Monthly Archives: August 2015

Boulder Bound: The End of the Road

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Some thoughts:

  • The adrenaline thrill of the journey exceeds the soporific effect of arrival.
  • That's the Rockies back there and the university in the foreground.

    That’s the Rockies back there and UC Boulder  in the foreground: close but not the same.

    Familiar scene: the surging to and fro on the hour.

    Familiar scene: the surging to and fro on the hour.

    Some confuse matriculation with mastication.

    Some confuse matriculation with mastication.

  • No matter how extremely remote the station or town, gas and food are cheaper than in California: we’re being taken for a ride out here.
  • Boulder, like Santa Cruz, Berkeley or other college towns is a cut above the average but with the same mix of university people, boutiques, gourmet bistroes and cheap eateries, chain and box stores, and more than a few tourists. The sense of artifice is always in the air.
  • Lest we forget. Boulder is the western terminus of the great plains that begin back at the Mississippi River.

    Lest we forget. Boulder is the western terminus of the great plains that begin back at the Mississippi River.

    And some roads aren't even blacktop as they head toward that great mountain barrier.

    And some roads aren’t even blacktop as they head toward that great mountain barrier to the west.

  • Our two lane blacktops are in better condition than our freeways.
  • A shut down suger mill. TheBoulder area teems with huge, low lying, high tech factories, the new crop that this vast land supports.

    A shut down suger mill. The Boulder area teems with huge, low lying, high tech factories, the new crop that this vast land supports.

    In a Boulder bookstore. on the left anatomy, a reminder of my brief but happy medical training, and on the right: movies!

    In a Boulder bookstore. on the left: anatomy, a reminder of my brief but happy medical training, and on the right: movies!

  • I can drive almost 2000 miles without TV of any kind, but can’t go a day without wi-fi.
  • GPS is a luxury; maps work. I relied on them entirely.
  • Backroads are majestic and magical; freeways are like never leaving home.
  • The most horrific bump was on a freeway just miles out of San Francisco. I discovered, on arrival, thanks to another driver telling me, that my tail lights were all out. I found the light assemblies on both sides had been jarred out of their receptacles, fallen down into the trunk well and were useless–maybe for the entire trip! I may have driven to Boulder without tail or brake lights the entire way.
  • Travelers depend on the kindness of strangers and I was never let down. It isn’t the obsequious sort of attention that the tourist trade creates, not on the backroads; it’s more a genuine openness and curiosity about those who come from other places.
  • A definite beauty surrounds this place. It's not all malls and tourists and shopping centers, and not only a major university at all.

    A definite beauty surrounds this place. It’s not all malls and tourists and shopping centers, and not only a major university at all. Much awaits discovery.

    Heading out of town for a brief escape into the Rockies.

    Heading out of town for a brief escape into the Rockies.

    Gem Lake. In Rocky Mtn Natl Park. About 7000 feet high at the end of a steep, demanding trail. Reward enough.

    Gem Lake. In Rocky Mtn Natl Park. About 7000 feet high at the end of a steep, demanding trail. Reward enough.

    In December I return to San Francisco, on different roads, ahead, I hope, of the winter snows.

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Boulder Bound: Day 8 (Romance of the Road and Paleo Diet)

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For Victoria: the one I left behind, for now.

Beyond the motel window dawn breaks on the final day.

Beyond the motel window dawn breaks on the final day. What will it bring?

At first, it’s the same; here Mt. Antero looms at 14,276 feet, way above my head.

The shape of Antero reminded me of Mt. kilimanjaro, which I climbed long ago, and of the links of past and present and if travel were a passage way between them.

The shape of Antero reminded me of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, long ago, of the links of past and present and if travel were a passage way between them.

What is this idea of the road and its romance? Freedom, escape, wandering, discovery, journeys both internal and beyond. Celebrating the impromtu and improvised, the unfamiliar and mysterious. John Ford knew the road warrior, and the seeker, didn’t belong: they were too driven or restless to settle down, amd John Wayne watches the closing door exclude him at journey’s end in The Searchers.

The two lane blacktop gives way to the concrete freeway and a familiar, crowded world: Denver, 30 miles to Boulder.

