Showing posts with label road trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label road trip. Show all posts
6/21/19
7/11/15
7/8/15
11/2/14
10/17/14
9/29/14
10/13/13
9/15/13
Aperture
An opening light travels through...
For awhile now it has seemed it was time for me to breakaway and undertake a passage from one frame of mind to another. Just in time the opportunity has come where I am free of commitments for a short while. I'm heeding the call to clear my head and take a break from the routine I've settled too comfortably into. It is a temporary respite but one of a decent duration and I'm seizing the moment to follow the light.
For a little while I'm going to turn away from the internet and the social web, go soak my feet in the Pacific Ocean, drive up to the high desert and hike, sit by one of the few free flowing rivers in the West or whatever captures my attention. Take time to visit and chat with people I haven't engaged in face to face conversation for a spell and listen to what others are thinking. Call it escapism, rejuvenation, shedding skin, going back to basics, take your pick. If I feel like it I'll upload some visual art, write a blog post or verse and if I don't, well I won't. Nothing is permanent, everything changes, life is as amazing as we make it and I want to put some awe back into my consciousness.
I'm attached to this website therefore I would never be foolish enough to call it quits but I am taking a hiatus until...well, I'm not exactly sure but I suspect it won't be very long so "Watch This Space." Usually these transitional periods in my life put more ideas in my head that I'm compelled to express.
For awhile now it has seemed it was time for me to breakaway and undertake a passage from one frame of mind to another. Just in time the opportunity has come where I am free of commitments for a short while. I'm heeding the call to clear my head and take a break from the routine I've settled too comfortably into. It is a temporary respite but one of a decent duration and I'm seizing the moment to follow the light.
For a little while I'm going to turn away from the internet and the social web, go soak my feet in the Pacific Ocean, drive up to the high desert and hike, sit by one of the few free flowing rivers in the West or whatever captures my attention. Take time to visit and chat with people I haven't engaged in face to face conversation for a spell and listen to what others are thinking. Call it escapism, rejuvenation, shedding skin, going back to basics, take your pick. If I feel like it I'll upload some visual art, write a blog post or verse and if I don't, well I won't. Nothing is permanent, everything changes, life is as amazing as we make it and I want to put some awe back into my consciousness.
I'm attached to this website therefore I would never be foolish enough to call it quits but I am taking a hiatus until...well, I'm not exactly sure but I suspect it won't be very long so "Watch This Space." Usually these transitional periods in my life put more ideas in my head that I'm compelled to express.
8/1/13
3/5/13
8/6/12
4/4/12
1/10/12
People of the Ponderosa Pine
Route 66: Hualapai Indian Reservation...
Heading to Peach Springs Arizona through the Mohave High Desert.
Heading to Peach Springs Arizona through the Mohave High Desert.
12/2/11
10/23/11
Get Your Kicks
On Route 66...
Road Trip!
Leaving for the week on a road trip to Northern Arizona to shoot photography and video as well as do some historical and geographical research. Taking state highways to Paulden, the back road from Drake to Flagstaff. Then west to Williams on I-40 through to Ash Fork and at Seligman picking up Route 66 to Kingman. Return trip on the infamous "Highway of Death" US 93 back to Phoenix. See you later!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCYApJtsyd0
Road Trip!
Leaving for the week on a road trip to Northern Arizona to shoot photography and video as well as do some historical and geographical research. Taking state highways to Paulden, the back road from Drake to Flagstaff. Then west to Williams on I-40 through to Ash Fork and at Seligman picking up Route 66 to Kingman. Return trip on the infamous "Highway of Death" US 93 back to Phoenix. See you later!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCYApJtsyd0
10/21/11
There Is No Place
Like Our Place...
Since 2008 I have been taking road trips through Arizona, New Mexico and the Inland Empire of California sometimes alone and other times with my partner. During my trips I talk with local people, observe local color as well as visit friends and make new ones. I've also watched the area change during this economic period and how it has affected people and the landscape. It is clear there has not been an economic recovery or that we are merely in a double dip but in some sort of disruptive economic contraction that is of greater magnitude and will take time to resolve. The question now is how do we cope and make the best use of what we have and keep ourselves alive and prosperous in mind and spirit?
