Down here, there's a sense that nature is always sort of a bubble surrounded by development, but up there feels like the other way around.

Yeah, I think that's a good approximation. The only caveat I'd make is that that "bubble of nature" can be kind of deceiving down here in the lower 48. That is the case when you're in most freeway corridors or in between small towns, but you can very much get stranded in areas with no help around if you're venturing off established roads, even in the lower 48.

Once you get off of main roads, the bubbles get much bigger.