The two lane blacktop gives way to the concrete freeway and a familiar, crowded world: Denver, 30 miles to Boulder.

I feel tired, exhilerated, awakened and exhausted. We’re told we’re social animals but how so? As bands of roving gatherers or clusters of city and town folk?

Paleo diets return us the days of hunters and gathers but maybe not their intimate relation with the spirit world.

Entering Boulder, street lights and other amenities. The mountains just beyond.

Entering Boulder, street lights and other amenities. Rain. The mountains just beyond.

I am a settled one, basically. But with a thirst for something more. Community and place are where intimacy with and commitment to others flourish. Wandering and travel brings a sharper focus to an inner need for something else. Settlements sustain and have for millenia. And when they don’t, when I feel the need to seek and discover something beyond the settlement door, I hear the romance of the road beckon.

The Univeristy of Colorado at Boulder: numbers galore. Small testimony to the tension between the one and the many.

The Univeristy of Colorado at Boulder: numbers galore. Small testimony to the tension between the one and the many.

Freud realized that we paid a heavy price sexually for the retraints civilization imposes on our inherent polymorphous perversity. I wonder if it doesn’t exact a cost spiritually as well.

I take my car to a car wash to clear away the residue of the long road taken.

I take my car to a car wash to clear away the residue of the long road taken.

Near my new residence. Wash, clean up, cleanse.

Near my new residence. Wash, clean up, cleanse.

Spiritual seekers have often been wanderers, entering the wilderness, undertaking journeys and quests. Be it Jesus or the Buddha, or so many other saints and gurus, it strikes me that the seeker seeks something profoundly personal and spiritual and that it is the followers who settle for a religion they can sink into more stable soil.

A pamphlet in the car wash waiting area. A shock. And reminder of what our settled ways produce as suffering and loss, along with the dramatics of helping those who lose their way.

A pamphlet in the car wash waiting area. A shock. And reminder of what our settled ways produce as suffering and loss, along with the dramatics of helping the casualities of a failed community.

I have arrived. I need to settle down, settle in, maybe just settle. And wonder if this is where I need to rediscover that spiritual quality so much more evident on the road.

My car emerges, clean. And what I write and what I see diverge most strikingly in this final post from the road.

My car emerges, clean. And what I write and what I see, text and image, diverge most strikingly in this final post from the road. Why?

Boulder Bound Day 7 (Prices We Pay)

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Today will take me from 9300 feet above sea level down to 7700 feet, in the little, historic town of Salida, CO. But it begins in Silverton, which I discover has come up with a great way to make intersections safe economically:

Put a post with 4 stop signs on it in the .iddle of the intersection.

Put a post with 4 stop signs on it in the middle of the intersection.

That’s one street away from Main St, but Silverton is a small town and tourists don’t use this street.

The “million dollar” road to Ouray winds through the high mountains, often without guard rails or passing lanes, but that is not unusual for backroad travel. It’s the precipitous drops of many thousand feet just inches from the roadway that are.

Roads still seem to disappear into impossible barriers.

Roads still seem to disappear into impossible barriers.

Ingenuity knows no limits. If you can't stop the slide, you can tell it where to go.

Ingenuity knows no limits. If you can’t stop the slide, you can tell it where to go.

Mining despoiled the landscape but gave a growing nation the raw materials it needed. Now it seems to be the chain stores, strip malls, and big box guys that do the despoiling, giving us the products we want, but always at a price. I rediscover this part of our culture--absent since Yosemite--in Montrose, a mountain town that both mining and tourism have abandoned.

Mining despoiled the landscape but gave a growing nation the raw materials it needed. The price was paid in lives as well as landscape. Now it seems to be the chain stores, strip malls, and big box guys that do the despoiling, giving us the products we want, but always at a price. I rediscover this part of our culture–absent since Yosemite–in Montrose, a mountain town that both mining and tourism have abandoned.

But outside town the desert and the mountain hillsides have given way to pastures in this high valley.

But outside town the desert and the mountain hillsides have given way to pastures in this high valley.

