The Land Desk thanks all of you for reading, subscribing to, and otherwise supporting this work. You are the bomb! And to show my gratitude, I’m sparing you from ranting and raving, news, and statistics today and giving y’all nothing but images (and a few words about them, if appropriate).
Bridge art on Navajo Bridge over Marble Canyon of the Colorado River. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
Budville Trading Co. on the old Route 66 near Cubera, New Mexico. The grocery store, gas station, post office was established by Bud and Flossie Rice in 1928. The community that rose up around it was named after Bud. In 1967 Bud was murdered and the business robbed. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
Pond near Hotchkiss, Colorado. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
San Fidel, New Mexico. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
Glen Canyon of the Colorado River, looking upstream from a ridge above Lees Ferry. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
Joe & Aggie’s Cafe, Holbrook, Arizona. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
California condor X8, Marble Canyon, Arizona. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
Cross of the Martyrs and Panopticon in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The “martyrs” were the 21 Franciscan priests killed when the united Pueblos — from Taos to Hopi — rose up in 1680 in rebellion against the Spanish colonizers, who had oppressed, tortured, and enslaved the Indigenous people of the Southwest and tried to annihilate their cultures and religions. Now the Cross is widely seen as a symbol of that colonialism, which is probably why it is under surveillance. Jonathan P. Thompson.
Building in Joseph City, Arizona. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
Layers, Goosenecks of the San Juan River, Utah. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
Dairy Cafe, Bluff, Utah. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
Full moon and reflection on the Colorado River at Lees Ferry, Arizona. Jonathan P. Thompson photo.
That portrait of the condor has me in tears...
Thanks Jonathan.