Desert BlooM
A photographic journey through the American Southwest
This album was shot at the tail end of 2021, but the story begins a few years earlier. After losing my job, I was offered $50/day to join a small team out west creating a travel website. I flew out to Santa Barbara on a whim and started working. We rambled over sand dunes and mountain passes for a couple of weeks, documenting the remoteness of obscure little towns. We were telling stories through photo and text, and publishing it on as we went. I had no idea what I was doing, but I sensed an underlying instinct. When I got home, I saw the vision of an entirely new career path laid out in front of me. That's when I began freelancing as a photographer and graphic designer.
In late 2021, with travel still largely restricted by Covid, I engineered a new roadtrip through the west. This time I knew my way around the camera and I intended to do the scenery justice. I saddled a rooftop tent to my car and enlisted two co-pilots. Ultra-adventurist Uncle Dave—stateside at the time from Barcelona—would join me for the journey west. At LAX, my girlfriend Ani would tag in, and we'd make our way back home. A Desert Bloom is a climatic phenomenon where the vegetation of a dry, dormant landscape comes alive after a period of rain. Like one of these blooms, this photo journal represents both a personal creative rebirth, and a rejuvenated spirit following the Covid years.
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Stops:
Saturday Oct. 30th, 2021 | Day 1
8 hours through the rain from Boston to Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh, PA
Oct. 31st, 2021 | Day 2
In disguise through the midwest on Halloween. 14 hours to Utah.
Columbus, OH
The drive-through states.
Accidentally hit our first National Park of the trip.
Into that good night.
Nov. 1st, 2021 | Day 3
Somewhere in Kansas.
Photo cred: Dave
Gas mileage dwindles over hundreds of miles of slight incline across the plains.
Climbing the plateau. Weather ahead.
We came to a dead stop in a snowstorm along I-70 past Denver. No cell service. Next to us, an off ramp that led up a mountain pass. We went for it. On the other side, the clouds broke as we slid down into Frisco, Colorado. A perfect little mountain town. Further on down the trail, we picked up I-70 again.
Everything turned to liquid gold.
Interesting relics appear as we pull over the Utah line. It got so dark I couldn't see beyond the headlights, and I missed the moment when pine green surroundings became red desert mesas.
We arrived ahead of schedule and there were no places to stay. We sauntered into a local dive to see what we could find out. I bought this guy a beer in exchange for some info on where to hide the quite noticeable setup. He offered up the small piece of yard next to his house on the outskirts. On night two, we found the official campsite, about 20 minutes south in the Spanish Valley.
Nov. 2nd, 2021 | Day 4
Moab, a lush valley town surrounded by red desert.
Arches National Park
Dave in his element.
Delicate Arch.
Castles in the Sky.
Rock formation that inspired the book title.
The snowcapped La Sal mountains in the distance.
Camp meal.
Nov. 3rd, 2021 | Day 5
Canyonlands National Park.
Feels like standing at the edge of the world.
Dead Horse Point state park.
Dave grabs ahold of the ol' machine. Off we go.
Nov. 4th, 2021 | Day 6
South through Monument Valley en route to Page, Arizona.
It wasn't shortest distance between two points. But well worth it. The largest expanse of land we'd ever seen. Easy to see why it's sacred land to the Navajo.
The angle.
The shot.
Nov. 5th, 2021 | Day 7
Accidentally waking up to a giant balloon fiesta.
We're told if we head down to the grounds early enough, we might be able to find someone that needs help setting up. In exchange, we get offered a free ride.
Floating.
Lift.
Taken by the wind.
Gravity.
Glen Canyon Dam. The Colorado River was at 28% capacity in late 2021.
Horseshoe Bend.
Nov. 6th, 2021 | Day 8
Detour: 4 hours off course.
Thor's Hammer.
No Ponzi schemes here.
Down inside the Hoodoos. A purple borealis sunset.
Nov. 6th, 2021 | Night 8
The detour leads to another late night arrival.
Waking up at Kolob Gardens Gate.
A 5-star hotel.
