I always say that in my next life, I want to be a six foot tall redhead with big boobs. To that, I have to add that I'll be a long distance trucker. I totally get the lure of driving on roads that seem to be endless. I started this trip with two objectives: thinking and driving. Thinking about the situation I was heading into, and driving with one eye on the road, the other on the landscape. I wasn't disappointed with either undertaking. California is familiar to me; the landscape is no surprise, and I was mostly thrilled to view it from my rear view mirror. But to see this little gem...this rang my bells!
As I made my way across the US of A, I was so amazed at how the topography changed so radically as I pushed forward. Arizona was hot as hell for the most part (average 110 degrees), but the landscape was so different...so lunar...that I didn't mind. The sky goes on forever.
And speaking of lunar...remember this from 3rd grade science class?
I couldn't help myself and had to make the detour up the road to nowhere!
The folks I encountered were very friendly, and I discovered that you're liable to see anything on the road in AZ. This was my favorite, as was the car directly in front of it.
I also had the funniest encounter with a Native American guy at a rest stop; where I had a Sherman Alexie moment. Sherman Alexie is a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian writer, and one of my favorite writers. The musical musings of two of his recurrent characters, Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-The-Fire, are always wandering around in my head. But I digress...this guy was hitting on me at a rest stop, and he kept saying things like "you look nice"...and I hope I don't offend you, but you look nice."
I kept thinking, of course I look nice. I'm clean. I'm well dressed. Isn't that why you do those things? Then I remembered, long after I'd driven away: that's the way an Indian man tells a woman that he thinks she's hot. Simple and understated, right?
Anyway...tomorrow: New Mexico, my spiritual home.
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