Looking back on a long, and, I think, interesting life as I approach the age of 64, I am fortunate to have been able to travel, to see different parts of the world, and different parts of this country. Although not born here, the moments I feel most American are when I am traveling the open road. There's no real way to describe that feeling, especially when traveling the great West.
Here then, are a few places that feel magical to me, that have left a deep imprint in my memory and my soul. I have used only family photos so that rather than show a perfect glossy professional view of each location, I remember it as it was on that particular day.
Victoria Falls, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)-1954. And that's my Dad. This always makes me recall my African childhood in a long ago time, when I felt like a child of the world.
Cape Town, South Africa, 1957- A view of Table Mountain from our ship as we left the continent forever, bound for England, and then the U.S.
Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful- 1958. Everyone should visit here.
New Orleans, 2001-An iconic city. I have been here numerous times but have not returned since Hurricane Katrina. We ate on the balcony here on Royal Street.
Big Bend National Park, 1994. This place has an ancient magic, to me. Maybe it's the wildness of the borderlands, looking to Mexico across the Rio Grande.
San Francisco, 1992- Julie and I at the Golden Gate Bridge on a foggy day. Another iconic city. Nothing like it.
Paladuro Canyon, 2011- Only two hours away lies "the little Grand Canyon". Driving across the flatness of the Texas panhandle and seeing the earth suddenly open up is astonishing every single time.
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, 2003- Top of the world, Ma! One of those take-your-breath-away places.
Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, 1981- I have been inside many Frank Lloyd Wright houses, including the Robie House in Chicago, and Taliesen West in Scottsdale, Arizona, but this is the one that looks most perfect in its environment.
Monument Valley, 2005- The classic view. The American West of the American Western.
Teotihuacan, Mexico, 2007- atop the Pyramid of the Sun, looking at the Pyramid of the Moon. A place of ancient blood and ritual sacrifice now covered in sunburnt tourists.
Montreal, Canada,the old town, 2008- European charm,Western energy, great food.
Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2013- Probably my 10th trip here. Another city unique unto itself.
Somewhere near Taos, New Mexico-2011. The northern New Mexico landscape always calls me. And I will be back there in June.
