I had a dream that a woman placed an old, worn hand around the back of my neck. Her bracelet hung cold and limp against my skin. I still felt her palm around me as I regained consciousness. After a few moments, I rolled over. There was no one there.
This morning’s goal was to ascend Mt. Lemmon to Summerhaven, walk around, buy some pie, and then stop at the various vistas during our descent. The climb was slow and roughly twenty-five miles in length. We passed century plants in bloom and extensive fire damage from the past two years. We made it to 8,000 feet above sea level when we stopped at a small picnic area where Emily enjoys playing with ladybugs. The air was chilly; a far cry from the extreme humidity below. The cacti had long since disappeared. Now there were large ponderosa pines spread across the area. As for the ladybugs, this one nook housed an infinite number of them. You could scrape your hand across any surface and they would fall about, some clinging to you for dear life. Emily disguised her fascination well. I stepped out on the rocks to survey the scene. To one side, there were charred tree limbs. To another, a great view of recent re-growth.
We drove up to Summerhaven, skipping Ski Valley and the mountain’s peak. Liz bought me a slice of pie (sour cream apple) for the road. After driving a little further, we turned around to make our way down. We stopped at Windy Vista, which afforded some great chances to photograph Mt. Lemmon in relation to Tucson.
one | two | three | four | five | six
When we returned, I packed my car and departed for San Diego. I expertly navigated the roads (which are fairly simple, I guess) back to Speedway, then I stopped for a burrito on University. It is 402 miles out of Tucson and the Sonora Desert to California. My longest rest came in Yuma, where I wanted to vomit up the burrito and grab some fresh air. The fresh air in Yuma registered 121 degrees.
The Golden State looked much like Arizona at first, with little vegetation and no signs of life. I entered a security checkpoint where I had to state the origin of my trip to ensure that I was not bringing illegal aliens across the border. The majority of the drive was parallel to the US/Mexico border, with opportunities to slip across at places like Calexico. At times, the border was visible within 2 miles from the highway.
Looking out at the horizon I noticed something that appeared out of place. Sand. Lots of sand. I had to get out and walk around the sand dunes because they blew my mind. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but it felt like I had entered a new world. It continued like this for a few miles, precisely at sea level, when suddenly I crossed a bridge with a sign that said “Devil’s Canyon.” There were rocks as far and as high as the eye could see. It looked like how my sister and I used to make sand castles. We would grab fistfulls of wet sand and let it drip through out clenched fingers into distinct, solid clumps. The peak was about 4,000 feet above sea level. It looked like if the earth shifted, everyone on this road would be crushed. Imagine a rock garden, but built vertically and with rocks that weighed tons.
The sun was setting as I entered San Diego. Right now, fireworks are exploding outside my window.
car music:
Palace Music – Viva Last Blues
Elliott Smith – Figure 8
Enon – Believo!
Nina Nastasia – Dogs
Nirvana – Incesticide
Ash – Live at the Wireless
Bellini – Snowing Sun
Big Black – Songs About Fucking
Spiritualized – Pure Phase
Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Velvet Underground – Velvet Underground
Pixies – Surfer Rosa
