For many of us, it has become part of life.
“We’re running down to Fresno.”
It’s a phrase heard every week in coffee shops, grocery store aisles, workplaces, and conversations with neighbors throughout our mountain communities.
Sometimes it’s for Costco.
Sometimes it’s Home Depot.
Sometimes it’s a doctor’s appointment, a concert, the airport, or a shopping trip.
Other times, it’s simply because the thing we’re looking for isn’t available closer to home.
It’s such a normal part of living in our mountain communities that most of us hardly think about it anymore.
But maybe it’s worth asking why.
Some Things Will Always Be Worth the Trip
Let’s be realistic.
No one expects Oakhurst, Coarsegold, North Fork, Bass Lake, Ahwahnee, Fish Camp, or Mariposa to become Fresno.
Nor would most residents want them to.
Larger cities will always offer things that smaller mountain communities simply can’t—major hospitals, universities, large entertainment venues, major shopping centers, and an international airport.
That’s one of the benefits of living within driving distance of a larger city.
But not every trip down the hill falls into that category.
What Keeps Pulling Us Away?
What if we asked a different question?
Instead of asking what our communities are missing, what are the reasons we leave them?
Is it another restaurant? A specialty retailer? Healthcare? Family entertainment? Clothing stores? A place to meet friends on a Friday evening?
Maybe it’s not even a business.
Maybe it’s more community events. More live music. More opportunities for young families. More reasons to spend a Saturday afternoon close to home.
The answers are probably different for every person reading this.
Every Trip Tells a Story
Every time we drive to Fresno, we’re spending more than gasoline.
We’re spending our time. We’re making memories somewhere else. We’re supporting businesses somewhere else.
Again, that’s not always a bad thing.
Sometimes it’s exactly what larger cities are there for.
But every trip also tells a story.
Sometimes that story is unavoidable. Other times, it raises an interesting question.
If enough of us are making the same trip for the same reason, what does that tell us about the needs of our mountain communities?
Patterns Worth Paying Attention To
Imagine if hundreds of people all answered this question.
Would the most common reason be healthcare? Shopping? Live music? Family entertainment? A favorite restaurant?
Or would we discover needs that haven’t even crossed most of our minds?
The answers probably wouldn’t be the same for every community.
What residents hope for in North Fork may be very different from what people would like to see in Oakhurst, Coarsegold, Bass Lake, Ahwahnee, Fish Camp, or Mariposa.
That’s part of what makes our mountain communities unique.
Perhaps the value isn’t in finding one answer.
Perhaps it’s in discovering the patterns.
Because patterns have a way of telling us what matters most.
Maybe the Conversation Isn’t About Fresno at All
Perhaps this isn’t really a story about Fresno.
Maybe it’s a story about understanding ourselves.
About recognizing the choices we make every week and asking what they reveal about life in our mountain communities.
Maybe the answers simply help us better understand the communities we call home.
Or maybe hidden within those answers are opportunities.
After all, many successful businesses, community events, nonprofits, and local traditions begin by recognizing a need that already exists.
Some people call it a simple philosophy:
Find a need and fill it.
That’s a conversation for another day.
Today, we’re simply curious.
Sierra News Online Wants to Hear From You
What’s the number one reason you drive to Fresno?
If you could eliminate just one trip down the hill by adding something closer to home, what would it be?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
We may feature some of the most common answers in a follow-up story as we continue exploring what matters most to our mountain communities.
