June 24, 2012: 4000 plus miles
on the road in the USA. Washington DC, New York, Boston, Toronto, Detroit,
Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas, White Sands NM, Phoenix—and now we’ve
come to the green and red oasis of Sedona, Arizona (its famous “red rocks”) where
we’re taking a pause before heading on to California and Oregon, staying in a
lovely Spanish hacienda with friends Vicky and Kit. We’ve had the good luck to
have been able to stay with friends and family much of this journey—including a
stay in the beautifully restored Frank Lloyd Wright house of our cousins in
Illinois. We’ve camped a little too—though had to decamp rapidly at about 4 am
our very first night of camping (along Lake Erie in Canada) when we found
ourselves the center of a violent storm.
Along with seeing friends, we’re spending a lot
of time with primates! Yes, that’s right, monkeys! I’m doing a photo project on
the monkey world and so have taken in every major zoo along our route—next
stop, the famous San Diego zoo. We’ve also been stopping at the many great
American art museums dotted across the country. Zoos—and museums too—are the
same the world over, familiar territory: you enter and no matter what country
you are in, you’re right at home, with the animals, with the works of art.
Time
passes both quickly and slowly on the road, in a strange mix of monotony (the
endless miles to be traversed, especially in the American Southwest)—and thrill
(suddenly seeing a strange—or beautiful—or disturbing sight or vision along the
road, stopping the car, getting out the cameras!)_ I keep running out of black
and white film. Had to renew it in Dallas—and again in Phoenix. Lucky there are
still a few places stocking Tri-X!
More from the West Coast……
