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Harlan's Spring Roadtrip
March 29 - May 27, 2004
The adventure begins
On March 29, I started out to drive across the USA from California to New York and back. I had a brand new Toyota pickup truck,
a big pile of camping gear, and an urge to visit lots of places along the way that I'd heard about or I hadn't seen in awhile.
Not being much of an advanced planner, I only had a vague idea of my itinerary and route. There were a number of visits with friends
and family that I had pre-arranged -- in Texas, Tennessee, New York and Illinois -- but mostly I just wanted to wander around and
see the sights.
The trip took two months and 10,500 miles. I covered lots of ground, talked to lots of strangers, ate in some delightful local
eateries, discovered some great places to camp, and got to know my new pickup.
The purpose of this web site is to answer all those people that have been asking, "What the heck did
you do for two months when you weren't answering the phone or responding to email?!" I also took lots of pictures,
most of which are not worth showing. But a few were OK, and I want to share them with you. The pictures can be clicked to show a larger
version.
Southern California and the Southwest
The first day was a short hop from Sunnyvale to San Simeon State Park, above
San Luis Obispo. I wanted to set up and make sure I had my camping act together. This picture shows the tents set up and looks pretty
good. Without going into detail, I had overlooked several important aspects of my camping act that needed fixing before I went too far.
Nothing that a good gold card wouldn't fix.
The first fun stop was Joshua Tree National Park east of Los Angeles. It is certainly a unique place, a desert with many interesting
rock formations. I found it both intimidating and fascinating. One of the popular hikes is a two mile trip up Lost Horse canyon
to an old commercial gold mining operation. It's abandoned now, but they still have lots of old mining equipment in the hills.
On the way back down the trail from the mine I ran into this three foot Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. I spent a lot of time in
West Texas as a kid and know what a rattlesnake sounds like. This guy saw me before I saw him, and he gave me a "hey-look-out-buddy"
rattle as a greeting. I acknowledged the warning by not stepping on him. This picture was taken from a respectful distance.
On California highway 62 east of Joshua Tree, I found one of the strangest sights of the trip: a solitary dead tree that was
completely
covered with old shoes. I'm sure that at some point in the past, someone threw a pair of shoes on the tree as a joke, and
subsequent travelers, liking the idea, added their contribution. The variety of shoes was very amusing.
Sedona, Arizona, is one of the most beautiful areas in the southwest. It is a contrast of distinctive red-rock vertical
formations jutting into space and deep boulder-strewn canyons and streams.
I found a great spot to stay in Manzanita campground in the Coconio
National Forest. If this picture looks especially lush, it's because it rained most of the time I was there. Camping in the rain
is usually not much fun, but in Sedona you can put up with it.
I didn't let the rain slow me down much; I got out and saw the sights and took some hikes.
When I hit Santa Fe, it was cold and snowing. The allure of camping was greatly
diminished at that point, so I moved into a nice
hotel a stone's throw from the main downtown plaza. The first night there I attended a
Chris Smither concert, held in the
Gerald Peters Gallery
in downtown Santa Fe. A highlight of the whole trip.
I also visited the Shidoni Foundry
north of Santa Fe. It is one of the premier institutions in the country for casting
fine art objects in bronze, and for metal construction sculptures. They have a revolving staff of
sculptures, and a
mostly permanent staff of bronze casting artisans.
I got carried away taking pictures. The stainless steel fountain, catfish-on-a-truck, guitar, and big
blue love-fish were all constructions.
The small piece "Matahari" was the only casting even near to my price range, but it would have taken up too much
room in the truck. Plus, if my wife Lorraine hadn't liked it, it would have been a very expensive boat anchor.
The man and frog was a strange but interesting casting. The nude girl casting was very popular,
especially with a group of
ten year old boys who were visiting the foundry. They would pat her on her ample behind and then run away laughing. I
wanted to join them in this game, but I restrained myself. After all, I'm a grandfather.
One of the current big projects at Shidoni is the casting of a large Spanish
conquistador and his horse. This piece is
being cast in sections which will be assembled at the end of the process.
I made a pass up Canyon Road in Santa Fe, a one-mile stretch of high-end art
galleries and other essential southwestern stuff.
I especially was drawn to an establishment called Canyon Road Hats, the source in Santa Fe for really cool custom made cowboy hats.
I escaped with my gold card still in my pocket. Just what I need, another cowboy hat.
More bronze castings, this time on Canyon Road.
Northwest of Taos, the Rio Grand has sliced a deep gorge through the landscape. Taking a picture straight down into
the gorge is greatly facilitated
by the Gorge Bridge. Standing on the bridge looking down is a white-knuckle experience.
I had breakfast one morning in Las Vegas, New Mexico, at Raphael's, an out-of-the-way jewel of a Mexican restaurant. The place was full of people
discussing cattle sales and worrying about the weather. I really like the sign on the wall in Raphael's.
My first night in Texas was spent camped in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. I got a real Texas welcome: just about dinner time, I got hit by a vicious storm front
with grape-sized hail, followed by several hours of a pouring-out-of-buckets rain storm. The next morning, I had to drive my truck through a low spot full of
red West Texas mud. At last! This pickup has a little character!
In Dallas, my brother Paul, his wife Nita and I went to the Dallas farmer's market. The market has run continuously in the same location for a long time;
I remember going there when Paul and I were kids. On this trip, we got some nice tomatoes and
cantaloupe, and I got a little nostalgia trip.
April in Taos
Taos is a dicey outside destination this time of year. Skiing is done, but the
good hiking isn't open yet. And the weather is wild; you can be in shorts
and tee shirt in the morning, and layered in fleece and Gore-Tex in the
afternoon.
A favorite activity is to sit out watching the weather patterns form and come
rolling down the mountains. It can be clear with a few scattered clouds. The
next time you look, part of a mountain is hidden behind a blue-black
curtain. Then the mountain disappears altogether, the temperature drops 15
degrees in 15 minutes, you start hearing thunder claps, and the wind starts
blowing. This is a signal that you should find some cover.
The leading edge is usually corn-kernel sized hail stones. Not those West-Texas
golf balls that beat in car roofs, but big enough to bang your head if you
loose your cap. Then the wind, and then the rain: big drops, and lots of
them.
All this is blowing in from the east. To the north and south and behind you, the
sunshine is mixed with fluffy clouds. After half an hour or so, the whole
process reverses and pretty soon you are in the sunshine again. But those
folks just north of you are starting to catch a good one.
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Next: The East
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