new mexico, arizona, grand canyon

i thought about having something to say about being in the grand canyon, but i don't really have much to say. maybe my next post will be more pictures of the grand canyon / surrounding areas. i'm so poor right now that i haven't been able to spend the days off quite like i had planned. once i get paid, there are many / many / many trips to take and therefore many / many / many pictures to take. i really want to take some more pictures on scenic 180 that connects flagstaff and the grand canyon. you go through two national forests, through the san francisco peaks, through some beautiful valleys, birch trees, and then just awesome arizona high desert stuff. also more pictures between the grand canyon and page, arizona. and page, in general ought to be photographed again, because i had an awful camera. and then utah, so much in utah. so much. so much. sleep. monument valley, zion, deserts, state parks, arches, and lake powell, horseshoe bend, antelope canyons . . . . on and on and on . . . . southwest dreams of an alien land.

crazy, crazy storm that welcomed laurie and i into new mexico. we had to pull over. there was a hail storm, lightning everywhere, and a near death experience.40 west between winslow, arizona and flagstaff. the san francisco peaks always look purple and beautiful. i like these two pictures, even if they're similar. taking pictures of the grand canyon is, in general, a useless endeavor. i'm hoping that the longer i'm here for, the better i'll get at photographing it. the colors just make no sense in a camera, the depth, and the hugeness can't even begin to be expressed. so i think the picture below works kind of well, eliminating the color seems to make the pictures work a little better. there will be plenty more to come.

texas / your preference for vertical pictures is showing

i guess people have a lot to say about texas and probably a lot of it is true. but i think that texas was one of the most interesting states that we drove through, for a number of reasons. texas was the flattest place i've ever been. it's flatter than i could have ever imagined. it's also emptier than i could have ever imagined. the neatest part is that when we got close to the new mexico border, we all of the sudden just drove off the edge of a huge mesa. essentially, we drove off the great plain. the wild flowers in texas were beautiful, the clouds were beautiful, the grass was beautiful and the world's largest cross left something to be desired for, which is why it's not worthy of posting on this blog. people were also very good to us in texas, particularly the ladies that worked at the amarillo burger king. i got to go to cadillac ranch which is something i've been wanting to do for a while - if you ever get a chance, remember to bring your own paint pens/spray paint.

missouri

laurie and i were in missouri. it was by far the greatest state we drove through. after ohio, indiana and illinois, i felt like missouri was the promise land. the trees were big again, there were hills and mountains and it felt good to be there. we were having a lot of trouble with the air conditioning this day - the day before i had nearly passed out from heat stroke. we spent a good part of this day alternating between historic route 66 and the main road. on route 66, we were able to put the windows down and drive a little slower so the wind wasn't whipping in our faces and my hair. i like the picture of the horse the most. it feels really ironic to be posting pictures of a place that is living when feeling like i'm in the place of the dead - in so many ways.

it felt so simple, so prodigious at the same time.

my parents and i were in boston for the weekend. my dad got a job working up there, and so we were looking for apartments. the house on wellesley ave. won't be sold, hopefully in a few years my dad will be able to work from home in pittsburgh. until then, i'm excited about a new adventure and exploring a new city when i'm able to visit (hopefully once a month). we went to salem for mother's day because, having visited salem before, i knew my mom would love everything about the town. we took a tour of the house of the seven gables and also went to the salem witch museum, which was the proper mix of classy and cheesy. my family walks this line very well. here are some pictures i took there. once i looked at them on my computer, i realized they turned out better than i thought they would. often times, the pictures that i take and think nothing of, turn out to be my favorites. this is may be a little disconcerting. i realize that i have no idea what the word "disconcerting" means, where it came from, and what it means to be "un-concerting" something. concert? it's late. this thought might be embarrassing in the morning.

i like the shadow of the trees on the church.

an old cemetery in salem. by old, i mean really, really old. i thought these pictures turned out much better than the pictures i tried to take in the allegheny cemetery. i think since the tombstones were older, the picture felt like it had more reason. also, the tree is making it happen and so is the light. the tombstones aren't the focus.

the picture makes me feel like i'm a member of the kennedys. the colors of blue and the boats make me feel like this could be a photo in an album that their family made of one of their summers in cape cod.

the colors of these leaves remind me of what colors are like in dreams or when you first wake up.

i like the shadow on the table.

everybody just stop talking

went on a walk in frick park on the perfect day. i like frick park. but i'm ready to be some place else. it's hard to know if it's okay that i've sort of run out of pictures to take in frick park, or if that's a sort of stupid thing to say. i know that when i'm in arizona, i'm going to miss the green and the shade. i know that the red rocks will make me feel like an alien in foreign land. i ought to savor this stuff up more.

student teaching

i think these are pretty fantastic. you can't really go wrong with these kids, though.

and i, i'm the carnival of peace, i'll probably start a fleet and make no apologies

here are some outside pictures. the weather is getting nicer - i hope spring will take it's time. there's really no need to rush into the hot. but the warm and the sun and the clouds are fine by me.