near the nevada/utah border i took this little, teeny, middle-of-nowhere
road that i haven't traveled in years and i saw actual, real deal, wild
horses! i didn't think there were any left in this area. one little one was struggling, i thought stuck in fencing, and i pulled over to see
if she needed to be set free. she was wiry, pure muscle and bones and her sand colored coat was covered in black scars and lacerations. i got really close before she noticed me,
started and trotted away. wasn't stuck after all, but definitely dazed
and probably dehydrated. it took her a moment to register that she was
being approached. she looked up at me as i came toward her and it was
like looking into the eyes of a unicorn.
more photos after the jump....
sunrise at sand mountain
...and i'm back! i find that every year around this time i need to unplug a bit. over the past month i quit my farm job (due to injury) picked up more yoga classes, started my 500 hour yoga training (!!!), got a cat, and had some seriously challenging family situations. luckily everyone is fine, and now it's fall and i'm returning to this space, patching together some photos from the last month and a half and re-connecting to the present.
of course i still have lots of desert pictures from my stuff mission that i must share. truly the four corners area is one of the most beautiful, unique places on earth and i just love all the time i get to spend driving around by myself in the desolation of the desert..... more photos after the jump.
my first day on the road got me across california, through the sierra nevada and to the edge of the desert. i woke up before dawn in falon, nv and hit the road with a mission. when driving highway 50, the loneliest highway, i always made it a point to stop at the shoe tree. often i would leave shoes, and every time i would stop, take photos, check in. this morning i decided to try and get the morning light of dawn.
15 years ago on my first solo road trip from washington to colorado i had arrived at this same place at this same time and taken the best pictures i'd ever gotten of this tree. this tree. this tree and those photos are landmarks in the story of my life. it was taking and later enjoying those photos that made me decide on photography as a career, it was subsequent journeys that made me realize gypsying as a calling. it was on this highway i felt most at home, most free, and recognized myself fully. and it was this improbable feature of the barren landscape that represented all of this perfectly.
a tree in the middle of the desert - with nothing to speak of for miles. a 70 foot cottonwood, growing out of a wash, by a lonely highway, surrounded by sage and sand and covered - i mean covered - in shoes. i love everything about this. the desert, the ruggedness, the survival, the road, the romance, the symbolism. i loved thinking about this tree. i loved thinking about those shoes and the people that wore them; the dances they danced, the miles they walked, the places they went before ultimately meeting up in the middle of nowhere to hang on a tree in the desert. a signpost for travelers. a heaven for good shoes. a trophy of a tree.
yes i've romanticized it a bit.
Northern Nevada: a whole lot of nothing, a little bit weird.
