The eye of the beholder
It has been frustrating not to be able to get online to write in my blog. We are crossing the top of the USA and some places there are no RV parks and when there are they don't have WiFi. Well, now's my chance. This country of ours is absolutely spectacular. We have everything an artist could want
I come from a world where the homes are painted and the yards are kept up and the town is tidy. When I go thru tired mining towns awash with grime and the sidewalks are littered and the stores are a little grimy around the edge with corners at the entrance littered with bits of stuff, I choose not to criticize because I don't know if the folks there are unaware or depressed or overwhelmed with the magnitude of the problem. They are often surrounded by landscapes of awesome beauty. I won't mention the city but It was settled in the 1870s by Europeans attracted by the opportunity to work in the mines. First there was gold, then silver then copper and lead. All in the same spot. The shafts went down miles into the earth. Some were so deep they were impossibly hot and next to them were shafts that were cold. The miners would come up soaked with perspiration and then go out and walk home in 40 below weather. What brave men, these. I shall not pick on their shabby homes or their littered streets. Perhaps after being down in the dark mines,the miners see their homes in the light of day as bright and cheerful.They are brave men. They give their lives so that we can enjoy the benefits of their labors.
Surrounding this city are 14,000 ft high mountain peaks covered with snow. Valleys massed with wildflowers in swathes of blue lupine so thick you can't see green between, pink bitter-root, a 1" high soft mauve blossom of exquisite daintiness. dd to this scene broad sweeps of yellow and orange paint brush and sunflowers.
A feast for the eyes of Renoir and Monet. I took pictures but oh, someday I'll be back to spread these colors on a canvas. As for now I am in the Black Hills of South Dakota and heading East.