Wandering The West

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It's not until you take the notion to drive across this country that you really start to get a feel for just how goddamn big it is. The miles roll by and the odometer starts to get dizzy but the land just keeps going on and on and on. Out the window, the landscape is constantly changing and so are the accents but somehow it's all just one big basket case of a country.

(First two photos) Santa Fe, New Mexico stretches out below Sun Mountain.

In October of 2023 we spent a couple weeks doing just that, headed out to New Mexico in search of the American Dream. Wandered through towns big and small and all the spaces between, but the dream was never seen.

Reading sign saying "All the men and women who made the first atomic bomb passed through this portal to their secret mission at Los Alamos. Their creation in 27 months of the weapons that ended World War II was one of the greatest scientific achievements of all time," as a table full of skulls stare back.

Just relics and remnants, traces of it's passing. Never could quite tell where it went, just that it wasn't there anymore.

Does crypto count as 'Earth currency' ? Asking for a friend.

It was interesting though, you could see the layering of peoples and cultures in much the same way as the rock and sediment of the landscapes you were passing through. Depending on how things had been shaken up in the past determined what was standing out now.

At various points French, Spanish, and American flags have all flown over this city. St. Louis may be the Gateway to the West but we all already know what they say about gateway drugs.

There's some ominous clouds on the horizon around here these days but before long they'll just be another level in the layer cake of history.

With all the hot air it takes to keep these balloons aloft, they may as well be politicians.

With such a seemingly endless string of different people, places, and landscapes it makes you wonder, what makes a country a country?

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There’s nothing like travel to make a person introspective. I’ve driven across the continent as well — several times, actually. And it’s so interesting how you drop into an ecosystem that is both familiar and foreign each time you stop at a different town. And the miles! They just go on and on and on.

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And not just introspective, it really changes how you perceive the world. Right! I was a bit surprised and oddly comforted by how familiar the reservations on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington were, if it wasn't for that damp chill that is Pacific Northwest weather it would have felt just like my native southeastern Kentucky. Ha, the miles indeed, when we were on this trip I kept asking my partner "Can you imagine doing this in a wagon?"

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