Over the last 15 months, I’ve seen a lot of roads. Some are wide open, blue skies, picture perfect, two-lane highways far from the madding crowds and strip malls of America.
One of my favorites was this old carriage road weaving among the redwoods in California. Some of those trees were so close, I could reach out my window and touch them. All of them were magnificent.
The most challenging road was this one: Titus Canyon in Death Valley. My friend convinced me the Subaru could take it (of course, without the trailer!) and there was actually only one place where we had to get out and assess a course of action to get around a massive pothole. Totally worth the crazy drive for the amazingly beautiful views of this stark country.
White Sands National Monument, on a sunny day, is one of the most beautiful places to drive through, and it’s even nicer when the crowds aren’t there (weekdays are best). I had a whole section to myself for a while.
Sometimes the road ends, as this one does, at a beautiful campground. This approach to Oliver Lee Memorial State Park in New Mexico never failed to make me both stare in awe and smile that it was my home base for a while.
Roads that go over bridges are some of my favorites. I’ve been over dozens of rivers, and loved the views of all of them.
At the end of a long day of driving, what I really don’t want to see is how far I have to go, all neatly laid out in front of me. Clearly, there was no campground ahead yet, so, yes, I did drive all those hills between me and the horizon before I found my stop. Still, it was beautiful country so I didn’t really mind the drive.
Sometimes, the road just can’t be beat for letting you know you’re smack dab in the middle of middle America. ‘Nuff said.
I take to the open road,
healthy, free,
the world before me.
Walt Whitman
It *was* Highway 20, somewhere between the state line with WY and Arco, which was my drive for that day!
I’d almost bet that first photo (not the cover photo) was in Idaho on Highway 20. I love roads and I love driving. Very nice post.
I am longing for the open road these are gorgeous, thanks for sharing.
Beautiful !! I also love the filtered colours superimposed on some of the images. What a beautiful tale Annie !!!