Category: United States

I had just crossed the state line, going from western Montana to the northeast panhandle area of Idaho. As I rounded a gentle curve through the mountains, this was the view.  I went about a mile before I decided I couldn’t let it go, so I found a place to turn around and went back. Look at these cars. How could a photographer resist? There was a sort of order in the chaos: all the cars were decades old, rusted out wrecks long past their usefulness. Only they were still useful in one sense, as roadside art by some kind…

Heading north out of Stanley and on up to Montana, Highway 93 wanders through the mountains, following the path originally made by the Salmon River. There are lots of turnouts, both for people to let faster cars by (I’ll let even one car by me when I’m towing because it’s so much more enjoyable to go slow and not have a tailgater behind me) and for savoring the views. And amazing views they are! I’d forgotten how big things are in the west, and how wide open the sky even as the mountains rise up to meet it. This old…