David Leff, retired deputy commissioner of Connecticut DEP, now a columnist and author, spent his 2004 summer retracing Henry David Thoreau’s excursions on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.
The result is Deep Travel, a book filled with keen observations and the resulting stew of his thoughts about the journey.
" . . . Deep travel is about heightened awareness. It is careful looking. It is paying attention to what is around you."
"Deep travel is not so much a matter of seeing sights as it is sightseeking. It is searching for the patterns and juxtapositions of culture and nature and delighting in the incongruities left by the inexorable passage of time.
"Deep travelers look not so much for scenery or enchanting objects as for a tapestry of comprehension woven from stone walls, retail establishments, street and topographical names, transportation networks, building styles, plant and animal assemblages, advertising signs and other artifacts. Each element makes a statement about the landscape . . . Together they tell a story."
Published by University of Iowa Press, the book is part of the American Land and Life Series.
Walking by the Connecticut River, here's a place to ramble after reading Leff's musings.Because once you start looking, brownstone is everywhere in the Connecticut River Valley region. There's the river to transport heavy cargo, wheeled genius machines to leverage tons of quarried stone to the landing on the water - all remnants of an industry that is now much more quiet, though still active.
