On Saturday, August 25, I began a nine-day trek that would span from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, taking me 3755 miles from San Francisco, CA to Boston, MA. Just me, my Saturn Sedan, and my digital camera. This is my photo journal, intended to capture the flavor of this strange, diverse country. |
On the Thursday before leaving San Francisco, I was treated to a brilliant sunset over the bay. It served as a nice conclusion to what had been an amazing three months in California. Here are some photos I took from the Marina Bay area in Richmond. |
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Day 1: 730 Miles. After spending Saturday morning running from place to place, gathering everything I needed to take back to Boston, I finally left the Bay Area around 3pm, determined to make it as far as I could before finding a campsite. |
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Around 3:30 a.m., I set up camp at a KOA in western Arizona. I went to the very back of the complex to maximize my distance from the highway noise. Little did I know that I was positioning mself right next to the railroad tracks, which rumbled all night long. |
Day 2: 508 Miles. I woke up fairly early on Sunday, not because I had sated my need for sleep, but because when the sun rose, my tent became an astonishingly efficient oven. The only shelter from the heat came in my nicely air conditioned car. |
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Halfway across Arizona, I stumbled upon "Dinosaur Park," a tourist attraction that mixes a vast collection of petrified wood, a live buffalo exhibit, dinosour statues, a museum of indian artifacts, and a tacky gift shop. Argubaly the best $5 I've ever spent. |
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I spent the evening at Dad's place in Albuquerque and finally drove to Los Alamos around midnight. It was nice to be back in a familiar bed. |
Day 3: 5 Miles Hiking. I spent Monday hiking with Mom and Beth in the Jemez Mountains behind Los Alamos. As per typical summer weather, we had a beautiful morning, light thunderstorms in the afternoon, and a cool evening. We started the day in the Valle Grande, the enormous volcanic caldera responsible for the formation of the Jemez Mountains. In a decision that is being praised by New Mexicans, the land was recently purchased by the federal government, and will be managed by the U.S. Forest Service. |
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It's still a little shocking to see the extensive fire damage in and around Los Alamos. Grasses have finally started to grow in the burned areas, but the mountains are still covered with black trees that stand up like rows of toothpicks along the ridgeline. Without the vegetation to soak up the moistures, the flooding was particularly bad this summer, and some roads were washed away on multiple occasions. |
Day 4: 383 Miles. Tuesday morning, Beth and started the drive up to Colorado. I had made arrangements to stay with Pat and Amanda in Boulder, and the four of us were planning to hike Long's Peak on Wednesday. |
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Day 5: 15 Miles Hiking. We woke at 2 and were on the trail by 4 a.m. Based on the beta we had received, we expected that Long's Peak would be a walk-up - And for a while, it was. But once we crossed the boulder field and passed through The Keyhole, we were presented with substantially more vertical and exposure than we had expected. Regardless, we summitted successfully before noon and made it back to the car only minutes before the beginning of the traditional afternoon ranistorm. |
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Day 6: 814 Miles. Take 77,227 square miles of corn fields. Add haybails liberally. Sprinkle on a few cattle. That's basically the recipe for Nebraska, which unfortunately makes for monotonous travel conditions. Nonetheless, I managed to find some interesting places without deviating very far from the Interstate. |
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I spent Thursday evening at Grandma's house in Coralville, IA, dining with the whole Jagnow clan. It was a great opportunity to catch up with them, some of whom I probably hadn't seen in well over a decade. |
Day 7: 272 Miles. Friday morning offered more opportunities to visit with the Jagnows. I got to see Albert and Jenny's new place, Al and Karin's house, and the equestrian ranch where Crystal works. I left around 4pm and spent some time exploring the backroads on my way to Chicago. |
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I spent the evening at Maggie's new place in Chicago. As usual, we engaged in deep conversation for hours - life, politics, fear, religion. Eventually, exhaustion drove us from the Chicago-style pizza parlor back to her place for some sleep. |
Day 8: 468 Miles. Conversation resumed Saturday morning at a great greasy-spoon breakfast place. I left shortly after noon, but decided to spend a while touring downtown Chicago before leaving the state. I guess that's the beauty of being on one's own schedule. |
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After leaving downtown Chicago, the Interstate seemed a bit mundane... So I started wandering the backroads, and was immediately greeted with some more interesting scenery. |
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By chance, I stumbled upon the Fulsom County Fair while wandering through the backroads of Ohio. I get the impression that if you live in Fulsom County, this is an eagerly anticipated annual event. For me, it was another well-spent five dollars. |
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I spent Saturday night at a campsite called Junction 19/80, just off the Interstate. It had a railroad theme, complete with offices fashioned from old boxcars. |
Day 9: 580 Miles. On Sunday morning, I began my final sprint to Boston. Exhausted by a week of travel, I was slightly less adventurous and spent most of the day on the Interstate. |
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So what's America all about? Mom and apple pie? As if people in other countries don't have mothers or fruity pastries. It seems to me that America is about drive-in movie theaters, gaudy dinosaur statues and tacky plastic antenna ornaments. Or maybe America is about experiencing America for one's self. Happy Trails! |
All images copyright 2001 by Rob Jagnow... But if you'd like any of the full-resolution images, or if you'd like to see the whole collection, or if you'd like permission to use the images elsewhere, please contact me and I'd be happy to oblige. |