Embracing The Savage (Part 1)
In 2017, I left my job, friends and the city I had lived in for 9 years to road-trip across the Western half of the United States. It was a thoroughly liberating experience as I freed myself of years of conditioning and explored who I...just going to stop here before I descend into a cliched farce and your eyes roll back like a certain professional wrestler.
In this series, I share images of some of the astounding vistas the North American continent has to offer and which had me fall in love with the land and brought out the "savage" part of myself.
The first photo, though, shows my roommates' dogs nestled snugly in my car. As if, and don't tell me otherwise, they're planning to join me cross country. Wouldn't that make this even more of an adventure?
Although I scheduled the road trip a month ahead, it's still difficult to leave. And not just because of my furry friends. It's only been two months since I left my job, and there's always a sense of inertia when you've been somewhere for so long. It's hard to leave behind what you know. I've sold most of my belongings (save for a blender; I'm a sucker for smoothies), ended my monthly rental commitment, and purchased some camping gear even though I don't have any experience with it.
It's Day 2 and as I make my way west across Texas, I stop at a town called Ozona. It's named after the Ozone because of the high quality of its air. I already start to feel more relaxed and find some grass under a tree to take a nap.
My destination today is Marfa, TX, a hub for the arts. I find a campground, and despite having never done it before, I manage to pitch a tent. And that becomes my home for a few days. There are a couple other campers, but as can happen to even experienced travellers, I'm still a bit shy in these initial stages. Early next morning, I make my way to the Marfa lights viewing area. No paranormal activity spotted, just a nice sunrise.
Soon after, I head to the Chinati Foundation, a centre for the installation of large-scale artworks. It was founded by an artist named Donald Judd, and the 15 concrete structures are his first creations and are at the heart of the institute. I have some company too in the form of an Austin-ite girl.
We learn that the emphasis here is on pieces where art and the surrounding land are inextricably linked. As it should be. And that they have an Artists in Residence program.
Later, I find my way to a free hotel swimming pool to cool down. I while away a couple of hours splashing around.
At night, I drive an hour to McDonald Observatory, located on Mt. Locke, and manage to get a few glimpses of our solar system. It is also home to HETDEX, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, which aims to map the cosmos and searches for dark energy in the early universe. It works by studying baryonic acoustic oscillations (sound waves to most of us) from the first 400,000 years after the big bang.
Before heading out to Big Bend the next day, I spot this cyan-coloured pickup truck, which makes for a nice picture for VSCO or even that other social media platform.
The Big Bend Ranch State Park is the largest one in Texas and covers the many canyons and hills around the Rio Grande. A few minutes out of my car, and I'm already beginning to feel wild; I strip off my shirt and stomp around topless. Cropped because, you know, my profile picture is already out there enough. I do want people to read this after all.
The drive to and from the park has beautiful scenery as well. Sometimes it's a good thing there are only a few passenger trains in this country.
Having spent a few days exploring West Texas, it's time to head north and cross state lines for the first time.