Road Trip to Southwest USA September 2024

The Crestone Energy Fair

I took off Monday at 5 AM, heading north and east. My destination: The Crestone Energy Fair, where I’m giving a talk tomorrow titled “Adventures in Building.”

I’m traveling in my 2003 Toyota Tacoma 4X4, 4 cylinder, 5 speed, with rooftop tent. I haven’t taken a USA road trip for decades, so was curious to see if the magic is still there. Spoiler alert: it is!

After a disappointing road trip to Baja, where I found there to be too many people, too much traffic, and my secret spots no longer secret, I wondered if going home again was no longer in the cards.

But by the time I got to Eureka, Nevada, on Highway 50, which bills itself as “the loneliest road in America,” I felt the familiar surge in energy from being out of precious Marin County, and into a very different part of the USA.

This is Friday, mid-day, and I’m on my laptop in Chris Ryan’s house in Crestone, trying to do this post. Posting turns out to be more difficult than I thought from the road; this accounts for the dearth of posts of late.

Speaking of which, I have a lot to say about my experiences at Burning Man a few weeks ago, but it’ll have to wait a few weeks. (I’m 54 years younger than the typical burner, and that’s a different perspective.)

Without further ado, here are some photos from the past few days.

Auburn, California

Eureka, Nevada

Ely, Nevada

Utah

The grandeur of the southwest took my breath away. You can see photos or videos or recall it in memory, but there’s nothing like the real thing. And not only the landscape, but the people everywhere have been great. There are instances where you can go home again.

Stay tuned…