Howdy! I'm sick (again) today, and as I was lying in bed, I began thinking about my numerous travels through Arizona and the desert. My dad lives in New Mexico, on a navajo reservation where he teaches literature. I've never been to that reservation, but I've spent many hot summer day driving through the desert in an un-airconditioned van. The trip from LA to New Mexico take about two days, and I've slept in national forests, in VW vans and in Motel Sixes. I partially hated the trip because it burning hot and dry, but another part of me loved it. The desert is so gorgeous in such odd ways. It's so empty and so melancholy and lonely. I decided that I would make a post about Arizona, my travels, and all the things along the way.
First of all, Neil Young is always the soundtrack that would play in the van while we drove through the hot sahara winds. He's songs are beautiful, and when I ever I listen to the music even when I'm in my room in LA, I think of the feeling of sun in my face, hot wind in my hair and a cold soda on my lap. Another one of my absolute FAVORITE songs by him is...
Sun Green! Ugh, guys it SO good. I love the kind of story it tells, how passionate it is. I absolutely love the song, and the nostalgia that goes along with it. I've been listening to his music for as long as I can remember because of my Dad. It's all really great and somehow all heartbreaking.
Okay, now that you have the soundtrack on, I'll show you what I see through some pictures I took from this past summer, when we drove on many of the old off roads were mines were and where there were towns where there was only a population of 80.
A Pueblo in New Mexico on the outskirts of Albuquerque
On the road somewhere between Nevada and Arizona
A donkey in a town on the old routes
A hawk flying over the desert
Small town on the outside of Arizona at sunset
Building in a small town on the border of Arizona
An old hotel in a railroad town, outside of Arizona
It's so pretty right? In that way that no one else is there, like it's a completely deserted place. You can imagine old cowboy shoot downs going on outside of the saloon while a girl in a hoop dress cowers behind shuttered windows. It's such an ideal place, it feels like nothing changes there.
I've also been to the Hopi Reservation in New Mexico. It was really interesting to spend time with people who are so different then me. I went to a home dance with my dad, who is friends with some of the prominent families on the res. It was incredibly beautiful and fascinating. The Hopi men dress as kachinas, the embodiments of spirits. The Kachina plays a significant role in Hopi culture, religiously and artistically.
The kachina are embodied in Hopi art. There are Kachina dolls, detailed miniatures of the kachinas made of wood, then painted. Kachinas also are apparent in Hopi pottery, and other types of Hopi art.
Sometimes when I'm looking at photographs on websites, or art that others have made, they remind me of Arizona, New Mexico and the Hopi culture. I'm not sure exactly what about these pieces give me a whiff of that familiar air, but it probably has to do with the colors, the shading and the shapes. Here are a few pieces that remind of Arizona, even if the artists weren't even remotely inspired by that.
Anyways, I hope that this post has made you think about the simplicity of dessert beauty. I know that to me, it's a love hate relationship. I hate being there but when I look back, and think about the memories I've made on the road, I love it. It's like it was all just a dream.
0 comments:
Post a Comment