The West

[Photo-John]

Over the weekend, I drove from the Bay Area to Salt Lake City, and back. I love the West. The Basin and Range Country of Northern Nevada is especially beautiful in my mind. Most people who've driven through it say they can't stand it. But I really find it moving. It's so big, open, and wild. It's not dramatic. You have to let it sink in and deal with the landscape on its own terms. It's not going to slap you in the face with beauty. But if you can be patient and feel it, you will be rewarded.

These two photos are from the middle of Northern Nevada - around Winnemuca. The first one was taken on Friday and the second one was taken yesterday. It's been a wet winter and the Humboldt River has overflowed its banks in many places. Usually it's fifteen feet below the top of the sandy banks and you can't even see it from the road. I imagine this is what it used to be like, before farmers and flood control.