Meals, always meals, and the ubiquitous burgers and fries, steaks and chops. But every town has its secret alternatives. And in Gunnison I find a Tibetan restaurant that fuels me up for the remaining drive.

Saag chicken and naan bread in the Rockies.

Saag chicken and naan bread in the Rockies.

Salida seems a great place, with a more diverse economy and a lively downtown. I find a modest motel that is across the street from the aquatic center, fed, as it surely ought to be, by hot spring water.

The swimming lanes were open and the water warm. A couple and I debated why Union Jacks proliferated in downtown, until someone told us a British rock band was coming soon.

The swimming lanes were open and the water warm. A couple and I debated why Union Jacks proliferated in downtown, until someone told us a British rock band was coming soon.

Downtown fronts a river at the foot of the surrounding hills. I ate outside in the cooling mountain air.

Downtown fronts a river at the foot of the surrounding hills. I ate outside in the cooling mountain air.

After eating I went into the bar to watch the San Francisco Giants play a game. The patrons gave the game little heed but the bar had a lively, friendly tone that made me think this wouldn’t be a bad place to live.

The Giants would have won if Buster Posey's hit, with two out in the last inning, had gone just two feet further for a home run. But it didn't.

The Giants would have won if Buster Posey’s hit, with two out in the last inning, had gone just two feet further for a home run. But it didn’t.

Tomorrow it’s on to Boulder and a faculty reception that will start the new academic year.

Boulder Bound Day 6: Rocky Mtn highs

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Durango retains its Victorian roots, plays them up actually, even if there is wi-fi and flat screen TVs in every room.

The library at the General Palmer hotel in Durango, the old west lives on.

The library at the General Palmer hotel in Durango, the old west lives on.

On the road, it’s clear I’m in a new landscape: higher, more pine and fir, even some rain. And below, at a mere 9300 feet, I get a glimpse of Silverton (it’s between the trees down there):

Mountain roads make photos difficult, as do the trees. Silverton was purely a mining town, everyone here served the miners.

Mountain roads make photos difficult, as do the trees.
Silverton was purely a mining town, everyone here served the miners. 9300 feet and the mines were on slopes above that! It’s easy to feel out of breath.

Now everyone here serves the visitors. Three groups of us: visitors who come to see someone they know; travelers who are en route to a destination, real or imaginary, and perhaps a change of life, and tourists for whom the sites are the destinations and what’s sought is some form of “insider” (been there, heard that, seen this) knowledge to take home. I fluctuate between traveler and tourist.

Even the cast iron trash receptacles do their part to add a note of history to the scene.

Even the cast iron trash receptacles do their part to add a note of history to the scene.

Mike is our guide for a silver mine tour. He says, Hundreds of gallons of water flow out of here every minute and I ask if it's clean. Are you from the EPA he asks? If you are there'll be one less person going back up, and I say, That's the last place I'd want to work. I thnk he believes me because I make it back up.

Mike is our guide for a silver mine tour. He says, Hundreds of gallons of water flow out of here every minute and I ask if it’s clean. Are you from the EPA, he asks? If you are there’ll be one less person going back up, and I say, That’s the last place I’d want to work. I thnk he believes me because I make it back up.

There's a museum too.

There’s a museum too.

Not a cell phone but it strikes me that the 19th C had its own amazing technologies, more on a macro than a micro scale.

Not a cell phone but it strikes me that the 19th C had its own amazing technologies, more on a macro than a micro scale.

My first camera was a belows model like this one. 8 or 12 shots to a roll.

My first camera was a belows model like this one. 8 or 12 shots to a roll.

The dynamite makers on the boxes, Atlast and Dupont, are where my uncle worked, in Delaware, but he did accounting not dynamiting.

The dynamite makers on the boxes, Ajax and Dupont, are where my uncle worked, in Delaware, in the 50s and 60s, but he did accounting not dynamiting.

Silverton is the terminus for the train from Durango, still running on narrow gauge tracks but bring tourists instead of miners and supplies.

The valley is small and the train butts up against the surrounding mountains.

The valley is small and the train butts up against the surrounding mountains.

This feller's smoked too many of those cigarettes: his complexio'is all gone to hell.

