Keep on reading the posts all throughout today, as you can see there's a few of them posted of the trip (from the car's point of view), Graveyards, and now creepy places...I don't like to just take a picture of a whole building. I tend to like the perspective of someone who's narrowing their focus on the interesting aspects, so the shots should hopefully give you a real feel for the place as if you were there seeing the details. I even got a nice shot inside of an abandoned diner where it had a hole in the wall. The smell coming out of there could only be described as "old west" very dusty and stale.
There were many eerie places in all three towns. I think the locals thought we were nuts taking pictures of their old abandoned buildings. Their stares were creepy...
ReplyDeleteYeah. In that one antique shop in Globe, as I was leaving, an old coot was following me out and holding the door saying "I'm going to follow this pretty lady." Thankfully, you were all outside.
ReplyDeleteThese are some great shots! You can really get a sense of the rich, warm colors of the desert, feel the heat of the sun taking its toll on everything around it, and just get an overall sense of the world crumbling and rusting in this region. I love the endless sky over the desert shots, the mosaic of Mary on the grave, and the interior shot of the building with the stucco blue walls. You really do feel like you're there. *Sigh* I wish I could go road-tripping now. You've suddenly made me envious. I ALWAYS thought a neat trip would be to venture out to the desert during "Dias de los Muertos". Even though it's not a widespread American tradition, it's my second favorite celebratory time of the year (just behind Halloween). I love seeing people gather in graveyards with flowers and colored paper, photos of the dead and candles at night just tending to the graves, playing music and bringing food. The dead truly do come alive once a year during that time. I think the people down there have a lot more keener view on death over our depressing "bury and forget" mentality here.
ReplyDeleteHey Grim;
ReplyDeleteYeah, that is a favorite too. The shops here have amazing things. Some shops only specialize in the day of the dead. It's hugely popular here. The graves are super festooned and it's really just amazing. When you live in a weather extreme, you learn to be hardy or die. I don't like being hot, but what comes with it is pretty bitchin, like the washed out colors and yellow greens of the plant life, the pop of sunset and wildflower colors are striking in a dusty sandy place, the mountains are naked, wind whistles through canyons, trains blast their distant horns. It's got this kind of--nothing has changed since the 1800s-feel about it. The more remote the better. Outlaws still like to hide in the little towns here and you get your gun-toting dudes and cowboy hat wearing menfolk and lots of motorcyclists making daytrips. I think you'd fit into the west perfectly. The first time you see a dustdevil dancing around the desert or a tumbleweed getting caught in the grill of your car, you know you've arrived. I fight the heat, even though it's a dry one--the sun is unrelenting here, like being under a magnifying glass, I just remind myself that people in cold climates have to be hardy and hide out for 6 months of the year and so must we here too. No shoveling snow, but when we get a haboob--the dust it leaves behind can be an inch thick and gritty. I'd love to try and make a fragrance of the west. I think I might tinker with that smell of dust and creosote. It's very magical. If you ever take the trek west, I like Rt.66 myself, but I-10 also hits some pretty sweet spots too. In general, I just like to avoid Texas as much as possible. It's about the men and the politics for me and the endlessly boring drive. Spent a summer in Midland one time and I couldn't leave fast enough.