Tripping Out West

Day 37: The Color of Home

2008-08-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

Through the rain
and the blur of time
the color of the Merrimack returns.

Day 36: Seeing Cedar Grove

2008-08-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

Honey Locust.
The Catskills.
Thomas Cole's Catskills.

Day 35: By the Time We Got to Woodstock

2008-08-09T14:23:00.000-07:00

I was half-a-million strong (actually, there were three of us).
Woodstock: Mm-Mm-Good!
Beam me up, Scottie.

Day 34: Through the Veil

2008-08-08T03:54:00.000-07:00

My emotions as I pass trhough 217 miles of I-86 in southern New York, definitely the worst stretch of road I experienced on the trip, and possibly the worst I've experienced ever. And mixed with a steady rain that could not drain properly and trucks creating conditions sometimes of no visibility and some of the worst drivers in creation and a frightening landscape of claustrophobic hills saturated in scary deciduous trees (after a steady diet of the open spaces of the west), the result was a blackness of mind, emotion, and heart. Although, perhaps, I was passing through the veil of dreamtime, returning to that state we call reality, after an extended period in an altered consciousness. Or rather consciousness itself. And now I was returning to the dream. Passing through a turbulent wall of pyshic dimensions. Anyways, like Rip Van Winkle, after waking from this blackness, I found myself in the Catskills. With Beverly, Jim, and David.

Day 33: Almost Around the World

2008-08-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

OK, actually, the country. Back in the Good Old Northeast (after OH, PA), Jamestown NY, home of the 1800s Chatauqua Movement, and vita birthplace of Lucille Ball.

Day 32: Mississippi Burning Rubber

2008-08-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

Crossing over the Big Muddy heading irrevocably east.
The New Barns of Illinois.
Crossing roads deja vu all over again.

Day 31: Caucusing Iowa

2008-08-05T17:23:00.000-07:00

Best I could do on the sign.
Corn rows mon.
The sad state of the family farm.
If corn is king, the tree is queen again.

Day 30: Nebraska

2008-08-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly, much of western Nebraska consistes of the Sand Hills.
Which are actually grass-covered sand dunes (85% of which have never been plowed).
But in the rest of Nebraska, this is king (and the great aquifier beneath the land).
From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska, trees begin to sit on the lap of the land.

Day 29: Due East

2008-08-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

Eastern Colorado is definitely not the east though. Says the sagebrush.
And these cattle huddle and concur.
As does the wide open.
And then this good boy (no bad, no ugly) comes to Nebraska.

Day 28: To the Sun

2008-08-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

Called 'America's Mountain' because Katherine Lee Bates was inspired to write the lyrics for 'America the Beautiful' from its summit.
A lake on the mountain; we're headed up there!
Into the alpine.
Where the Big Horn Sheep play, and then rest.
The Summit of Sun Mountain.
Don't Look Down!
Between a cloud and a hard place.

Day 27: Garden of the Sun

2008-08-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Pikes Peak, named for Zebulon Pike, who failed to climb its summit in 1806. But in the native Ute tongue, it translates in English as...
Mountain of the Sun (and I, from now on, will refer to it simply and respectfully as Sun Mountain).
Garden of the...
Gods (a public park in Colorado Springs).
The Garden and Sun Mountain.

Day 26: Rocky Mountain High

2008-07-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

New Mexico landscape frames this sunrise mountain with a serendipitous delight.
Still a southwest landscape in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
The Rockies.
South Park: not the animated series, but high intermontane grassland basin, approx. 10,000 ft in elevation, encompassing 1,000 square miles.
Mining in Cripple Creek.

Day 25: Taos Pueblo and a New View

2008-07-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

San Geronimo Chapel in Taos Pueblo
North Pueblo. Pueblo Mountain, the Sacred Mountain of Taos Pueblo, is furthest to the right.
Red Willow River and South Pueblo.
The cemetery and the original church destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.
Ovens and Ladder.
Something different: San Francisco de Asis Church, Ranchos de Taos. Ansel and Georgia own the rear. I'm claiming the Sphinx-like front and side.

Day 24: Enchanted Circle and Crooked Lines

2008-07-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

Any visitor to Taos must travel the 85 mile loop around Wheeler Peak, NMs highest mt. (Notice the bullet holes, like any sign in the West worth its mettle.)
Actually it wasn't the scenery that was the most moving moment in the circle.
It feels like this might be the only place I didn't go on this trip out west.
Wheeler Peak and a little snow.
Chevron's contribution to making mountain scenery on the Circle: a dis-enchanted molybdenum strip mine.
And a side trip to the Rio Grande Gorge, 800 feet deep, exhibiting the Taos Plateau volcanic field (there will be a test at the end of this blog).

Day 23: The Atomic Road to Taos

2008-07-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Figured I'd check out where it all began, so to speak.
The view from the mesa, but I didn't have clearance to get past the museums and what not.
So this is Taos.
And this is where I slept. After the music, fall out, and what not.

