Sense of Smell

If you haven't traveled far from home, you may not have noticed something. I was making this observation a few days ago as we traveled between Southern California and Washington.
As it turns out, just as individual homes have unique smells, so do states. California has a distinct aroma, very different from Oregon. It has been of interest to me for several days.

So, this evening, when I crossed the state line into Montana for the first time in nearly a month, I happened to have the windows cracked and was overwhelmed by the aroma. I hadn't thought of it, wasn't even waiting to notice it. But shortly after crossing into Montana, the truck was filled with Montana's scent. Don't call me crazy! Seriously, it smells different from Idaho, which I had just come out of! And apparently my brain has associated Montana's scent with wonderful happiness, because as soon as I smelled it, my heart just swelled to nearly bursting. I had missed that smell so much!

So a little while ago, when I woke Malcolm up to switch drivers, I was telling him about this. His response was, "You just haven't driven at night. Oregon smells great at night, like pine." So something about the night air brings out the wonderful smells.

But then, he was going to check the tires, and he opened the door, stepped out, started to close the door, and all of a sudden he threw it back open and said, "Wow, it smells really good out here!"

See, told you so!