advancement day

i awoke just before sunrise and i did two more hot springs dunks before leaving to hit the road again. this time i'm well rested and the feeling of freedom is pure exhilaration. i love watching the scenery go by, and in the desert it's a full 360 degree view, with the horizon trimmed by distant mountains. nudity is really quite liberating, and i feel so light after soaking in the hot springs.

i reach the fork in the road that says el paso. i can feel the gravitational pull of hueco tanks. it's really only a couple hours away. but no. i'm on this trip to be on my own, and on my own today i certainly shall be. next stop, an internet cafe in tucson, arizona.

my great uncle bill, an amazing person with a great sense of humour, always called march fourth "advancement day". get it? march 4th... march fourth... march forth. ha. ha. but i always remember his joke on march 4th and today is certainly an advancement day. i'm a map fiend but yesterday i drove off the edge of the only map of the USA that i owned. i feel even more free and am further released from any navigational ties when arizona does not have a welcome centre on the border. for the first time on my trip i don't have my location pinpointed on a map next to me. i'm driving all alone with nowhere to be.

i need a certain amount of drama in my life to be inspired, and i'm overflowing with inspiration now. i can't stop writing. thoughts flow while i drive, and not talking to anyone means that my thought patterns are never interrupted. i can't believe it. i used to lie in bed awake at night wishing i could get up the courage to do my solo roadtrip, preferably with betsy. i wanted to drive her across the southwest states by myself, and since she's such an old car, time was of the essence. i can't believe i'm doing it now.

traverse the desert, dodging tumbleweed, girl, you really did it.

to pass the time i made up some bad roadtrip haiku. enjoy.



camera on lap
eddie poses and says cheese
the mountains go on

music is so loud
mountains on horizon tell
me where should i go

the author does not endorse or support the act of writing while driving. Keep your eyes on the road, for the love of god!