Day 22: Santa Fe; It's More Than a Song to Sing

2008-07-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

It's all about adobe.
And the shops.
And then there's the out-of-place architecture of Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.
And some Spanish killer of course.
But Saint Francis rules the day (he's everywhere in New Mexico)!
And, of course, the adobe.
With a little Georgia O'Keefe (and Ansel as well) thrown in for good measure (the church is another Saint Francis, this one in Taos, stay tuned for my pix of the same).

Day 21: Up on Acoma

2008-07-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Acoma Pueblo on the Mesa.
Mica Window.
The Sacred Mesa as Seen from my Tour Guide's Backyard.
Mission San Esteban Rey, Cemetery, and the Many Little Houses where US Treaties were Signed.
Lintel and Ladder.
My tour guide, Gary (his Indian name does not translate). Because I had come early, I was the only one on that tour. The next one had at least 40 people! Gary was informative and put up with all my questions patiently (although he was very circumspect when it came to traditional religious matters). He gave me his blessings at the end, told me to be good with my grandchildren who would be coming soon, and remember to always live from your heart. I walked back down to the visitor's center, alone and in awe.

Day 20: To Zuni

2008-07-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

Back to New Mexico.
I did not take any pictures at Zuni (I eschewed the $10 permit knowing I was visiting Acoma the next day). I did buy this eagle carving though (picture somewhat blurred). I had stopped at the Turquoise Gallery, on the Rez (and possibly owned by Arabs as more than one Zuni told me [but I never did go in]), but before entering, a dark-skinned Zuni, Averell Lamy, asked me if I wanted to purchase this carving for $20 from his cousin, Jamie Mahootie, who was sitting in a parked and packed pick-up truck next to my car. He introduced me to Jamie, who later, after a walk and talk with Averell to the ATM and back (I had forgot to get cash earlier, expecting rather foolishly that credit card would do me fine [which it would have at the Turquoise Gallery and did in a Zuni gift shop later, but doesn't exactly work with such a street transaction]), and after my telling him my intent was to buy an Eagle carving, told me his name translated as White Eagle.
El Morro National Monument, once Zuni land.

Day 19: More Mesa Verde: Moon Ruin Kiva

2008-07-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

Moon Over Mesa Verde.
Spruce Tree House Black and White
Mesa Verde Eyes
Around Kiva
Spruce Tree House Color

Day 18: Spirit Road Begins

2008-07-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

From Newspaper Rock petroglyphs: Anasazi (pre-1200AD) to Navajo (1700-ish)
To Meas Verde
Where Amazing Anasazi cliff dwelling: Cliff Palace
Lighting Windows on the Anasazi (aka Ancestral Puebloans)
Standing beneath the cliff with history
The actual mesa, Mesa Verde, from my motel

Day 17: Canyonlands: Where the Colorado and the Green Meet

2008-07-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

Island in the Sky region.
On the Colorado River side of things.
View from Mesa Arch; my favorite vista of the whole trip!
Somewhere out there is the Confluence.
Where the Clouds and Land meet.
Meanwhile on the Green River side of things.

Day 16: Utah Kid and The Hole in the Wall Gang

2008-07-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

Called Park Avenue by the Park Services, but it's Desert Solitaire to me.
Called Delicate Arch but it's Bellbottom Reds to me. ("I don't want to fade away.")
The Utah Kid in a Hole in the Wall (quickest draw in Japan no doubt).
Another hole in a rock.
This western is in glorious technicolor!

Day 15: Utah Ah!

2008-07-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Utah! Thank the Mormon's God. I'll take 3.2 beer any day over what's going on in that Sodium and Nevada (I think they tried to poison me).
Things are beginning to look a little more interesting. And colorful.
And brighter.
And way more expansive.
Into the Moab Fault rode the six hundred. And my Civic.

Day 14: Crossing Nevada

2008-07-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

The road.
Begins with salt flats.
Then basin and range and basin and range and desert and desert and desert.
In Eureka, nicest building on this road (amidst run-down casinos and saloons) a bed and breakfast. Closed. But for sale. For anyone who might be interested.
Sage and range and sage and range and sage and sage and sage.
Finally, my motel!

Day 13: On the Eastern Slope of the Sierras

2008-07-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

Yet one more view of Half Dome; this time from the north.
From 10,000 foot Tioga Pass: those Sierras are still nevada!
Big Round Lake: Mono Lake on the eastern side of the Sierras.
Bigger Lake: Lake Tahoe from Emerald Bay on California side. Exactly at the state line begins the country of casinos.
Nevada is anything but snow white. Tomorrow will tell.

Day 12: Pictures in Yosemite Valley

2008-07-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

Yosemite Falls
by Ansel Perry
Upper Yosemite Falls Etched in Stone
Lower Yosemite Falls: X Marks the Spot
by Ansel Perry
Half Dome in Half Frame
by Ansel Perry
Mercy: The Spirit Ghost of Half Dome Over the Merced River

Day 11: Yosemite; Variations on Half Dome

2008-07-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

Half Dome Amidst the High Sierra
Half Dome with Views of Nevada and Vernal Falls
Half Dome Over Yosemite Valley
Half Dome as Great Granite Shaman
Half Dome Driving Seen Through a Civic Open Window

Day 10: Sequoia: How Big Was It?

