Yes, it has been unusually cool here and no, it hasn’t been cold enough for snow in June. This photo of Chloride, Arizona was taken in mid February on one of our afternoon “search for lunch” adventures.
My wife’s family has a long association with this old mining town and we are adding to that tradition by profiling it in our forthcoming book, Ghost Towns of the Southwest. That and its close proximity to home made it an ideal candidate as we sought a location for a suitable cover shot for that book last Sunday.
As always our visit was a pleasant one even though it lacked the excitement of our previous adventure when we decided to test the prowess of the Jeep in the mountains that loom above town. Friendly folks, quiet streets, and stunning desert scenery are but a small part of the charm.
For more than a century Chloride has mirrored the ebb and flow of the southwest. Today that reflection is one of change.
New construction and new faces have added a “yuppie” aspect that wasn’t there just a few years ago when my son and his cousins traveled the streets on well worn ATV’s. Change in a favorite place is always difficult to see but, perhaps, this is why we have been blessed with memories and photographs.
Change seems to be a primary topic in our lives this past few years. Lets see, I am now a grandfather and the milestone of turning fifty is fast becoming a distant memory.
Promotion of new books has served as the catalyst for many a grand adventure. Development of new books and projects, such as a series of limited edition photographic prints, promises even more.
We have acquired a Jeep Cherokee that ensures our standard for what constitutes an adventure will be raised a notch or two. This was evidenced on our trial run for the new “family truckster” and plans to seek out alignments of Route 66 not used in at least sixty years.
Obviously change is not always a good thing. The pressure associated with the never ending learning curve of new technology as well as the current state of the economy often has me seeing Amish farmer as an upward career move.
Well, my closing thought of the day is this. Working like this is a sure death but it is a slower one than starvation.
