So this is the 1st of what will be several post on my 2012 road trips which stretched through most of the North American southwest.  I travelled alone, with weeks of open time to go where I wished.  I honestly planned very little for this trip.  That was by design because I didn’t want anything to inhibit my freedom.   I had no idea of where I might end up.  I knew I was going to Vegas and Venice Beach, but beyond that my schedule was open.   My days consisted of almost constant driving and very little sleep.  I had to be at my destinations at sunrise or sunset to get the optimal light.  The highways almost seemed endlessly sprawled out in front of my car.  The possibilities nearly endless.  With my XM keeping me company, 3 cameras in the passenger seat, an energy drink and tic tacs always at my side, I embarked on what would be the most amazing 4 weeks I have ever had.  I did not stick to the main roads.  Often I would randomly leave the highway and drive extensively into the wilderness or even unmarked desert roads.  The places I have seen and the people I have met have changed my life radically.  The nights I spent sleeping at in-the-middle-of-nowhere rest stops I will cherish.  Even the one in the desert that warned of poisonous snakes and spiders who might wonder into the bathrooms.  Yea, I liked those as well.   I gave up living safe.   I was the rebel, I had no one to answer to.  I left the man behind.   I navigated by intuition and often nonsensical disregard of where a road may take me.  This is was when I was at my happiest.  This is when I breathed the easiest.   This is the life I will return to this summer, and hopefully in a few years, permanently.

This is Arizona, part I.