The Call of the West
Nineteenth century American author and newspaper editor Horace Greeley is attributed with the famous quotation of "Go West, young man". A line that is as a part of our lexicon today as is "From sea to shining sea" and "Gentleman start your engines".
Actually the entire quote reads as:
Washington is not a place to live in. The rents are high, the food is bad,
the dust is disgusting and the morals are deplorable. Go West, young
man, go West and grow up with the country.
The Southwestern culture of the US has always appealed to me with its big wide skies and stark and rocky deserts. Areas teeming with life; cactus, sage brush, ocotillo and prickly pear, tan rocky mountain mesas and 40 mile vistas. I can't seem to get too far away. In my mind anyway that is.
This past September I decided that I was ready for a journey to the places where my dreams reside. Because of certain circumstances, the time was right and I resolved that since I wasn't getting any younger, I got in my vehicle and pointed it West. This was not to be one such as where the only focus is the destination but, instead, the space between where I am here and where I wanted to be there. I planned to drive to Arizona from Georgia and enjoy and savor every mile. States covered going out were Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The return was New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia. 10 states all told. The road led the progress but the exits and sights called out to me. Time was my own and there were no clocks to beat. I'm not intending to lay out the whole itinerary here but, lets just say that it was a relaxed and refreshing trip that anyone should take, figuratively, at least once in their lifetime. Truth be told, the destination was in my soul all along and this travel was but an external illustration; a manifestation, of what I can see in my mind at any time I drift off and dream a little.
When ever I see a sunset here I visualize it as illuminating the land far out over the western horizon. Golden skies with orange and gray-blue clouds as big as countries in the fading blue of the stratosphere.
Entire storm systems can be seen at a distance from high thunderheads to rainy plains below. We don't get views like that here because of the lay of our land. Its that kind of place you go to wherein you feel as if you've really really been somewhere.
One day soon I will (I hope) return to where the land spreads out with nothing to hide before you. I do not possess an ability to translate the security I feel while in that place of complete openness and where the world seems laid bare all before you. Painted Deserts and Petrified Forests. Indian reservations with river canyons steeped in colored bands of geological times. Drives that elapse hours where there is only me, the gentle trees, the infinite sky and the road leading ahead. Time does not apply...
I'll be back.
- Hal
This past September I decided that I was ready for a journey to the places where my dreams reside. Because of certain circumstances, the time was right and I resolved that since I wasn't getting any younger, I got in my vehicle and pointed it West. This was not to be one such as where the only focus is the destination but, instead, the space between where I am here and where I wanted to be there. I planned to drive to Arizona from Georgia and enjoy and savor every mile. States covered going out were Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The return was New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia. 10 states all told. The road led the progress but the exits and sights called out to me. Time was my own and there were no clocks to beat. I'm not intending to lay out the whole itinerary here but, lets just say that it was a relaxed and refreshing trip that anyone should take, figuratively, at least once in their lifetime. Truth be told, the destination was in my soul all along and this travel was but an external illustration; a manifestation, of what I can see in my mind at any time I drift off and dream a little.
When ever I see a sunset here I visualize it as illuminating the land far out over the western horizon. Golden skies with orange and gray-blue clouds as big as countries in the fading blue of the stratosphere.
Entire storm systems can be seen at a distance from high thunderheads to rainy plains below. We don't get views like that here because of the lay of our land. Its that kind of place you go to wherein you feel as if you've really really been somewhere.
It was enough for me to go and just be present and soak up the vibe and experience what the earth had to offer out there. No agendas or touristy bullshit wastes of time. I climbed a mountain and I turned around. I didn't see any reflections in any snow covered hills and the landslide surely didn't bring me down. The serenity gripped me however and I felt my inner self connect with life and remind me that there is so much more to come. Maybe this world out west here has room for even me. Broken and shot-out as I am.
One day soon I will (I hope) return to where the land spreads out with nothing to hide before you. I do not possess an ability to translate the security I feel while in that place of complete openness and where the world seems laid bare all before you. Painted Deserts and Petrified Forests. Indian reservations with river canyons steeped in colored bands of geological times. Drives that elapse hours where there is only me, the gentle trees, the infinite sky and the road leading ahead. Time does not apply...
I'll be back.
- Hal
Thanks for taking us on your trip with you. I'm glad that the landslide didn't bring you down. ;)
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