Roads to Somewhere…
I have a weird kind of fascination…
well, I have a number really.
But the one I am talking about today is roads.
My love for them is reflected in my vast collection of snapshots of them.
I even have a whole blog category for them, for heaven’s sake!
(I wonder if there is a name for such a strange fascination?)
Bitumen, dirt, straight, windy…
Smack bang dead-straight in the middle of Australia,
curling lazily around the cliffs of Italy,
creeping sleepily through English villages, or
etched into the openness of American grazing land, I love ’em.
I realise there are more aesthetically pleasing things in the world.
But roads… they promise. They tease.
It’s pretty much guaranteed that something fascinating is waiting ’round the corner.
Through the mist.
Over the hill.
Beyond the crest.
Perhaps it’s just a row of native gums forming a bush avenue.
Or an old shed guarding the sweep of black tar near a town.
Even roads buried under the weight of slow-moving rubber in a city somewhere, help form a complex web of mystery and sure delivery to somewhere important, exciting, necessary, even life-saving.
My very favourite view of a road, is seeing it disappear into a sky.
You may have noticed?
I don’t know why, it just seems kind of magical to me.
The possibilities seem endless and exciting to me.
Almost like an about-to-do-the-rollercoaster-dip tummy churn.
.
Of course the most loved stretch of road holds no mystery to me at all.
It’s the road home.
MY road.
…
What does your road say?
And where is your favourite stretch of highway or by-way?
16 Comments
Donalyn
I think my very favorite is the road we drive from our house over to our church. It is a twisty, wind-ey, uphill trek over a wooded hill with no visible houses [there are only a couple and they are set back quite a ways from the road]. It is pretty in every season, but the hush of winter is the best, when the snow weighs the pines down so that they form a magical canopy for us to drive through. It is a good way to get in the proper frame of mind to worship God, that's for sure.
JFKlaver
My favorite road is Panaromic Hwy, a winding road through Mill Valley, CA, up Mt. Tamalpais. There's not a lovelier spot to be when the moon is full. The drive is as beautiful as the destination. Your photos and words belong in a book…
cowgirlwannabe
My favorite road is in Dover NH, the trees line the side of the road with a wide open pasture beyond them, it just gives me a sense of peace when i purposely go on that road. Also my 1000' driveway is something i like, it gives me room to canter my horse or drive him in the cart. I set cones up in the driveway and make my own obstacle course for him… thanks for your blog and great photography! Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
Leenie
I LOVE your road shots. They are everything you say they are. I like the way the RED dirt (nothing like that here) contrasts with the green vegetation. The low-angle-to-the-sky is one of my favorite views. Bet your family rolls their eyes like mine does when you get down in the dust to shoot that edge. The only photo I don't see in your collection is the almost invisible snow road that cuts a chunk out of the gray horizon while frosted trees lean away from the wind. Beauty, Babe. Whatever that fascination is, I have it too.
A Novel Woman
LOVE those, especially the third one.
I have quite a few roads shots, now that I think of it. Hmm…
Kelly
There are some really lovely shots here!! I have a thing for "doors", but you could win me over to "roads" with enough photos like these!
At the moment, I would say my favorite is the gravel road that leads to our pond and pasture. It winds up and down through the trees and is quite nice.
jeanie
Probably the most spectacular road I have been on is one near Sydney called "Bell's Line of Road" – if ever you want a way over the Blue Mountains that isn't covered by traffic, find this one and be astonished!!
Mind you, the I like the views that frame the road – and there is a good view or two around Mt Perry.
jeanie
PS – my word verification was Bandita!!
Debby
Roads are comings, and goings, beginnings and endings. Roads lead us to where we've never been before, and to what we know and love best. Journeys. Destinations. All of it. Your fascinations with roads may simply be this: it is a metaphor for life.
The Accidental Housewife
My favourite road is the dirt track heading down to Wombeyan caves in NSW. It's a thin, winding road that runs down the side of a steep mountain and into a deep valley. There are little corners that have bell birds and mossy, tumbling creeks. It is flanked by white gums and has regular steep drop offs without guard rails. My mum drives it like she's rally driving for Australia.
Mind you, I agree with jeanie, Bells line is also exceptionally beautiful!
Love that mist shot.
traceelements
Love those photos, and what they mean to you. I can't think of any particular road off the top of my head, albeit getting a sense of "home" when we turn off the highway on our way home. It's only a couple more km to go then. There's nothing photogenic about it, it's just taking me home.
I'm a total sucker for a tree lined road, like #3 above. Any road that takes me into the bush is special. (Bells Line of Road holds some special memories for me, as that's the way to many a canyon in the Blue Mountains, or Wollemi National Parks. Special times there, special times.)
When you ride a bike a lot you start noticing roads for their surface. A smooth, hotmix section of road will elicit sighs of ecstacy from many a cyclist!
Mom L
I love your roads! I've been on many beauties all around the US, but right now my favorite is between my apartment and my daughter's house, holding my baby grandson. It's 12 miles that starts with a 2-lane road through cornfields, across small rivers (or canals?), with wide open skies above and around. Then at the cemetery I turn onto a dirt/rock road, following it a ways, then again onto another rock road until I come around the bend and finally see a house – their house!
Linda
I love your roads!
Scotty
Love that second one with the mist, BB – very nice.
Just wanted to let you know that my calendars have arrived safely – one is hanging in the lounge and the other is winging its way to a friend in the States… Thanks again.
Heather
Totally get what you're saying about roads. They hold the same magic for me.
I think it's to do with the mystery of where they are going. And I want to go see.
Love your pictures of them… I too have about a thousand.
Anonymous
Magical photography. Love the windy tree one. Hippomanic Jen.