An American Desert Travelog

AN AMERICAN DESERT TRAVELOG

“Don’t listen to him Dan
for he spreads the desert sand
with water . . . cool clear water.”

      --- The chorus from a song by
           The Sons of the Pioneers,
            c.1947
I.
Pulled out of Vegas on I15
west into the hot desert
filled with sagebrush,
rocky wart-like eruptions
and ungraceful clumps of cacti.
111 degrees on the twenty foot
tall thermometer next to
Dan’s Taco just across the
border in the California town
of Baker---an aptly named oasis
on the map of desolate places.

II.
Passed by Zzy2x Road;
whoever named it
must have been out
in the sun too long.
Makes me wonder
what si-fi horror movie
is being filmed at road’s end:
radio-active lizards grown
to the size of Mack trucks?

III.
Ate lunch at Cokey’s Diner
in Barstow---an old railroad
town since ‘47---cuisine enhanced
by the smell of fresh asphalt
from road paving right outside
our window. Homemade tar
and gravel wasn’t on the menu.
Jotted down these thoughts by
a lonely motel pool at dusk,
the desert spreading out before
me like an old army blanket.

IV.
Drove north on California 58
through the endless dull desert
of Mojave toward Bakersfield;
climbed windmill strewn rolling
hills of yellow grass and oak---
dropping down into the  
San Joaquin Valley---after riding
across the desert in a minivan
with no name.

Reviews

[barleygirl]

This is one of my favorites of yours! I love how you traipse between so much that's familiar to me & yet also sprinkling a fair helping of unexpected zingers along the highway of unnamed camels, dragons, horses, & minivans! (harkening an all-time favorite song) Love the twenty-foot thermometer as a symbol of excess. Love the weird road name & your assessment of road namer. Love the asphalt essence wafting thru the diner. Some of your best depictions of hitting the twisted road (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[kentuck14]

Margie,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing. I look for the unusual while traveling . . . makes things interesting. And thanks for your encouraging words . . . wasn't sure how this series was going to go over (?) Twisted road!! Yeah . . . plenty of them out there!
T

[alanwgraham]

I've had a family holiday driving around Nevada and Arizona and all this is very authentic and described with a wry humour. My only complaint is - not enough.
I enjoyed this Tom.
Cheers.
Alan

[kentuck14]

Thanks Alan . . . couldn't wait to get out of the desert . . . not in love with heat and sand (dirt)
T

[CD Campbell]

Ok so I've driven though the west to CA when I was ported in SF bay at Alameda. No, I'm not asking for a prize with that nugget of info, but I particularly love going out of the Rockies through to Arizona and all points west. It's amazing, at least I think so, both times I've driven it's been spring so I avoided the heat that you allude to. My meandering point was to a acknowledge that your words were able to draw out that awe that I had felt at those times by you using certain words and cadences. I really enjoyed this and for some reason miss California. Heaven forbid. BTW Like the quote, I only know that song sung by Marty Robbins on his gunfighter album. Cool water. Thanks for the education.

[kentuck14]

CD,
This trip was back in '96. The heat that year in August set record highs. We later visited California coast along with Utah and a bit of Colorado and Arizona. My folks had an old 78 rpm record of the Sons' version . . . played it over and over as a kid. Didn't know about Robbins' version. He was a great artist.
Thanks for sharing and your kind review.
T

[Eilis]

Never been west, but I watched so much television as a kid that I have this very clear picture in my head of the ambience, the spirit of the place. There's the land of the old western movies, the expansive openness that's mostly inhospitable, and then those places where the outsider doesn't fit. These are the three vignettes I carry around with me.

Your poem felt like a cinematic long view as the camera came down to rest on the landscape. And it also felt like an embodiment of all of my ideas of this part of the world minus the people. Sometimes the people can spoil the view.

You've got all of this icon scenery--the roads and the plants and diners in the middle of nowhere. It feels like a journey through a book of photographs or slide show. I especially loved the fade out with the 'minivan with no name.'

My son is trying to teach himself to play A Horse with No Name on the piano, so I've heard the song cycling a fair bit. There's definitely a sense of that freedom and openness in the poem. The willingness to keep moving on without knowing what's coming next over the horizon.

I do enjoy these travel poems of yours, Tom. Vicarious travel.

[kentuck14]

The Nevada and Mojave deserts are not beautiful or romantic . . . just giant sandboxes! This comes from a trip we took back in '96 (my wife & 3 daughters). Actually inspired by a journal and photo album. Might continue the journey in other poems. Do you think it would be worth it!?
That old song (Horse . . . ) will just go on and on.
Thanks E for your review and kind words.
T

[Eilis]

I definitely think it would be worth it. Look forward to maybe reading more

[olla]

I have taken that trip.. but mine was from Yellowstone Park through the Tetons to Jackson Hole Wyoming.... it was an unplanned 24 hr. trek.. the first vacancy was at Twin Falls Idaho.. I enjoyed your travelogue.. the desert has a beauty and a mystery all it's own.. but I never did see a mirage.. I guess I wasn't thirsty enough..

[kentuck14]

Thanks for dropping by and your comments.
T

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"been through the desert on a ...."
had me humming that...especially like part three and that Homemade Tar and Gravel weren't on the menu...
shame shame...never been West...South, East and North...but never West...never to the desert in person...but you had me traveling there with your excellent visual poetry.
j.

[kentuck14]

An interesting journey of about 23 years ago with my family. Wasn't sure where it was going when I started it a couple of days ago . . . seemed to take on a life of its own as it sped along. The dry west is a nice place to visit but wouldn't wanna live there! Thanks for the kind words, J and thanks for stopping by.
T

[kentuck14]

p.s. You should visit CA . . .if you can . . . a land of myth and varied scenery.
T