on the way

During my senior year of high school, I took a trip with nine other students, two professors, and their ten-year-old daughter to the American Southwest. The professors in question (Dr. Mr. and Dr. Mrs. White) were history professors, and Dr. Mrs. was half Native American, so they had a keen interest in the history of the Southwest and its Native American culture. We visited several Native American heritage sites, including Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Canyon de Chelley, and Monument Valley. Some of my most cherished memories are of that trip, and I’ve wanted to go back ever since.

I’ve had a (romantic, admittedly) notion that one day I’d jump in my car and revisit those sites, plus more — we didn’t have time to visit the Grand Canyon, for example, even though we were pretty close to it at one point. Last fall (2004) I made the decision that the next summer would be the time. It happened that my friend Chris was looking to sell her SUV which contributed to the overall kairos of the decision, as I’m not really the sleeping-on-the-ground type.

So what’s the plan? I am embarking on a six-week solo journey around the American West. I will leave Mobile, Alabama in mid-May and arrive in State College, PA at the end of June. On the way, I am stopping in twelve national parks, visiting friends and family, and generally hoping to see some of the natural wonders of this country. Yes, I’m doing the trip solo (who do YOU know that you could spend six weeks in a car with?) and so I hope to discover some truths about myself while I’m at it. I’ll spend my days driving, hiking, reading, writing, taking photos, trying my hand at some artwork, learning about whatever park I’m in at the moment, and communing with nature. Except the bugs. The bugs can just commune with themselves for all I care.

If this whole experience sounds like something you’d be interested in hearing about, you can subscribe to the mailing list where I’ll periodically be sending updates. I also have a blog which I’ll update as often as I can, and you can subscribe to the ontheway_lj feed on LiveJournal as well. If you want to get postcards (more infrequent than emails), send me your mailing address and I’ll try to send some out to you. Finally, I will be in desperate need of music for this trip–watch the blog for an entry on how to send me some tunes.