Wednesday, April 3, 2024 Entry #76
It seems to me that a stop at the Grand Canyon is basically obligatory when driving long distance to California, a signal that you were truly doing this thing. I didn’t need much convincing anyways. I had been to this natural wonder on three other occasions, and I was ready for the healing shift in perspective that “The Mountain Lying Down” (as the Paiute Indians dubbed the vast canyon) always provided me. This was going to have to be a quick visit as the first Springsteen concert was happening the next night in LA already. But, I knew it would still be enough Grand Canyon to reinforce the fact that I had arrived in the wild west, and trekking up to the most famous national park of all was obviously not anything I could have done if I had gone the conventional route and flown to Los Angeles.
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The relative lushness of Flagstaff gave way to more rough-hewn country and with the sand and tumbleweeds in my sights I was moved to play Springsteen songs specifically from his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. Much of the imagery in those songs came from a road trip through the western desert that Springsteen took with his dear friend and “consigliere” bandmate Steven Van Zandt and the photographer who took the iconic picture of Springsteen leaning on Clarence Clemons from the Born To Run album cover. The crew drove for multiple hours at a stretch, taking in as many side roads (“gravel, sandy and washboard” as Bruce described them) and roadside attractions that they could. They weathered some vicious storms, and even slept some nights in their rented red convertible. With this road trip and the new album he was composing, Springsteen expanded the palate of characters and landscapes in his writing from his beloved Jersey Shore of earlier songs to this western horizon he had newly discovered.
These desert-tinged songs included “Badlands,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Streets of Fire,” and “The Promised Land.” It was pretty perfect to have a soundtrack so perfectly accompanying the sparse but breathtaking scenery that I was currently driving through.
I arrived at Grand Canyon National Park, and lucked out by scoring a rare parking spot near one of the famous overlook spots. I walked to a few areas that spoke to me and just soaked in and marveled at the dusty and jagged majesty of it all.
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It was a few hours extremely well spent. On the drive back on the “blue highway” toward the interstate, the sky was bright and the sun was blazing. I felt so blessed! Of course, I rolled down my window to let the wind blow back my hair!
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At some point, I decided that it would be great if I could reach Los Angeles and see the Pacific Ocean before nightfall. It was going to be close. I quickened my somewhat leisurely pace. Limiting my pit stops (and denying myself any off road excursions), I reached the California border, drove through some awesome canyon strips, and rolled into L.A. in seemingly rapid succession.
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After another parking miracle, I was at one of my all-time favorite places in the world, the counter-culture haven of Venice Beach. I had driven 2162 miles west from St. Louis, and I could drive no further in that romanticized direction. The feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration (and a touch of wistfulness at reaching the end of the road) was exactly as I imagined it would be. I just sat for a bit off the bohemian, funky and free-spirited boardwalk.
Then I turned my attention to the ocean. I had left the Grand Canyon that morning, hoping to see the Pacific in the same day’s light. Sure enough, I had met my goal in an almost mystically precise manner. The sun was gorgeously sinking into the sea. I walked over, in awe of the sight, and I decided on the spot that to seal the deal, I had to put my feet into that water.
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It was quite an indelible experience to have been in two completely different places, the Grand Canyon and the Pacific Ocean, both amazing in their own ways, the former to start the day, and then the later by evening. In between I had the immense privilege of driving through the miles of scenic roadway connecting them. To coin a phrase, “What a country!”
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Day 3
Love the detail and the backstory!