like a 1/2+ mile away, I could hear them. It was kinda...annoying. Standing out in the middle of nowhere (basically) and hearing noise is probably one of the worst things. But, when the cars didn't come by for like a few minutes, it was crazy silent. It's cliche, but it really was deafening silence. It was a nice moment of relaxation, I guess.
When you think about it - when does an "average" person ever experience total silence? I say almost never, unless you're the outdoor type, and even then it's hard to get unless you're in places where few ever are. Even when you think things are silent, I'm sure there is a lot of noise that you just don't register...ambient noise of the computer fan, cars in the distance making a slight hum, even a light bulb's noise.
I can't wait to go on our 2-day backpacking trip...yes, I'm dreading the few hour hike in, then out, but this should be a place where I shouldn't hear cars for miles. I won't have anything electronic with me. Things will be TOTALLY silent, aside from the animals, if any, that are scouring around. The wilderness is a cool place...thoughts and moments like this make me like choosing Natural Resources as a major.
I think it should be everyone's goal in life to experience silence some time in their life, whether it be to reflect, get away, whatever. Enjoy the outdoors while we have it.
Well, Laura's back...and we still need to do a lot to get ready for our Baltimore trip!
