Friday, April 15, 2011
The elk were out by Highway 20.
This part of California reminds me of Ursula LeGuin’s book Always Coming Home.
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From Northbound Interstate 5, Southern Weed looks like a science fiction forest, a surreal blend of tall evergreens and strange growths with colorful logos on top: Shell, Burger King, Chevron. Metropolitan Central Weed is much more demure.
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North of Weed, in the high flat stretch before Yreka, someone has put a trailer out in a field by the freeway. “His blood, your sins,” is painted on the side in red, along with a drawing of an outstretched arm, palm out, a nail driven through it. Blood drips down from the nail. “Your sins,” not “Our sins.” Apparently the owner of the artwork was not included in the sacrifice, or has no sins.
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At 98 miles from Eugene, I was thinking, “Yaay! Fewer than 100 miles to go!” At 54 miles to Eugene I was thinking, “Less than an hour! Yes!” At 37 miles to Eugene I’m thinking, “I can’t do this! How can it take so long?”
I’m such a baby.
You’re not a baby – it’s a heck of a long drive. Thanks for the pictures and the blog post. I was hoping that you’d chronicle your trip. I’ll be checking in!