Independent Reading Post #3: Canberra, Australia vs. Gardiner, Montana (Prompt 10, Ch 5-6)

For a majority of this section of the book, Bryson spends his time in the Australian capital, Canberra, which he describes as "interesting, parklike, and curiously much scorned" (67). Bryson's account of his experiences in Canberra remind me of my own experiences in Montana in several ways.


^^^^^^ Canberra, Australia (image source: http://images.realtravel.com)


^^^^^^^ Gardiner, Montana (image source: http://api.ning.com)

From the way that Bryson describes the location and geography of Canberra, some obvious parallels can be drawn to the small town/city of Gardiner, Montana. Both Gardiner and Canberra are remote residential areas that are both reached by highways that roll through a mountainous landscape. Bryson describes the highway ride to Canberra as unusually enjoyable because of the two lane highways that put the drivers face-to-face with the vast landscape that surrounds them. Gardiner, being about about two hours away from the closest major airport, is also reached through a long highway ride through the rockies. To add to the cities' geographical commonalities, both Gardiner and Canberra were built with a river snaking right through them.

Both cities are trapped in the interior of their country, which gives them a dated feeling, as described by Bryson, who upon leaving Sydney felt immediately drawn back into his childhood. His description of his surroundings on the way to Canberra made it sound as though everything there was much simpler than typical city life. Part of what took Bryson aback was the atypical lighting that he describes as "the kind of pure, undiffused light that can come only from a really hot blue sky" (69-70). In Gardner, Montana, the light and the big blue sky are the very first things that any tourist will notice.

One thing that Bryson mentions that I could immediately relate to was his description of reading the morning paper in Canberra. After picking up the paper in a local cafe, Bryson says, "I can think of nothing more exciting... than to read newspapers from a part of the world you know almost nothing about" (71). Gardiner, Montana was so drastically different than the Philadelphia life that I am so accustomed to that reading their local newspaper and being in the middle of the Rockies felt like a different part of the world, and even the content of the newspaper was incredibly different than that of the Inquirer or the New York Times. Going to Gardiner certainly gave me an appreciation for how different newspapers of different regions are, so I can definitely say that I share Bryson's fascination for news sources outside of my own paper.

Neither Gardiner nor Canberra come anywhere close to being a significant tourist attraction, yet both towns still hold plenty to see. Gardiner holds the entrance to Yellowstone National Park, and Canberra is home to Australia's most important political establishments. When Bryson was searching for some of Canberra's more exciting historical sites, it was shocking to the inhabitants of the city that someone actually came to the museum or to some of the political sites, as visitors are very infrequent. As a tourist in Gardiner, I had exactly the same feeling that the people living there couldn't help but ask themselves what a family of five was doing vacationing in such a small, random place.

Lastly, I can also relate to Bryson's feelings of isolation in Canberra. Bryson indicated that aside from a local pub, Canberra had almost nowhere to go, which is the same feeling that anyone who travels to Gardiner will get. Both towns have remained very isolated and have not appeared to age much over the past fifty or so years. Although they are thousands of miles away from each other, Canberra and Gardiner hold many similarities and seem to be incredibly alike.