2008-07-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

It was big enough to drive a car through a sequoia log.
It was big enough to contemplate the universe, while sitting on the bump of a tree.
It was big enough to see the biggest tree on earth. They call it General Sherman. You can call it sir.
It was big enough to climp Morro Rock and its four hundred stairs (admittedly no Yamadera though).
"Hey, you talking to me? Yeah, that's right. Big as a bear!"

And watch the movie if you dare (it includes the little bear as well).

Day 9: A Boy and his Car Went Out Looking for the Rainbow

2008-07-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Soundtrack and lyrics by Van the Man

Goodbye LA from top of Topanga Canyon (former home to Van Morrison and many other musician types), and my way of avoidiing the dreaded 405.
The foothills of the Sierras are literally gold, as those Days of 49 would attest.
Named after Chief Sequoia, a Cherokee.
Strange, almost desert-like look in the upper foothills.
This is actually a baby Sequoia. Smile Miles!
There's gold in them thar hills (Morro Rock) at the end of that rainbow! And it smells like rain, maybe even thunder. Good omen.

Day 8: Beverly...

2008-07-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

Hills That Is: Rodeo Drive and Palm Trees (somewhere there are swimmin pools and movie stars). Does that say SALE?!

Set a spell, Take your shoes off. Shop for new ones.

Happy Shiny People! (I think they recognized us despite our being incognito.)

Not Thoreau's Cabin, and Definitely Not your Run-of-the-Mill Beverly Hills Mansion: The Witch's House.

Not in Beverly Hills: J-Town for Ramen, and a last meal with Roy and Emmy (not shown here [except half Em in reflection], but I think they liked it).

Day 7: This is LA!

2008-07-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

This ain't no disco. It ain't no country club either!
This is one house on Malibu
This is another house on Malibu.
The Getty Villa! The classical meets the beach.
And yet another house: Manhattan Beach

Day Six: In the desert you can remember your name

2008-07-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

Soundtrack by America

Emmy with, umm, I forget (must have been the scorpion bite).
Hasta la vista, baby!
OK, long philosophical treatise; I was much like this palm tree as we began to cross the California desert, which is some of the most evil-looking territory known to humanity. About 25 miles in, I realized we had no water in the car. Panic Attack! (Although I kept it cool from Em.) I mean, really, what was I thinking. Break down, and at the least, you're on a three hour tour. Can you spell deehighdrayshun? Lulled to sleep by modern technology, I suddenly came awake.
The City of Angels is beyond. Just stay away from THE 405!

Day 5: Across the Great Divide

2008-07-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

Across the great divide, just grab your hat, and take that ride. (~Robbie Robertson)
Umm, Emmy stands for a photo, yep, a photo stand.
Used to work in Uncle's feed store / While he was fightin' in the war / Now I'm goin' to Arizona / Ain't gonna work for him no more (~Randy Newman)
Thunderbird: great spirit blessing. Water bird, symbol of renewal of life.
Sedona from I-17. By the time we got to Phoenix, I wasn't taking pictures.

Day Four: And I've been from OK to Tucumcari

2008-07-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Soundtrack written by Lowell George, sung by Linda Rondstadt, and traveled by ourselves. Poetic license about Tucson, though. Maybe someday.
To recap, we began the day here, in OKC.
To I-40 West, entering the Texas panhandle, which would probably be the largest state in New England, but out here, it's an afterthought.
But it's world record flat! Flatter than the bottom of a pan itself, never mind the handle.
Hot tamale! New Mexico! Winner of the best scenery on the interstates award.
And here's some of that best scenery in New Mexico. Leaning ever so cooly in the rain.
Actually here's the best scenery and the best doggone navigator in the west.
Tucumcari: fifteen minutes after we left, the town was under a TORNADOO Watch. Link (careful, language!)
On the road to Santa Fe. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera when we walked around. But, believe me when I say, it was beautiful.

Day Three: Everything is OK

2008-07-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

Rain over the Arche.
God, Guts, Guns, and a Honda Civic Make America
OK is OK

Day Two: Ohi-wayConstruction-o

2008-07-07T17:37:00.001-07:00

Ohio, where we will be for the next 400 miles or so, 500 of which were under construction.
O-flag-o
Lincoln played here.
An interstate kind of mind: another mile,, another state sign.
Farms!
And more farms. (Effingham is effing nice, by the way.)

Day One: Erie is Eerie

2008-07-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

And so begins the big trip.

The road is leading one way: west.
New York is so historic.
Proof positive that I did not do all the driving.
And we welcomed Pennsylvania as well.

No pictures of Erie though; just too damned eerie is all.