Road Tripin'

Just got back from a road trip to Arizona, Brain. I LOVE road trips. Went on tons of them as a kid. Just feel so at home out on the road, and the advent of cell phones makes it even more fun since you can instantly share thoughts and pics of all the weird stuff you encounter with your best friends. Having my best friend and B. a phone call away makes the lonely time on the road so much more fun.

Of course some of the best stuff I saw I couldn't get pictures of (it's not always advisable to snap shots with the cell phone while hurtling down the highway at 90 miles an hour).

Things I saw that I want to remember:

1. The Moon. Gynormous (a word I maintain I made up by the way) and deep, deep, yellow, rising behind me as I crossed the New Mexico border. It filled my rear view mirror with its gorgeousness.

2. The Flock Of Birds. As big as a building, probably a thousand or more birds, flying in a flock, cutting and turning as one, looking more like some huge single sky-entity than a group of individual creatures.

3. The Big Dipper. Upside down, but unmistakable in the crystal clear sky. I watched it through the back window of my car, parked in the middle of the desert a hundred miles from anywhere.

4. I 10 into El Paso. One side of the road is Mexico and one side is the US. Wondering why it's such a problem for Americans that people from Mexico want to come and work in the U.S. I mean, heaven forbid, someone from a country that is so obviously struggling, should want to come and do our dirty work so they can help their families live better lives.

5. Western Sunsets. No explanation needed, Brain, if you've seen one, you know why they are worth remembering.

What will happen to us, Brain? As we run out of oil and our economy built on cheep fuel crumbles away, will road trips be things of the past? Will it sound weird to say that once you could hop in your car and drive until you found a place you were happy?