A Land Of Enchantment

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The drive from Cimarron to Taos twists and turns through canyons and over mountain passes. Pictured above is part of Cimarron Canyon, a state park that US Highway 64 meanders slowly through. I enjoyed pretty much every moment of the drive to Taos and back. What I've seen of New Mexico thus far really does live up to its state motto.

Taos, however, was congested with stupid amounts of traffic. While I had romantic visions of Taos, thanks to photographers like Paul Strand, I found a place where everything had that look, even the hardware store. It just didn't do it for me.


downtown Springer


grasslands near Ocate


Also visited: Raton, Eagle Nest, Angel Fire, Holman, Cleveland, La Cueva, Wagon Mound and Sugarite Canyon, New Mexico

Ohhhhhklahoma

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Some thoughts from today..

Dodge City will talk up its wild history, stories of lawlessness and a time when multiple saloons were on one block of its main street. And if that's what you go there looking for, you'll find yourself disappointed, just like me, by how that past is celebrated in the present. The "historic" Front Street is nothing more than a canned attraction, fenced off with an admission charge to come inside, with an Applebee's next door. So much for the wild west.

Liberal, Kansas is very conservative and has Dorothy's house from the Wizard Of Oz in a public park. There were also swastikas carved on the wall in the gas station bathroom.


The very northwestern corner of Oklahoma's panhandle is completely isolated and absolutely gorgeous. I would have never guessed that such scenery could be found in the state. If I ever get around to making a list of my favorite drives, Oklahoma state highway 325 west of Boise City will be there.


Unfortunately, Capulin Volcano National Monument in New Mexico closes long before sunset, but it was worth the brief side trip. I'm still like a child when I see the mountains in the distance. I get all excited and can't stop looking. Taos tomorrow!

And editing raw files on a netbook with Google Picasa leaves a lot to be desired. Pardon any lack of quality in the imagery.

Also visited: Minneola, Fowler, Meade and Kismet, Kansas. Tyrone, Hooker, Guymon and Kenton, Oklahoma. Clayton and Des Moines, New Mexico.

Omaha to Dodge City

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With a break from school and work, I've hit the road in search of a new project to obsess over. I was getting to the point that I felt the urge to just keep going whenever I was driving on the interstate. As you might imagine, this need for exploration isn't exactly conducive to a productive workday. I miss the open highways and the little towns, clear nights full of stars, and the challenge of creating something worth mentioning.

I'm heading southwest towards Taos and Santa Fe, exploring the vast great plains that stretch for hundreds of miles before rising to the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Tomorrow will mark my first time in Oklahoma and New Mexico (aside from placing a foot on the southeast portion of the Four Corners when I was twelve).

The photograph above is from a little roadside attraction called Rock City near Minneapolis, Kansas. Rock City is a small park full of.. large rocks just like this. Very strange.

Also visited: Fairmont, Bruning, Hebron and Chester, Nebraska. Belleville, Salina, Brookville, Kannapolis Lake, Geneseo and Great Bend, Kansas.