This fella’s smoked too many of those cigarettes: his complexio’is all gone to hell.

I stayed at another Victorian hotel, the Wyman. It had something like 25 foot high ceilings along with the wi-fi and the flat screen TV.

My hotel for the night, on main street.

My hotel for the night, on main street.

Miners loved their chess games, when they weren't doing 12 hours in the mine or drifting into the saloons for an after dinner beverage.

Miners loved their chess games, when they weren’t doing 12 hours in the mine or drifting into the saloons for an after dinner beverage.

These fellows were heading my way, but it looked a little bouncy up there so I aimed my car toward Boulder one more time.

These fellows were heading my way, but it looked a little bouncy up there so I aimed my car toward Boulder one more time.

 

Boulder Bound Day 5: Mesa Verde and Beyond

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Goulding's at Monument Valley. I had the last room on the right.

Goulding’s at Monument Valley. I had the last room on the right.

Amost time to go, but first a quick little workout with the Duke:

There's even a JohnWayne cabin to see but I let this copy of a kitschy painting speak for itself; it's by the treadmill in the workout room

There’s even a JohnWayne cabin to see but I let this copy of a kitschy painting speak for itself; it’s by the treadmill in the workout room

A final farewell to monuments: the Mexican hat stone.

How this ever happened I'll never know.

How this ever happened I’ll never know.

The road calls and it ain’t the freeway.  Headed to Durango and mountain country.

First 25 mph curve showed up 2 miles in advance; this one was just half a mile from the turn.

First 25 mph curve showed up 2 miles in advance; this one was just half a mile from the turn.

Two land blacktop blues. I get to see the loss and ruin that go along with the small town, rustic way of life.

Two land blacktop blues. I get to see the loss and ruin that go along with the small town, rustic way of life.

It’s hotter today so I have to suspend the Drive the Temperature rule: was 93-98 most of the time.

And it's not all that uncommon. This is the world that box stores and freeways, with all their pluses, took away.

And it’s not all that uncommon. This is the world that box stores and freeways, with all their pluses, took away.

Still chasing mountains too and everytime a range looms up ahead the road finds a way to snake around them. But it’s changing. The landscape has more pynon and juniper now and isn’t quite the desert it has been for so long.

Praise the Lord for Thailand. Second time I’ve found Thai food and it won out over burgers and fried chicken both times: fresh, tasty, healthy. Plus the Thai ice coffee is great for the road.

Not too impressive looking. In Cortez, CO but the food was excellent.

Not too impressive looking. In Cortez, CO but the food was excellent.

I’m getting near Durango but detour to Mesa Verde National Park where there are some of the most elaborate pueblo ruins in the country. 20 miles into the park I find one of the many villages that are  preserved.

Tucked below the top of the mesa and still in good condition.

Tucked below the top of the mesa and still in good condition.

Some dwelliings were 3 stories with kivas too.

Some dwelliings were 3 stories with kivas too.

Soon Durango looms before me. A right turn and I’m at my destination:

One of two grand ole hotels in Durango.

One of two grand ole hotels in Durango.The

The call of the cow won out yesterday and I’ve done penance with oatmeal for breakfast and today I find Jean Pierre’s bakery and restaurant and have the delicious coq au vin:

Very tasy. Chatted with couple next to me. He was trying to get back with his ex-wife, worried about his daughter who graduated and was living at home, lost, and changes to Durango. He was with a woman. His ex-wife. She started to read a book as he continued talking with me.

Very tasty coq au vin. Chatted with couple next to me. He was trying to get back with his ex-wife, worried about his daughter who graduated and was living at home, lost, and changes to Durango. He was with a woman. His ex-wife. She started to read a book as he continued talking with me.

Saturday night in Durango and Main St got blocked off and folks got their dancing shoes out.

Boots are the thing to wear. I had shoes and they were getting worn.

Boots are the thing to wear. I had shoes and they were getting worn.

i didn't even wear these for my hikes but it's off the grid and the freeway and there's a lot of dust out there.

i didn’t even wear these for my hikes but it’s off the grid and the freeway and there’s a lot of dust out there.

The country music boys did a great cover of Johnny Cash  among other things.

