Wednesday, December 9, 2009

No Man's Land

Today was a lovely, lovely day on the road. It was also longer than my average run, with more tourist-related stops and more swerving-onto-the-shoulder-I-have-to-take-a-picture stops. I am now both exhausted and exhilarated and absolutely in love with the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma's panhandle is rightly called No Man's Land, and it is a dark, desolate, and lonely place (the bottom right picture and top left were taken there). I expected the Texas panhandle to be much of the same, but as I came around a bend between two hills, a canyon opened before me that was so huge and so unexpected and so utterly, utterly stunning that my heart felt like it was ripped from my chest and flung into the rolling, plateaued vastness stretched below me. I hope hope hope that there's more of the same on my way to Roswell, New Mexico, tomorrow morning, although I don't know that my heart could take much more.

I have formal shots of the day, ones related to my actual activities (a tour of Boot Hill, a visit to Dorothy's house and the yellow brick road, Beaver Dunes State Park and Shaman's Portal in Oklahoma, and an early dinner at Ned & Darlene's Cafe--the best roadfood experience I've had yet), but for now I need to lie my head down and sleep...so in their place, I just want to share with you a couple of the aforementioned roadside snapshots. I hope you like them.



6 comments:

  1. Absolutely breathtaking photos! Now I really wish I had stowed away in your trunk :)

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  2. gorgeous photos!!! rest well.... hope your journey continues to be safe and fun!

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  3. You know, you could publish a book with all these.

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  4. Your mom could publish a book with all of these. Complete with recipes, too.

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  5. Alissa - the Big SisDecember 10, 2009 at 7:04 AM

    Those are soo pretty! I love the one with the train and the one next to it looks like a winterized version of your blog title photo. The one with the canyon is so cool - it reminds me of Disney's Cars movie! Let us know if you run into Radiator Springs on your trip.

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