Sometimes we just have to get away from the city lights and traffic, and go somewhere just a little bit different. For me that place was West Chazy and someof the surrounding areas. The West Chazy and Altoona area is a fascinating mix of suburbia and exburbia, mostly flat but also hilly in places.

In many ways it does much to liberate you from the mind of the city. You go along Military Turnpike for miles, and it's as straight as can be. You see farms, houses, trailers, and a variety of just normal people who are living their lives relatively unrestricted and free. You feel the sweeping curves as your truck goes barrelling down the highway at 60 miles per hour.

You could make the argument that none of this area is particularly unique. There are lots of imporvished rural areas in New York, not that far from a small city. Go out to the Tugg Hill Plateau, and you'll find many a mile of rolling farm country, mixed with some bigger hills.

The threat of big government and authority never is far away, as I pass a County Sherriff on Military Turnpike or have to slow down to go through one of those little small towns that for too many of us are just non-existant dots on a map. Most people probably have never seen West Chazy or could care the least bit about a rather non-descript location.

I realize I've never gotten that far from the city and urban life as I starton back. Before I know it I've made it back to Tom Miller Road, the non-discript commericalized strip, and Champlain Centre, a mall about as commericalized andboring as they get. Unlike the many farms and small houses outside of Plattsburgh, Champlain Centre has nothing special about it, just the same old stores. Possibly the only unique expression of the area there is Gander Mountain—the hunting and fishing store.