Last week, at 7 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, my wife and I started a roadtrip west to New Mexico. It’s a trip we made for the first time two years ago when she attended a week-long work conference in Santa Fe.
“Drive,” you say? Yes. We’ve both flown plenty in our time, but we agree that roadtrips just make things more interesting. You can’t just pull over on the side of the road to make a picture when your cruising at 30,000 feet. This country is truly amazing and I love being able to get off the interstate and explore a small town or whatever catches our eyes.
We spent most of our first day making our way across Kentucky. We stopped briefly in Versailles for some donuts and to stretch our legs, then got back on the road making our way to the far southwest corner of the state. We stopped for a late lunch at Parcell’s in Benton and continued on crossing into Tennessee then crossing the Mississippi into Missouri for a bit, then finally to Jonesboro, Arkansas for the night.
Day 1 - 639 miles.
We left Jonesboro 6:30 a.m. and got on the road heading west. There was an incredible sunrise that I had to pull over for. There wasn’t much traffic that early, so I stepped into the grassy median and made a few frames. On my way back to the car, I made the picture below. Literally anything in that light would look amazing.
I try to avoid I-40 like the plague, but I knew we’d have to pick it up in Conway, Arkansas. As we approached Conway along Highway 64, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! It was a Harrison Mayes sign. I immediately pulled over and made a few pictures. I’ve been photographing these signs for years and wrote about it here. It made being on I-40 bearable for the next several hundred miles.
We drove on to Oklahoma City, had lunch at FRIDA Southwest, and visited a few nearby shops before heading downtown to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
Thirty years ago, after my daughter was born, I stopped in Oklahoma City - just weeks after the bombing - blocks away from the devastating aftermath. I was stationed in California and a few weeks after her birth in West Virginia, I had to drive back out to my post. Seeing the photograph of the firefighter carrying the infant away from the rubble made me weep and standing there, looking at the devastation was almost too much.
All of that came flooding back as we walked through each section of the museum. It was incredibly hard to take in, but I’m glad we visited and paid our respects.
We drove on to Elk City, Oklahoma, had dinner at the Prairiefire Grille, and called it a night.
Day 2 - 569 miles.
We, again, got an early start and headed into Texas, stopping in McLean along Route 66 to make a few pictures. We stopped to check out the Buc-ee’s in Amarillo - as one does - and I have to say I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. If you’ve been to Walmart, you’ve been to Buc-ee’s. I said what I said.
Next stop, Tucumcari, New Mexico. We stretched our legs in the Tractor Supply and I made a picture of the Palomino Motel for Honey. It’s hard to make a bad picture of an old motel on Route 66.
We decided to take a more scenic route to Santa Fe and ditched the Google Maps-recommended route by taking Highway 104 to Las Vegas, New Mexico. I stopped to make a picture of one of the longest stretches of road I can remember just outside Tucumcari.
We pulled into Las Vegas and went into the Plaza Hotel to look around. There, the front desk clerk was incredibly helpful with recommendations for where to go for lunch and sharing about the rich film history in the town (Longmire, No Country for Old Men, and many others).
We had lunch at Charlie’s Spic and Span Bakery and Cafe then drove on to Santa Fe.
Day 3 - 458 miles.
Honey’s work conference didn’t start until Tuesday, and since we had Monday open, we decided to drive up to Chimayo. We were a bit early as nothing was open, so we opted to drive up to Taos, taking the High Road.
I turned around to photograph a group of dogs basking in the morning light and we continued to take in the view on the way to Taos. We ate lunch at Legacy Cafe then drove up to Arroyo Honda to meet up with Jonathan Blaustein at his home. Jonathan and I connected online years ago, but had never met, so it was a real treat to meet in person and take a walk around his property.
Next, we headed to Taos Pueblo and took a guided tour around the grounds. Our guide was incredible and took the time to explain the history of the village in detail with care and consideration. We had some frybread on the way back to the car and headed back toward Santa Fe on the Low Road.
We stopped for a few minutes near the Rio Grande Gorge visitor center because the light was just incredible. I wandered down a path from the parking lot beside the river to photograph this Rio Grande Cottonwood, which just took my breath.
We’ll start making our way home Saturday. I can tell you this place is full of magic, incredible light, wonderful people, and amazing food. I’ve only been out here twice, but it’s a place I can see myself returning to many more times.
My photo essay for West Virginia Public Broadcasting was published December 4. I’m incredibly proud of this work and I’m grateful to have done it. You can see the photographs, read my essay, and listen to my interview with WVPB’s Eric Douglas here. I’ll share work from the series in a future newsletter.
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From the road,
Roger
So enjoyed following along on your drive, NM is truly a place of magic.
Absolutely beautiful work, man.