Rapturious Armageddon

My trip through the Southwest began 3 weeks ago with a can of beans in Amboy California, so the symmetry of ending with a can of beans on "Judgement Day" at Bailey's Hot Springs in Beatty, NV is fitting. I have been driving in search of a studio that I can afford, and one that would allow me to execute a large statue that I have been contemplating for over a year. Because my new idea contains a mother, infant and child, it will be larger than anything I have attempted yet. At 56, I don't have as much time as I'd like to work on a piece of this scale, but then again who's ever heard of existential "do-overs." For all you wealthy patron's looking to score - time is nigh...

The front end of this journey began in Dilia, NM where there is a stone schoolhouse that is "for sale." The building requires more than I am prepared to apply - though for all you out there in "get-me-the-hell-out-of-here-land," I can put you in touch with the principal - @ $30k - The property is definitely worth a look, and the man selling it is an interesting painter making the journey worth it just to hang out for a chat. As I burst forth from Tecolotito having been slapped hard by the certain knowledge there was no way to make this property work, the anxiety became nearly debilitating - but not. I know it sounds like a wash, but that's how it felt. I then headed up the road to Las Vegas, NM, and in an act of defiance purchased a canvas on which to sleep at the local KOA - "high desert, I don't give a rat''s ass about no stinking high desert…? - and the drama was only just beginning, for the wannabe owners and their "letter of agreement" to buy the campground were being squeezed by an insider group hooked up with the current owner who may, or may not have had a history of being "wrong" with children. All the "wannabe buyer" wanted was someone to hold the mirror up so he could confirm what his gut had already told him... get the flock out of there!

After counseling the "buyer" to cut his losses and find a straight-ahead deal, I hunkered back up the hill to my canvas by the side of the road; deep in thought - I wasn't looking for the darkened picnic bench as it jackknifed me onto its surface using my own velocity, or stupidity - your call. For about 30 seconds as I peeled my face up from the prone position, I found my real concern was the large particle in my mouth that wasn't there a moment earlier? Satisfied it more felt more like picnic bench wood, than tooth enamel, I picked up all of my newly charged digital appliances and limped on up the hill hoping at least for sleep - the floodlight wasn't having any of it, and I wasn't going to argue with something that tall. @ 11:30 pm I booked my second lodging for the night, in a room this time. Hoping my tooth would survive, I became only more resolved to see Marble, CO - the same quarry yielding stone for "The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier," and "Lincoln's Memorial."  I woke up the next day hoping to get close enough by dark to make it up the mountain the following day - Welcome to Salida, CO.

If it wasn't heaven, it could have been - 10 units, 5 older log cabin bungalows with another 5 in a modern upstairs / downstairs rustic money maker; yes, as a matter of fact, I did make an offer then and there. She, nice lady that she was, listened politely and bid me "good night" and the, unbeknownst to me, growing purple bruise peeking out from my white goatee. Nevertheless that sleep was of the deepest kind, and for 3 days, including the conversation with the listing agent, this little dream of owning a Motel in Salida Colorado served to do no more than get my motor running, for there was no way this nice lady was getting on any "it's gonna happen" train; I returned to the facts of life choo-choo. It was worth the trip just to see Kay laughing her ass off at the Nursery I stopped in to inquire about the road up to Marble - they had rocks out front, so I figured they'd know; Kay may still be laughing at the image of me standing in running shoes and shorts asking about getting through a pass that was covered in 15 feet of snow… bless you Kay, and bless you some more. I was thwarted but not undone - naturally I set out to visit my great grandmother's brother's grand children Bob and Pete Foster in Lakewood, CO - ain''t life grand?

Fast-forward to honor - May 21, 2011 - The End of Days, I am choosing "An Astonishing Existence Award," and as with most awards, it remains a toss up. In this instance it has come down to the quarry at Marble, CO; the beauty of Pocatello; or stopping to photograph an F-111 carcass at a one-horse-airport just past the "Fish Bait Bar" in Silver Springs, NV, so I could run smack into one of my engineering mentors, Seven O. Clark and his lovely wife Anita. He just happened to be in the process of commissioning the "Cactus Air Force." That I was even at that corner was only because seconds earlier I had chosen to take the long way to Wellington, NV to visit my boyhood friend Mark and his Indian Maid companion, again - If life ain't grand - it is dam sure weird…?

Post Apocalyptic Update: Sunday 22 May 2011 - the day after Armageddon, so in honor of the event I will run in "Death Valley this morning. Last night sleeping on open ground the same as I did at the beginning of this journey, I was visited by deep and profound dreams. Whether these helpful insights are from soaking in Bailey's Hot Springs; from traveling same roads my mother's parents trod in Nevada, or just sometimes hard work results in good information - it really doesn't matter. What does matter is that, while I have not secured a new site in which to carve my next piece, I have explored many new options I did not have before; I have gained new personal insights that may contribute to greater resolve and possibly more clarity for the work I do. My heart is more at peace, while my purpose is more intense. This leaves me rich with emotion that I would share, for if I must be judged, at least I can go out…

…wishing each of you who read this: good health; greatest possible happiness; and if at all possible, at least as much fun reading this as I have had writing it - ciao mes amis

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