The open journey

" I was born upon the prairie where the wind blew free, and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there was no enclosures, and where everything drew free breath. I want to die there, and not within walls." Ten Bears I have begun digging into the trenches of my class assignment, which focuses on the water problem in Texas. One of the first things I am doing is re-reading The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. Reading about the evolution of towns like Dalhart, Texas, and Boise (pronounced Boy) City, Oklahoma, has transported me back to my first love, the High Plains. Maybelline (my handy dandy Chevy Colorado) has traced trails and highways in various landscapes. From the winding roads of Texas 16 in Bandera, Texas to the western Ozarks in Joplin, MO, I have seen special, and diverse landscapes. None of them, however, compare to the vast openness of the open Plains. Below are a few of my favorite vestiges from trips along the Plains in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado.

Along US 287/87 between Amarillo, and Dumas, TX.

NM 370 heading slightly northwest

OK 325 looking west towards New Mexico. Kenton,OK like many communities in No Man's Land, was a place where people sought the fresh fruits of freedom, and opportunity during the 1910's and 20s as the country continued to migrate to places less traveled by Americans at the time such as the Southern Plains.

The vast open space of southeastern Colorado. County roads rule the roost.

Where do we go from here?