i just know i have to be there alone

the first picture was taken through my car window - so excuse some of the dead bugs that you might be able to see.

in yavapai cafeteria using the internet. these are some pictures on the road from flagstaff to the grand canyon. i'm really grateful that i got these pictures - it seems like every time i'm on the road, i try to get some that i think can capture how beautiful it is. during sunset, to the right i see the san francisco peaks turn purple. to the left, i see the sun setting over the flattest landscape i've ever seen. in the distance, even, i can see it starting to illuminate the distant rim of the canyon. the sun turns my hair gold, like the desert brush turns the same shades of yellow, gold and auburn. like most warm desert nights in any part of the world, the sun setting comes as a relief, of sorts. i can remove my sunglasses and my broken air conditioning isn't bothersome anymore. i almost exclusively listen to iron & wine when i'm driving this road. sort of as an homage to my friends, but also because nothing else feels as right as the sort of grungy banjo and steady beats. like everything else i do here, the road seems like a sleeping ghost of memories of people and conversations and feelings. my time here, now, has brought much more solitude and independence so there's plenty of room for those memories. i feel very free in my time here alone - not lonely at all.