There are pockets on the map that are doing fairly well, some in a temporary mini-boom. The majority of places of any size are at a minimum in a holding pattern of stagnation at best while there are areas that are clearly in a doomsday bust. You see it in small things such as service at a decent hotel is slightly degraded to entire blocks of buildings empty, broken down and facilities lacking. The most telling thing is people and what is in their eyes.
Many people are clearly not doing or handling the downturn well. There are others who keep going through their daily routine seemingly happy enough but you can sense by looking in their eyes many of them have troubles. Others eyes are clear and bright, full of the knowledge that times are getting tougher but there is still life to live and make the most of. Those are the people I'm drawn to and hold fascinating conversations with about the condition of our region and how to make the best of it.
The mainstream media, politicians and special interest groups would have us believe all kinds of things about each other. One thing that has been consistent in travelling this region as time has tattered and worn down structures and people is the resilience of a significant percentage of the population. That has not changed. They come in all sizes and shapes, colors and age but all of them carry a spirit that is healthy to be around. These are the people I'm surrounding myself with to maintain a high level of energy and optimism so I may return the favor. In the long term our place is in our minds and souls and how we choose to preserve and uplift ourselves and others.
Since 2008 I have been taking road trips through Arizona, New Mexico and the Inland Empire of California sometimes alone and other times with my partner. During my trips I talk with local people, observe local color as well as visit friends and make new ones. I've also watched the area change during this economic period and how it has affected people and the landscape. It is clear there has not been an economic recovery or that we are merely in a double dip but in some sort of disruptive economic contraction that is of greater magnitude and will take time to resolve. The question now is how do we cope and make the best use of what we have and keep ourselves alive and prosperous in mind and spirit?
There are pockets on the map that are doing fairly well, some in a temporary mini-boom. The majority of places of any size are at a minimum in a holding pattern of stagnation at best while there are areas that are clearly in a doomsday bust. You see it in small things such as service at a decent hotel is slightly degraded to entire blocks of buildings empty, broken down and facilities lacking. The most telling thing is people and what is in their eyes.
The mainstream media, politicians and special interest groups would have us believe all kinds of things about each other. One thing that has been consistent in travelling this region as time has tattered and worn down structures and people is the resilience of a significant percentage of the population. That has not changed. They come in all sizes and shapes, colors and age but all of them carry a spirit that is healthy to be around. These are the people I'm surrounding myself with to maintain a high level of energy and optimism so I may return the favor. In the long term our place is in our minds and souls and how we choose to preserve and uplift ourselves and others.
10/20/11
Silver Dollar Moon
Hanging over ashen landscape...
Road trips are a great departure from everyday life, especially since I am able to travel the US desert southwest frequently for short three to five day trips. There is a lot that is unique and unusual that people all over the world visualize and want to visit that I am fortunate to see. At the end of a driving day, with prior stops to interesting places, the road to the stopover for the night can occasionally seem long. In between destinations the road and wide open spaces may be monotonous and run by as a blur.
If you are looking though a gem will appear, such as this full moon at dusk, a treasure find at day's end. It takes imagination to find gifts in the desert and many natural occurrences are traces of the elemental table of an oasis. Very often it is simple and at first glance the seemingly mundane things on the spur of the moment stand out. Every day life can be like that and the challenge is to find that overlooked wellspring worthy of attention to turn an ordinary day into one with a pleasant diversion.
Road trips are a great departure from everyday life, especially since I am able to travel the US desert southwest frequently for short three to five day trips. There is a lot that is unique and unusual that people all over the world visualize and want to visit that I am fortunate to see. At the end of a driving day, with prior stops to interesting places, the road to the stopover for the night can occasionally seem long. In between destinations the road and wide open spaces may be monotonous and run by as a blur.
If you are looking though a gem will appear, such as this full moon at dusk, a treasure find at day's end. It takes imagination to find gifts in the desert and many natural occurrences are traces of the elemental table of an oasis. Very often it is simple and at first glance the seemingly mundane things on the spur of the moment stand out. Every day life can be like that and the challenge is to find that overlooked wellspring worthy of attention to turn an ordinary day into one with a pleasant diversion.
9/27/11
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)