The Salt River Canyon is located between Globe and Show Low Arizona along US 60 cutting through Apache Nation land. One of the most beautiful landscapes in Arizona, the Salt River Canyon presents one with a riparian oasis in the Sonoran Desert.
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Along the Platte River in Western Nebraska, about 1/3rd into the journey along the Oregon Trail, lies one of the most reliable landmarks along the trail. Not far from Chimney Rock one can still see ruts made by wagons that traveled along this difficult route. Chimney Rock provided travelers with a landmark that helped them understand the journey already made and the one still to come. Located between the Chihuahuan and the Mohave Deserts, the Sonoran is, in comparison, a rich, lush environment filled with vegetation including the great saguaro cactus. Make no mistake, however, this is a harsh and unforgiving place with rules for survival that require strict obedience. Fort Davis, located in the Chihuahaun Desert between El Paso and Fort Stockton, in Texas’ Davis Mountains is a reminder of just how temporary the works of man are. The fort was built as a strategic defense along the San Antonio-El Paso Road and named after the then Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis. Even after Davis assumed the Presidency of the Confederate States of America, the fort’s name was not changed. I found great irony in the information given me by the African American Park Service Ranger on duty in the visitor’s center. Along the Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park one comes across this split rail fence marking the edge of a parking turn-off at thismagnificent scenic point. One is tempted to ask just what is being protected by this fence. Such questions, however, seem rather pointless if one accepts the common practice of human beings to somehow mark territory in a way that others are either accepting of or are intimidated by the markings. I recently finished reading ‘No Country for Old Men’ (the book is better but not by much). As I looked out over this landscape I kept recalling the codes of Sugar andSheriff Bell, two distinctly different characters yet they both lived by a code of choices made and the need to remain true to ones choices no matter where they lead. The difference between the two was conscience, Bell had one so he had regrets when he was unable to live up to his high standards while Sugar only made choices and calculations, a self-contentedness that assured his success as an assassin. Looking out at this beautiful landscape, I am reminded of all the choices I made that led me to this moment. Some good, some bad, but all made and there is no going back to undo what has been done. Near the Davis Mountains this empty road seems to go on forever. Located in the heart of the Chihauhaun Desert, the Davis Mountains (Named after Jefferson Davis) are located near the old San Antonio to El Paso Road. This stretch of road was empty of cars or any other sign of civilization for nearly 60 miles, save for my motorhome, the road and the fences on either side of the road itself. Levinas teaches that one must act for the benefit of others before oneself. My friend Lenny told anyone who would listen that he only found his true nature when he was able to look beyond the self. The American West represents the border between good and evil in the American psyche. Thanks mostly to Hollywood oaters, white hat cowboys always triumph over black hat bandits, blue coat soldiers always triumph over the savage native people and hearty pioneers take on HoraceGreeley’s admonition to “Go West” succeeding against all odds in wagon trains across the great prairie lands of the American West. Nothing could be further from the truth but mythology is often difficult to dent. People think of the desert as rolling sand dunes dotted with a palm laden oasis or two appearing as if from a dream. Not the Sonoran. This desert is filled with plants, an almost lush carpet of green, especially in the Spring after some rain has fallen. I could wander this desert for 40 years and never tire of its wonders. |
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