Eye of the Beholder

I never thought I'd see anything beautiful in Needles, CA, but I've been set straight. I got to Needles around 7am yesterday morning on my drive out to Telluride, so the sun had only been up for about 1/2 an hour. It was 50 degrees, there was a light dusting of frost, the sky was clear and cool, and the mountains were crisply outlined. On the north side of the highway the valley was filled with a low-sitting layer of fluffy white fog. Just awesome.

I almost always drive to Colorado and back (in 14 years I think I've flown in 3 times). Friends and family always seem more concerned about my taking on the 16 hour drive than I am (thanks for caring!!!), because I get a lot of enjoyment out of the journey. But I have to admit, when I got up at 2am on Sunday morning my first thought was, "Do I really have to drive all the way to Colorado today?" I did, and once the sun came up I couldn't have been happier. To fly is to miss the sunrise on a desert mountain range, the fog in the valley, the rock formations at Holy Moses Wash, the Painted Desert, the elephant-foot looking columns at Tonalea, and the green highway signs counting down the miles to each town. How can you surpass the pleasure of driving through places with names like Disappointment Valley, Teec Nos Pos, Mexican Water, and Paradox Valley? And one will never be able to comprehend the breathtaking majesty of Monument Valley from the air.

The best book I've read so far on appreciating the western landscape is Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire. If you can find a copy, give it a read.

The drive yesterday was just great. The weather was gorgeous--it was 60 degrees in Monument Valley--and the skies were pristinely clear. At some points I could see 4 different mountain ranges in front of me. If you're ever in Seligman, AZ, stop in at the Historic Route 66 General Store. The guy who runs it is really nice (his parents live in Cortez, CO) and they have some great Route 66 postcards. (Mom & Dad--yours is in the mail!)


Thanks to the Dixie Chicks, Jackson Browne, The Eagles, Brian Setzer, Tim McGraw, Sheryl Crow, Dean Martin, Willie Nelson, and many others for keeping me company on my long trips. Fine traveling companions, indeed.