They set up right by the ole time train station and kicked up some lively tunes.

They set up right by the ole time train station and kicked up some lively tunes.

Music  went on into the evening and the sky was saying the sun wanted to turn in for the night, sending its soft pink kiss good night.

Tomorrow it's on to Silverton.

Tomorrow it’s on to Silverton.

Boulder Bound Day 4 (Searching for John Ford)

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No end to rugged country.  Monument Valley next: from SW Utah to SE Utah.

Leaving Zion. Checkerboard slope.

Leaving Zion. Checkerboard slope.

It’s out through a tunnel and onto the 2 lane blacktop world again.

What is this absurd picture doing here? (to borrow from Land without Bread). Suddenly it appeared in the middle of the desert.

What is this absurd picture doing here? (to borrow from Land without Bread). Suddenly it appeared in the middle of the desert.

There’s an answer, man-made: Lake Powell, although it’s pretty darn low.

Look below to see why this lake exists.

Look below to see why this lake exists.

Glen Canyon dam. Bus loads of folks stream across the bridge to get a closer look.

Glen Canyon dam. Bus loads of folks stream across the bridge to get a closer look.

Page is the town the workers on the dam lived in. It has at least dozen churches like this one, plus MacDonalds, plus the Blue Buddha, recommended but also closed.

The churches of Page line the main front one after another like fast food chains, competing for customers.

The churches of Page line the main front one after another like fast food chains, competing for customers.

Time marches on. I wound up eating at a cantina that had its own power supply.

You can hear the burgers sizzling.

You can hear the burgers sizzling.

Even deserts have their gas.

Even deserts have their gas.

There it is! Not the trailer but the first sight of Monument Valley.

There it is! Not the trailer but the first sight of Monument Valley.

These monuments take the breath away, even if you’re but one of hundreds pouring in. I headed over to Goulding’s Lodge where I had a room and jumped on the 3.5 hours “deluxe” tour, departing at 4pm, close to the magic hour.

I'll be your guide today.

I’ll be your guide today.

Note promnent profile on the right. Do you see him? Not John Ford. Alfred Hitchcock. Still looking for Ford.

Note prominent profile on the right. Do you see him? Not John Ford. Alfred Hitchcock. Still looking for Ford.

A female hogan where we (all 3 of us on the tour) saw a demonstration of weaving and I chatted with Robert, our Navajo guide, who says the young people flee and no one builds hogans from logs anymore.

A female hogan where we (all 3 of us on the tour) saw a demonstration of weaving and I chatted with Robert, our Navajo guide, who says the young people flee and no one builds hogans from logs anymore.

Saddles and monuments at one of our stops where we could also buy Navajo crafts.

Saddles and monuments at one of our stops where we could also buy Navajo crafts.

See the "W"? Not the hotel chain, or that President, but it's one of the more impressive monuments.

See the “W”? Not the hotel chain, or that President, but it’s one of the more impressive monuments.

2015-08-14 16.12.53

I’m glad I didn’t take my car on the tour. It’s all dirt, deeply rutted, standing water in places, and lots and lots of bumps, jolts and bangs. But worth it.  The more remote sites had a profound silence and magical aura of nature’s supreme power and the patience of milennia.

At dinner I surrender. Good good overall so far, but the preponderance of menu items features beef.  I order the filet mignon, am not disappointed and compensate with oatmeal for breakfast.

Tomorrow it’s on to Durango. Still looking for John Ford, though Robert says the local people invited him back after he retired for a banquet tribute as someone whose films remain iconic reminders of the sheer beauty of this country.

Boulder Bound Day 2: “Chasing Mountains”

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The distant hills

gn=”aligncenter” width=”584″]Just the great long road Just the great long road
Day 2 is across the great deserts of Nevada on backroads. Nary a car in sight. The goal; you can’t tell yet from the photo above but look below:

The distant hills

The distant hills

For hours mountain ranges loom in the distance but as I near them the road finds a way to snake past them on the flank of a canyon or valley wall. And it’s on to the next stretch of flat hard road.

