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beyond my interior walls
I’d been here a while and had already taken all the photos I thought I needed. But then, I sat on the bed of the truck and had lunch, which lined me up with this arrangement. Maybe a normal person would have finished lunch first, but I don’t have any experience being normal. So I (temporarily) abandoned a nice chicken salad sandwich so I could get this shot. First things first, or whatever. The food could – and did – wait.
Santa Rosa de Lima
near Abiquiu, New Mexico
photographed 9.19.2026
the place I couldn’t park
If you have always assumed, based on everything that I’ve revealed about myself here, that I probably drive a lowrider…
However, this is my favorite parking-zone sign of all time.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
photographed 9.20.2026
stop (and eat)
I’ve driven right by this place before. A lot of times. So I don’t know why this was the trip where I noticed it.
It might have been those clouds over the mountains, making it feel more dramatic. Or the particular arrangement of that car, the waste bin, and traffic barrels. Or maybe it was the sign with the jumbo burger that was indeed jumbo.
The reason doesn’t matter as much as at the fact that I did notice the place and we braved the wonkiest intersection in all of Española to get to the place.
(When I was a kid and we’d drive through Española on the way to our camping vacations in Colorado, it was guaranteed that my dad would get lost. Every. Single. Time. He rarely got lost, but Española always won. Now, as an adult, I think the “It’s Española so I’ll definitely get lost” mindset is winning: as recently as last week, I continued that proud family tradition.)
Española, New Mexico
photographed 9.19.2026
asleep (in jesus)
The way rain in northern New Mexico works is that it comes in hard monsoon-y showers in the summer. Between showers this day (I could hear a lot of thunder), I found puddles and reflections. Oh, and mud.
Catholic Cemetery
Abiquiu, New Mexico
photographed 9.19.2026
bedside manner (room 890)
The hotel was nice enough. But it could have used a little modernization of the interior design, which felt stuck in 1996 or early 1997.
Also, my room smelled faintly of dill pickles.
On the other hand, I did get to make some photos and the rooms were very quiet and I slept well.
Saint Louis, Missouri
photographed 8.30.2026
PS – That big building across the street is completely vacant and there are two more towers exactly like it, also vacant. If the left-over signage is to be believed, the building in this photo was previously a Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza.
