Taking the slow road. Curious if anyone else's Factorio experience is similar?

So I've been playing for about 2 1/2 months, logged about 120 hours. I originally bought the game 3-4 years ago, but I remember opening it... And feeling overwhelmed. But I had a long 7 hour train ride so it was perfect for me to dive in.

I have intentionally not watched any videos on Factorio. Outside of occasionally things like how the train traffice lights work, etc. What I love about the game is the slow grind/progression as you begin to understand how things work, and better ways of doing things. For example, the logistic problem of bottle necks on production lines and how to alleviate that. And, I'm sure if I watched YouTube videos, my factory would be a 1000 times more efficient... But there's a real joy as I return to various parts of the factory that I made like ages ago, and realize how much I've learned since that point. But I been playing at a snail's pace.

When it got to about 4 science packs, I stopped researching and have been branching out. I've established 3 smaller satellite bases connected by trains. Each mining something different and bringing it back to the main site. Also, since I've been moving slow, I've got like 3k solar panels and like 4k accumulators so my factory entirely solar. I've also gotten so adept at manning my tank with laser turrets that I can destroy almost any nest in like 30-60 seconds. I now just am getting back to research (I just researched Nuclear Power), The bugs haven't gotten that bad. I didn't realize that they actually get stronger over time. I'm assuming because I've been using so much solar since so early in the game their mutation hasn't moved as quickly.

I sometimes wonder if I'm doing all this wrong as I bumble through my sprawling factory. Also I am kind of amazed at how long everything takes to set up. Each project is a few hours of time. I understand there's an "end" to the game, but I sorta of treat it as a relaxing sand-box of never ending projects/learning.

I haven't even gotten to Space Age or Mods yet.