feb 16-20th: NM + AZ + UT + NV

from santa fe to salt lake city, my friends isabella and simeon joined me from detroit. we made it to the grand canyon for sunset on our first night all together and then stayed in a cabin up on the border of arizona and utah—where our airbnb host provided us with the most delicious fresh eggs. i’ll never forget those eggs.

we explored zion national park, finally found michael hiezer’s iconic land art ‘double negative’, hit ugo rondinone’s seven magic mountains, cruised the vegas strip, and hiked water canyon with our local hiking expert friend julie.

solid crew.

and that double negative—it really got me. the volume of earth moved. that absence can be a sculpture. really makes a girl want to learn how to run a bulldozer.

feb 10th: a little west, a little north

day twenty: marfa to santa fe

adventures
the drive from marfa to las cruses, mew mexico was surprisingly beautiful and exciting, and not just because i was used to seeing the horizon in every direction for the past 10 days.

in las cruses, i stopped for breakfast with family friends karen and tom, who’ve been living there for years. after talking to them and feeling the warm sun on my skin, i could almost understand why. after our catch-up over delicious huevos rancheros, friday and i headed back on the road, pointed north.

the view was stunning as we drove down from the organ mountains. the whole “missile range” thing was a little disconcerting, but the view was stunning nonetheless. our afternoon adventure was white sands national park, and it was a joyful place to run free.

the trip up to santa fe from white sands was quite lovely. and you know how when you are on a long drive and keep passing a certain vehicle? i had a penske truck friend. i keep seeming to pass it again and again, so i snapped a polaroid on a wide-open road, thinking that i could give it to them if we both stopped for gas. i figured, if you are driving such a long distance in such a big truck, you’re most likely in a transition of some sort, and it may be the case that you’d want to remember it.

i never ran into them again, so now the tiny photo is mine and i can invent the story behind the penske.

logistics
music—the road trip playlist is ever-evolving

jan 22: serpents + mammoths

day one: friday and i set off early from detroit to battle semi trucks and car haulers as the sun came up through the window of our trusty vessel, a green VW GTI known as ‘the cocoon.’ (thanks to eileen at aura aura for the name!)

adventures
stop one was serpent mound in adams county, ohio. this made the list—and was a perfect kick-off to this art research trip—after i read that serpent mound was inspiration for robert smithson’s spiral jetty. i was unprepared for how moved i would be by this millennium-years old effigy. (sounds obvious that would when i type that, but that’s why we seek things out IRL, right?) of course, being the a-hole i am, i loved the typo on the sign, but just repeat it a few times and tell me you don’t love it too— “these ancient sacred mound. these ancient sacred mound.” and i LOVED the observation tower in itself. rickety, a little terrifying, and perspective-altering. the very center of my venn diagram.

stop number two was mammoth caves national park. just like serpent mound, mammoth was very quiet with only herds of confident and curious deer and very few humans. fri and i walked the green river bluffs trail and i was SMITTEN with the moss-covered stones everywhere. we discovered the historical entrance to the caves and i could feel the intensity of being beneath the earth even walking up to the locked gate 50 yards underground. the cold wind blowing from within was quite disconcerting to the dog, and we sprinted up the stairs with adrenaline pumping.

logistics
music—during this adventure, i’m building a road trip playlist inspired by my explorations and adventures if you’d like to sing along in the car with me.

dietary note—thus far, i prefer michigan jerky to kentucky, which i find too salty, too thin.