Nostalgia

I grew up in a town of 350 people, 15 miles from the nearest stoplight, 7 streets and 4 stop signs.  Cedar Fort is nestled in the mountains west of Lehi, Utah and the quickest way to get there is driving through the middle of Lehi.  K-5 we had our own elementary with a grand total of 50-75 kids.  6-12 we were bussed to Lehi to attend school. I have quite the heritage in Cedar Fort: I grew up there, my dad grew up there, my grandparents grew up there (and I don't know how far it goes back from there).  I claim Lehi as my hometown because I got sick of explaining where Cedar Fort is.  About in 8th-ish grade Eagle Mountain started building between Cedar Fort and Lehi.  This area between the two towns was nothing until then.  Since then it has boomed into quite the area and adding Saratoga Springs which between the two cites has added stoplights, gas stations, multiple restaurants, a Smith's and the dreaded Wal-mart.

This weekend I made the journey from St. George to Utah county to visit my beloved family.  I truly miss living here and often wonder how our lives would be different if I took the teaching job in Nebo School District instead of Washington County School District.  I love St. George and we'll probably be there for a long time.  But I love my family as well and miss being so far away from them.  Anyway, as I made my journey home I was excited to see all the "old place" and reminiscence about the old days.  Then I came to Utah County.  All of a sudden the traffic was horrible and then I knew why I wanted to stay in St. George!  The weather AND the traffic.  Cars zooming past at an alarming speed, unable to switch lanes because of a car two lanes over trying to get into the same lane I wanted to be in and pretty sure they don't know I'm there or having my turn signal on!  As I approached Lehi I knew it was only going to get use.  Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs had brought a lot of growth (which I've never liked) and adding a ton of traffic to it.

Let me paint you a picture: remember in paragraph one how I said traveling through the middle of Lehi is the quickest (and best) was to get to Cedar Fort?  Yeah, same applies to Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs.  Lehi's main street is 4 lanes across as you get off the freeway as you travel west into the downtown and travel past the high school it goes down to a 2 lane highway--one east and one west.  You can't really expand because the street goes right up to the businesses that line Main Street.  Traveling the back roads will only eventually lead you back into the horrendous traffic build-up eventually because a ton of people have made Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs their homes.  You can take the backroads, just don't know if the time it takes to travel it, is faster than waiting in traffic.  There's so much traffic through here!  I can't believe the growth that has happened in my hometown(s).  I bet the people that have stayed or that live there now know of the different shortcuts, but I haven't lived here for 9 years! (Wow that has come fast!)

Yep, I'm glad I live in St. George now!