Hey folks.  After another half-day on the road, I'm at a coffee shop in beautiful Flagstaff, AZ.  The drive from Santa Fe, across portions of the Painted Desert, was really unbelievable.  The wide variety of colors and geologic formations were really cool, and the changing terrain continues to fascinate me (as you can probably tell...).

A few words on Santa Fe, and then I want to devote a few paragraphs to broader topics. 

Though relatively small, I found Santa Fe to be a charming city.  You can really feel the convergence of Native American, Spanish and Mexican cultures throughout the city.  The architecture, characterized by long, low buildings (the tallest building I saw was probably 4 or 5 stories high), evoked memories of the old pueblo images I learned about in school.  Colors are on vibrant display throughout the city, and it has an old world feel to it that is unmistakable. 

I walked around a bit Friday evening, taking in live music in the main plaza, then did some typical tourist work on Saturday.  I won't bore you with the historical stuff, but did want to highlight the art community. 

Canyon Road is home to more than 100 art galleries within a mile (at least that's what they claim; it was too hot for me to keep count) containing a diverse array of pieces, from Native American to Russian to Contemporary as well as sculpture pieces.  The entire area just has this terrific, arty vibe to it.  After walking in and out of several galleries--and determining that 99.9% of the pieces were outside my budget--I was quite taken by the work of several artists.  None more so than Dale Terbush, whose work blends colors and textures to create awe-inspiring nature scenes.  You can see some of his work here:  http://terbush.myshopify.com/collections/original-terbush-paintings. 

All in all, Santa Fe was really cool.  

Moving on...

In the course of my travels, I have met a ton of interesting people at various phases in their lives, including retired couples, college students, and like-minded wanderers.  I have also been fortunate enough to find my way into conversation with many of these travelers and locals, too.  Getting to chat with them  has been a true highlight of the trip thus far, and I'm sure it will continue to be as I go.  I'll share more as I go, but here are a few for your reading pleasure.***

First there was Nick in Nashville.  Nick was in his late thirties and had recently relocated to Nashville from Los Angeles.  I met him at a bar on lower Broadway on a Saturday night.  We struck up a conversation around Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals (Celtics vs. Heat); he was avowed Lebron James hater, and we had an interesting chat.  After 10 years in LA, he decided to move back east (originally from New York, I believe), as the culture of movie stars trying to "make it" had worn on him.  I asked him if he found the same to be true in Nashville, and he said that he most certainly had.  I asked if that bothered him, and he said no, and that it was because most of the folks in Nashville were doing something that he enjoyed, and therefore he benefited.  We ended up bouncing around and meeting other people that night, but I remained struck by his self-interested mentality.  I asked if he liked country music, and he said "well enough, but the vibe of the city is much better."  Regardless, he said, he was out of LA, and liking the south enough to not want to leave.  Nashville, it seems, had a grip on him and wasn't letting go. 

Then there was Susan, the fifty-something mother of two.  She sat to my left at Cowgirl BBQ in Santa Fe, NM and told me her story over chiles rellenos.  After raising her children, she had worked for six years as an Administrative Clerk for the county government in New Jersey.  One day, she decided she wanted to go back and finish the BA that she had let slide some thirty years earlier.  After scoring much better than expected on a placement test, she began taking classes.  However, it wasn't enough, and she wanted a new experience altogether.  Single (I didn't ask how/why, she didn't tell), she moved to south Florida because "she wanted to live by the beach."  She did so for a month.  Then, she was admitted to a Certificate Program to teach English as a Second Language in a foreign country.  It was in Santa Fe, where her sister and youngest son lived, so she decided to do it.  She packed up, took 15 days to drive from south Florida to Santa Fe (hitting several of the same locations I've hit along the way) and got an apartment in Santa Fe.  Then her sister moved.  Then class was pushed back by a month, now to start in July.  And the fact that she didn't have a BA had limited the countries to which she could be assigned.  Regardless, she was determined, if a bit nervous.  "I can do anything, and live anywhere, for a year," she said.  "And if it sucks, or I hate it, I'll just come back."  The class will conclude in early August, and she expects to ship out--to somewhere--by Labor Day.  I expressed my admiration, and told her that wherever she ended up, I'd be pulling for her. 

To my right that same evening was Brad, a self-proclaimed skater.  He, too, had recently relocated, though he had done so in a somewhat more interesting manner.  He had skated.  From Miami.  In December/January.  In his words, he "met a guy who had just skated from the southern-most point in South America all the way to Miami, making my 20-mile longboard rides seem quaint."  (well, maybe he didn't use the word "quaint"...)  "So three weeks later, I was gone, with an 80 lb pack on my back.  I arrived in Santa Fe 7 weeks later, 30 pounds lighter with a mountain man beard." (which he was still sporting).  I asked him if he'd ever go back, and he said probably not.  That he liked Santa Fe enough to hang out for a while longer, and then would reassess.  His trek made me feel like a pansy.  No complaining here; at least I have A/C!

These are just a few of the many, many stories I've heard thus far on the road.  Among the many things which I've enjoyed so much on this trip has been the opportunity to meet and chat with a wide variety of people along the way.  I find their stories interesting, and it's always good to engage with someone in conversation, particularly when rolling into a new place solo. 

For me, the time on the road has been a lot of things...fun, frustrating, exciting, inspiring, tiring and many more.  I am excited for what's ahead, both on the trip and beyond, and the beautiful scenery and interesting historical sites have stoked my spiritual and academic sides. 

But meeting new people, who have had entirely different types of life experiences, has been just as inspiring and motivating.  These experiences spur me to keep moving and learning and doing.  They've also provided a bit of insight into the therapeutic and reflective nature of travel, as well as the enormous courage it requires to chase your dreams--or at least put yourself outside of your comfort zone. 

Suffice it to say, I'm really enjoying my time and random conversations. 

That's all for now.  Driving through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona in the coming hours, then Grand Canyon all day tomorrow and probably Tuesday morning.

DRB

PS -- I've been listening to the Steve Jobs book on iPhone...fascinating stuff.  But that whole "reality distortion field" thing sounds a whole lot like the very old saying "where there's a will, there's a way."  And Jobs HAD to have been biploar.  My goodness.  

 

***The stories are real, or at least are as they were told to me; the names, however, are changed.