Pioneer Cemetery at Dos Cabezas, Arizona

The old Pioneer Cemetery is on the west side of the ghost town on AZ 186, open to the sky. Although graves go back to the nineteenth century, there are new ones from the twenty-first century, also. Nevertheless, the overall feel is that of nature reclaiming its own.

The grass blows, the winds blow. 

There are large memorial stones, and there are others almost lost in the grass.

As in any cemetery, some markers are elaborate, but out here in the pioneer West, many are also touchingly primitive.

Mountain views from the cemetery are spectacular, but I also appreciated cattle grazing in the background.

I want to go back to the cemetery sometime in the early morning when the light is gentler and raking rather than direct.

Hanging Shoe in Bisbee, Arizona

This is indicative of my love of small oddities in a huge, expansive, and overwhelming scene.

Lone Tree Gap -- or Nearly

Seen Today in Sunny New Mexico

We were on expressways paralleling

old Route 66

from Joliet, Illinois, to

Albuquerque, New Mexico.

There were signs for the old road

in many places,

and stretches of it

can still be traveled.

Route 66 in Tucumcari, NM,

is a visit to America's past.

The strip of old motels

is faded but charming.

Some are boarded and closed,

others open and lively.

We stayed on the strip

and had breakfast there, too.

Best biscuits and sausage gravy

you'll find anywhere!

Signs in New Mexico are not limited

to towns, either.

We were shocked

by the number of billboards. 

But beyond the billboards,

there is no stopping the scenery.

It is spectacular

all the way.

Crossing the Prairie

It was a cold, crisp, sunny day. Hard to snap much while in motion down the expressway, but here are a couple. The second is near Springfield, Illinois.

Three Avian Trios