A bit more: "...I can navigate from "HD" always as my starting point with the left/right arrows...."
Or by scrolling.
Hmmm... I just found that double-clicking on a folder on my desktop opens it in gallery view.
You'll be able to get a semblance of what you're looking for, but I suspect that it will take a bunch of experimentation to learn all of gallery view's "features."
The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.
In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire