--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But I got a great deal else from the…" description: "\"But I got a great deal else from the experience. I learned to pitch a tent and sleep beneath the stars. For a brief, proud period I was slender and fit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/bill-bryson-340_america_but-i-got-a-great-deal-else-from-the-exp_1014367.png" --- # But I got a great deal else from the experience. I learned… ![“But I got a great deal else from the experience. I learned to pitch a tent and sleep beneath the stars. For a brief, proud period I was slender and fit. I gained a profound respect for the wilderness and nature and the benign dark power of woods. I understand now, in a way I never did before, the…” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/bill-bryson-340_america_but-i-got-a-great-deal-else-from-the-exp_1014367.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/bill-bryson-340_america_but-i-got-a-great-deal-else-from-the-exp_1014367.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06a/bill-bryson-340_america_but-i-got-a-great-deal-else-from-the-exp_1014367.png) > “But I got a great deal else from the experience. I learned to pitch a tent and sleep beneath the stars. For a brief, proud period I was slender and fit. I gained a profound respect for the wilderness and nature and the benign dark power of woods. I understand now, in a way I never did before, the colossal scale of the world. I found patience and fortitude that I didn't know I had. I discovered an America that millions of people scarcely know exists. I made a friend. I came home.” [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author discovers personal growth and reverence for nature through wilderness experience, gaining patience, humility, and a broader worldview. **In simple terms:** Nature trip taught humility and patience. Key Takeaway Embrace outdoor challenges for self‑discovery. Themes nature self‑discovery humility patience perspective Mood reflective inspired Type personal growth nature narrative When to use this quote - travel - solo camping - physical fitness - mental endurance Key Concepts Wilderness immersion personal resilience Questions to Reflect On - What does wilderness reveal about yourself? - How can you integrate nature’s lessons daily? A Different Perspective Physical limits can be harsh; preparation matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Fortitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortitude/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) [Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woods/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“I mean it. Aside from the old coastal cities, which in Australia are still very young themselves, what you have is a vast stretch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-starbuck/i-mean-it-aside-from-the-old-coastal-cities-which-in-australia-are/) [Sam Starbuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-starbuck/) > [Bunkum and tummyrot! You'll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that. Would Columbus have discovered America if he'd said 'What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/bunkum-and-tummyrot-you-ll-never-get-anywhere-if-you-go-about-what/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue and discovered America. Now, some have argued Columbus actually discovered the West Indies, or that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/in-fourteen-hundred-ninety-two-columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-and/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [So Columbus said, somebody show me the sunset and somebody did and he set sail for it, And he discovered America and they put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/so-columbus-said-somebody-show-me-the-sunset-and-somebody-did-and-he/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [What a pity, when Christopher Columbus discovered America, that he ever mentioned it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-asquith/what-a-pity-when-christopher-columbus-discovered-america-that-he-ever/) [Margot Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-asquith/) > [“called Forest Park—and it was a forest, probably not much different in appearance from what it was when Columbus discovered America. I frequently walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/called-forest-park-and-it-was-a-forest-probably-not-much-different-in/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Cod is more responsible for the discovery of the New World than almost anything else. Drove the Vikings across the North Atlantic, and John…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/cod-is-more-responsible-for-the-discovery-of-the-new-world-than/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [What a pity, when Christopher Colombus discovered America, that he ever mentioned it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-asquith/what-a-pity-when-christopher-colombus-discovered-america-that-he-ever/) [Margot Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-asquith/) > [“Oh, you may be sure that Columbus was happy not when he had discovered America, but when he was discovering it. Take my word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/oh-you-may-be-sure-that-columbus-was-happy-not-when-he-had-discovered-2/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“We say that Columbus discovered America and Newton discovered gravity, as though America and gravity weren't there until Columbus and Newton got wind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/we-say-that-columbus-discovered-america-and-newton-discovered-gravity-2/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) > [Captain Cook discovered Australia looking for the Terra Incognita. Christopher Columbus thought he was finding India but discovered America. History is full of events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/captain-cook-discovered-australia-looking-for-the-terra-incognita/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“Oh, you may be sure that Columbus was happy not when he had discovered America, but when he was discovering it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/oh-you-may-be-sure-that-columbus-was-happy-not-when-he-had-discovered/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [We say that Columbus discovered America and Newton discovered gravity, as though America and gravity weren't there until Columbus and Newton got wind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/we-say-that-columbus-discovered-america-and-newton-discovered-gravity/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) > [It seems stupid to have discovered America only to make it into a copy of another country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/it-seems-stupid-to-have-discovered-america-only-to-make-it-into-a/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [When America has been discovered in America it will be discovered in Europe. They are looking for America now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/when-america-has-been-discovered-in-america-it-will-be-discovered-in/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) ## More by Bill Bryson > [Most big companies don't like you very much, except hotels, airlines and Microsoft, which don't like you at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/most-big-companies-don-t-like-you-very-much-except-hotels-airlines/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“But Welsh spellings are as nothing compared with Irish Gaelic, a language in which spelling and pronunciation give the impression of having been devised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/but-welsh-spellings-are-as-nothing-compared-with-irish-gaelic-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Pantaloons were often worn tight as paint and were not a great deal less revealing, particularly as they were worn without underwear. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/pantaloons-were-often-worn-tight-as-paint-and-were-not-a-great-deal/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“The dining table was a plain board called by that name. 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For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“A diarist named George Templeton Strong recorded in the winter of 1866 that even with two furnaces alight and all the fireplaces blazing, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/a-diarist-named-george-templeton-strong-recorded-in-the-winter-of/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Nobody gets excited about the future at all, ever. The future is something we find depressing and worrisome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/nobody-gets-excited-about-the-future-at-all-ever-the-future-is/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“What made this particularly interesting is that John Howard is by far the dullest man in Australia. Imagine a very committed funeral home director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/what-made-this-particularly-interesting-is-that-john-howard-is-by-far/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-would-make-a-genuinely-terrible-guide-i-can-t-remember-things-i/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“In the mystifying world that was Victorian parenthood, obedience took precedence over all considerations of affection and happiness, and that odd, painful conviction remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/in-the-mystifying-world-that-was-victorian-parenthood-obedience-took/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-this-book-has-a-lesson-it-is-that-we-are-awfully-lucky-to-be-here/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) [Explore all 656 Bill Bryson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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