Anyone on a long road trip sees a huge variety of license plates. Those from New Mexico have a unique feature, the letters ‘U S A’ next to the state name. It seems a descent percentage of Americans wouldn’t know what country they are in otherwise. Today I explore the history of this state. East of Grants, the highway passes through a series of buttes. Parts of it are steep, and some have pretty views. It passes two Indian run casinos, and three old truss bridges from the heyday of route 66. All of them sit in empty desert. Crest a hill and all of that suddenly changes. Albuquerque spreads out at the foot of the Sandia Mountains. I fel... read more

This morning, it’s raining. Normally, this doesn’t matter much. Today, that rain is falling in a desert, where it can wreak havoc with travel. Large amounts of rain can also ruin some things I have coming up that I won’t be able to rearrange, unlike Chaco Canyon. Gallup sits on the western edge of the Pueblo Indian reservations in New Mexico, so that is where I ultimately went. These reservations, like other Native American reservations, have widely ranging policies on visitors. Some welcome them, some ban them completely, most are in between. The pueblos themselves range from sites that clearly evoke the past as seen at Mesa Verde to ones that look downright dull. Before visiting, it’s important to study the history. That certainly applies at my first site, url=http://www.zunitourism.com/... read more

Today, I got to experience some of the best of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and some of the worst. It says something about the scenery around here that the latter had little effect on the former. I woke up to pouring rain. Not just any rain, the continuous sheets that only seem to appear in the spring and autumn. The temperature has dropped too, so it was noticeably colder than yesterday. The dirt streets have turned to mud, with water flowing in big ruts. The rain and cold are a serious problem, because I booked a jeep tour today. I ultimately went anyway, and it was still worth it. Dirt tracks cover most of the Rocky Mountains. Miners showed up in southwest Colorado looking for gold in the 1860s. They found some. They then built ... read more

At first glance, the Southwestern deserts seem like the worst place on the continent to settle: hot in summer, cold in winter, and incredibly dry. In reality, several ancient tribes set up remarkably sophisticated civilizations here. They developed the large scale social organizations needed to build large scale irrigation works, plus remarkable stone settlements. Their remains now cover the region, haunting reminders of ancient humanity. The dry environment ensures that all is remarkably well preserved. I plan to see many of these sites over the next month. Cortez sits near one of the most famous. A long low sandstone mesa rises south and west of town. It’s covered in pine trees. From a distance, the mesa ... read more

I woke up this morning outside Cortez Colorado. The town is completely unlike most people’s vision of the state. Many see Colorado as the ultimate example of the Rocky Mountains. Instead, Cortez is part of the southwestern deserts: dry, relatively flat, and surrounded by pine covered mesas. Cortez is a long way from Las Vegas. Why drive all the way out here? I’m here because I need to be. The time is now early October, and this month is when weather at high elevations starts to get sketchy. To see sights in this area comfortably, I need to do so now. Cortez is also close to a remarkable festival, one that provides a glimpse into another world. I drove out of Cortez heading south. This area is definitely desert, covered in dry scrub, with almost no ... read more

Driving out of Las Vegas is just as surreal as driving in. Traffic near the strip is atrocious. Soon, a normal city replaces that unreal glittery world. The buildings gradually disappear to reveal rocky hills and desert scrub. Get gas in this stretch of highway, because prices go up quickly afterward. The buildings eventually fade away until the road is once again in empty desert. Over the last five days I have gone from empty nowhere to a fantasy world and back to empty nowhere. The highway reaches a ridge of red buttes. A weather-beaten building sits in front of them, with a sign reading “last chance gas”. The price is as bad as the Owens valley. Past the building, the road enters a ravine between the buttes. Soon afterward, it forks. Until a decade ago, ... read more

Las Vegas has worn me out. This city is an endless sea of experience, around the clock. Overload eventually sets in, followed by burnout. I’m now quite exhausted. Happy, certainly, but also physically spent. My guidebook mentions that three days is more than enough for most people. I’m ready to go. I did allow myself one luxury indulgence today. Remember that during slow periods luxury comes cheaper in Las Vegas than almost anywhere else. That includes the spas (the legitimate ones, people). I dropped the cash for a hot stone massage, which felt really good after being constantly on the go for the last three days. It was well worth the cost. I switched hotels tonight. I did it mostly for budgetary reasons, but it also provides an important psychological transition. The big resorts li... read more

Today is my third day in Las Vegas, and this city is wearing me out. In many ways, it’s the dark reflection of Burning Man (see Sept 1st). Like the festival, this place creates its own world, where things exist that are not possible outside its borders. Unlike the non-commercial community orientated Burning Man, this world revolves completely around money. Las Vegas is the most materialistic city in the United States, if not the world. Almost everything here requires cash, and extracts it with amazing efficiency. My trip discipline is the only way I’m staying on budget. The city does have a few things worth experiencing that don’t involve opening a wallet. The view of the strip at night is amazing, at least the first few times. The Elvis impersonators on the strip can be fun. ... read more