Nevada's small town life

Nevada’s small town life

I’m not sure what folks do here, there is a huge heap of mine tailings but they’re very old. There is however, outside the Post Office, this sculpture:

Heroism in the high desert

Heroism in the high desert

How this fellow got here and what happened to the young woman I don’t know but I was impressed by the size and power of the work.

They used to say the west was lawless, not it seems the law has come and gone.

They used to say the west was lawless, now it looks like the law has come and gone.

Hard times for Mr. Whipple. His sign was near the intersection of two major backroads: a little patch of activity with an auto repair shop and some mobile homes.

I asked if he wanted to play tennis, but he said he was booked up.

I asked if he wanted to play tennis, but he said he was booked up.

A sense of humor and a long memory for atom bombs, nuclear fall out and strange goings on in Area 51 is all around me.

Found on the side of a nut shop, at another junction of back roads: no gas, no cafe, but lots of nuts.

Found on the side of a nut shop, at another junction of back roads: no gas, no cafe, but lots of nuts.

The day is getting on. How fast to drive with no one around? Drive the temperature. It was 85 most of the time and that’s what I did.  Gas? Nearest gas was 111 miles at one point. I was ready to pay anything but it was cheaper than in San Francisco.

From my balcony at entrance to the park. tomorrow: into Zion National Park, on foot.

From my balcony at entrance to the park. tomorrow: into Zion National Park, on foot.

At last, the hills are truly mountains. Zion is before me. The landscape has hints of the verdant once again. And I am worn.  Time for dinner and hiking plans on my day in Zion.

Boulder Bound Day 1

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On the Road

On the Road


It’s on the road to Boulder for Fall 2015 to help build a new MFA in Documentary Filmmaking. I’m in the car, not on the motorcycle.

Boulder Trip Day 1 018
Sites galore, after whipping across the Central Valley on 120, Straight shot to Yosemite. Past US 5 then 99 then straightn on out. Until Hwy 99 turns up in front of me. Small navigation error it seems. Add one hour to driving time.
The image above was in Yosemite, Olmstead Overlook, with craggy boulders and rocks.

It Ain't San Francisco

It Ain’t San Francisco


Dinner time overlooking Mono Loake in Lee Vining.First restaurant I’ve eaten in that had framed samples of 10 different kinds of barb wire, all labelled and dated, late 19th C. She was there too. on the wall. Waiting or maybe she lost track of time. Everyone else seems to have done that.
Boy meets Girl, sort of

Boy meets Girl, sort of


He’s plain to see and she’s in the background, aluminum hued. It’s at Benton Hot Springs, where I spend the night. 50 miles beyond Lee Vining. Great soak in outdoor hot but gazing at the dessert.

Coit Tower and Its Murals

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Workers of the WorldHere is a small detail from the great murals of Coit Tower, San Francisco.  A tribute to the firemen of the city, and designed to resemble a fire hose nozzle, or other things more phallic if one prefers, the tower would be merely a tourist attraction were it not for the murals.  Created during the Great Depression by a group of local artisits who were, for the most part, friends or students of Diego Rivera, the murals capture the harshness and diversity of American life in stunning panoramas of great proportion.

The first two images below contrast the news of the day with the information that makes fortunes, and the well-heeled who absorb it. The news isn’t happy making but the library provides little joy either, it seems.

The third below, of a family panning for gold, washing clothes and of the daughter(?) sawing an enormous log, probably for cooking, contrasts this sample salt of the earth group with the leisure bound family of gawkers above them who stand near their car taking in the “picturesque” scene, as some who stroll by the murals today still do.

Cars are less a means of transportation than a threat to human life for the masses, it seems and the fourth image–all these shots are but segments of quite large murals–captures the horror of an automobile accident and the carnage it causes.

To the right of it is a man on the dock. He sits looking off to the left, waiting, hoping, expecting? We can’t tell but the large ship behind him is clearly of less interest than something yet to be seen, and perhaps done, something that will transform this world of contrasts and contradictions, misery and privilege.  Like him, it seems we’re still waiting.

News, Dreary News in Hard Times
Boys and Their Books, away from the newspapers
Tale of Two FamiliesDeath Comes, as it must to allOn the Dock