Sun wakes the canyon.
Heading up the infamous Angel's Landing trail.
Cliff walkers.
Scared of heights.
The reward is a full canyon view.
Rest for the wicked.
Court of the Patriarchs.
The Watchman. One of my favorite shots.
Nov. 8th, 2021 | Day 10
Nevada. Just passing through.
Nov. 9th, 2021 | Day 11
Sunrise reaches the Pacific at Crystal Cove State Park. Uncle Dave heads back to Barcelona tonight.
Nov. 10th, 2021 | Day 12
Ani flies in to LAX. After the obligatory In-n-Out burger, we head off to get our kicks. Inland Empire.
Non-politically correct motel.
Nov. 10th, 2021 | Day 12
Cheap motel pools and potent cocktails.
Relaxation Station. The "vacation" portion of the trip.
Twin Palms. The Sinatra Residence.
Moonrise over the Mojave with the lights of Palm Springs in the foreground.
Nov. 13th, 2021 | Day 15
J-Tree by moonlight
Skull Rock
Cholla Cactus Garden
The rocks are dry and sticky and easy to climb.
After a day in the hot sun, time to cool down.
Dos Tecate's with lime, please.
Orange soda.
Campsite at Sky Fire Ranch. 15 minutes outside the park.
Time to head back east.
Amboy, CA. Two hours out of Joshua Tree. Population, 4.
Nov. 14th, 2021 | Day 16
5:28 am. Elevation 10,000. 28 Degrees.
The reverse angle view.
Stepped on a pinecone to make it look at me.
Nov. 15th, 2021 | Day 17
Popping in for a quick, quiet weeknight. Fulfilling destiny on a certain corner.
Nov. 16th, 2021 | Day 18
Wide open New Mexico
Before arriving in Las Cruces we drove out to Roswell, New Mexico. For a place with such a distinct cultural history, it didn't have much of the the wacky, weird, mystical qualities I had hoped for. Disappointing.
Nov. 17th, 2021 | Day 19
There's East Texas. West Texas. And then there's the Far West.
We found in Marfa what we had been looking for in Roswell. A deserted bohemian hideout with a funky twist. The "Marfa Lights" are a mysterious, potentially extraterrestrial series of glowing orbs in the Chihuahuan desert. The lights give the town its entire personality. Even if they turned out to be just an atmospheric refraction of headlights a distant highway.
One of the most isolated population centers we encountered.
Nov. 19th, 2021 | Day 21
7 hours across Texas from Marfa to Austin.
Cowboys
Quite the combination.
Nov. 26th, 2021 | Day 28
A full day's drive from Austin. The final night.
Another trip around the sun.
Nov. 27th, 2021 | Day 29-30 | Saturday into Sunday
Home is where I want to be.
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After a month on the road, I woke up on a couch in New Orleans, sluggish and hungover. I'd just completed another trip around the sun, to cap off the roadtrip of a lifetime. I reflected on the wanderlust I felt years before, jobless, trying to make a few bucks through a bluey screen. There were limited resources and no directions then.
I sat in my car surrounded by the thick morning air of the Garden District, with many miles in front of me to get home. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to close that gap. I decided to drive as far as I could in one shot. For entertainment, I tuned my radio dial to the local football games as I skimmed around the towns of the SEC. I stopped for gas near Starkville. Ate Chik-fil-a in Tuscaloosa. By nightfall I hit an orange-drenched Knoxville after a game let out. And still had 13 hours to go. I picked up some more coffee and continued on. Eventually, no amount of caffeine can stop the metronome of painted white lines flashing across your pupils in nothing but blackness. I couldn't sleep at two sketchy rest stops. Eventually I saw the sunrise somewhere over the Appalachians. I don't remember driving through Pennsylvania. Finally, just short of 9am, I smelled the Meadowlands and crossed into New York. A sign for Providence. The big blue bug. Massachusetts welcomed me in green. On Sunday around noon, I pulled into my parents house, dove onto the couch and half-slept while watching the Pats game. I was right where I needed to be.
