I hope you will find things among my random thoughts that resonate with you and yours. I'd love to read your reactions in the Comments, and I'll be sure to visit you in return. Best regards, Mary

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Wild West




Beloved mythology of the US, the Wild West period is more fiction than truth. It's a story of conquest and survival, promise and disappointment, creation and destruction, and always clashes between differing cultures and species. As David Murdoch said, "No other nation has taken a time and place from its past and produced a construct of the imagination equal to America’s creation of the West."1

All of that is controversial and complex, continually researched, updated and disputed. But there is one perspective that all agree on: the west in its pristine and wild state was bountiful and beautiful. And happily there are parts of it that remain unchanged to this day.

As AtoZ Challenge draws to a close I'd like to share with you some pictures of that still "wild west". I have visited these sites but without a camera, so I rely on Getty Images and the professionals to capture them for you. They bring wonderful memories to life for me and probably for some of you. If you have not stood in these places perhaps you will be inspired to take "the trip of a lifetime".

Bryce Canyon


Monument Valley



Colorado in Spring Bloom



Great Sand Dunes of Colorado



Rocky Mountains and River in Montana



1 From Wikipedia:  Murdoch, David (2001). The American West: The Invention of a MythUniversity of Nevada Press. p. vii.ISBN 978-0874173697

6 comments:

  1. Mary, those pictures are again so wonderful, filling me with awe.
    The Wild West - I don't mind this being mostly fiction, even this is inspiring - new lands and adventures!
    And those canyons...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for visitng, Fanny! Yes, there is great beauty all over our country, and this is one of the most spectaculat kinds. I love it that I can drive to these places and have visited all. Mary

      Delete
  2. Oh Mary what fabulous images...I would love to take that trip of a lifetime. My favourite, Colorado in Spring Bloom, so pretty. I'd love to drive coast to coast in a ziggy zaggy fashion. :)
    Maggie@expatbrazil

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's just how we did it - for 2 1/2 years. So many wonderful experiences! Thanks for taking the time to visit me every day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary I love visiting your blogs all of them, you're a little bit quirky, very gutsy and intelligent...that's a combination I admired. :)

      Delete
  4. It is true that the Wild West period is more fiction than truth, but way to crush a western lover's ideals. :) Those are great images aren't they?

    ReplyDelete