翻越阳台，重访后院

在美国安家以来，最大的遗憾是不能在洛基山区及其以西生活几年，因为它们是美国的阳台和后院。趁着陪老人游玩的机会，终于能有片刻离开美国的前厅。六天时间里行驶将近两千七百英里绝不是度假的节奏，但因为部分景点多年前便已去过，所以路程本身更值得感受。三千多米的海拔高差，四十度的温差，森林与沙漠，雪山与湖泊，教堂与赌场，开车就能体验。行程匆忙，还要考虑老人的体力，稍微偏僻艰险的去处都放弃了，摆弄相机的机会也就更少，但还是会按按快门为游览助兴，也就留下了几张照片，聊作每年一游的交代。

I deem my American experience incomplete without living in the Rockies or its west,  as they are the balcony and the backyard of this country.   The visit of my old man offered a chance to briefly escape the porch and dive into the mountains and beyond.  Busy as a driver and guide, I was barely offered opportunities to stop (or proceed) to see wherever and whenever I like,  however, camera was intentionally clicked to enhanced my guest’s mood as a visitor came all the way to see this land.  And here are the byproducts.

行程地图（itinerary maps）

从科罗拉多州的丹佛开车驶往怀俄明州的杰克逊是旅程中最匆忙的一段路。我特意选择了从I-80上驶入某条小路的做法，是为了能穿越科罗拉多州群山和黄石群山之间的荒漠地带。最终GPS帮我选择了US-287而不是US-191。287从红色沙漠北缘穿过，南望美国西进历史中的重要地点the South Pass，在Rawlins和Lander之间的125英里路上没有任何加油站，只有一路荒凉的美。因为赶路，这天只在小镇Lander附近停车片刻，拍了这张月亮在余曦中升起的照片。它让我想起玉门关，而我们身处的是一个现代国家的中心地带。

This picture was taken shortly after sunset, near Lander, WY. It was a long ride from Denver to Jackson, WY.  US-191 between Rawlin (where we exited I-80) and Lander is a remote and desolate one passing the north rim of the Red Desert and nor far from the legendary South Pass.  There is no gas station on this 125 mile stretch, and signs of civilization are minimal.

在零下的温度中看月落Teton群峰，等待日出。

Moonset over Teton Range, around 7AM. Waiting for the sunrise in freezing cold.

蛇河河谷中的树林和群峰一样美，不得不引人放低镜头。和纪念碑谷一样，它们都在西部片中扮演了最沉默也最不朽的角色。

Sunrise over Teton Range.  Excluding the trees along the Snake River from viewfinder is a crime. Just like Monumental Valley, they played silent yet immortal roles in numerous Western films.

第一次看到佛光。

This is called Buddha’s Light in Chinese.  It’s about enlightenment, literally.

不幸的是大部分时间Grand Teton都隐藏在雾气之中，偶尔露峥嵘。

One of my favorite American mountains only offered me a brief conversation.  I read it as invitation for another visit within the next ten years.

黄石国家公园里的大部分地热景点都不那么上相。经历了道路关闭、施工堵车之后，终于坐在每九十分钟闹腾一次的老忠实间歇泉面前。坐定几分钟之后就随全场起立，看它日落前的最后一次喷发。

Many of the mud pots, steam pots and dead pots in Yellowstone are not visually appealing.  But the statement made by this one is difficult to ignore.  We traversed through all the road closure, construction and traffic,  captured the last shot before sunset.

比起一帮人看事故现场似的围观一个喷泉，我更喜欢这类地热和自然环境相容的画面。

Some thermal spots are naturally blended with landscape. Much more enjoyable than the scenes of hotpot spill accidents surrounded by curious witnesses.

从土豆之州艾达荷看晨曦中的Teton Range。这是用尽了200mm焦距之后的样子，从20号公路看，它只是地平线上的一排小犬牙。

Teton Range before sunrise viewed from I-20 in the Potato State, with a full 200mm zoom. Otherwise they are just some tiny canine teeth on the horizon.

摩门教堂。如今回想，摩门教其实是我对美国最原始的想象之一，源于一个法国人写的《环游地球八十天》。

My old man was reasonably interested in the architecture of Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  When asked where would be our next stop, I said Las Vegas.  My dad wondered whether that was a good answer for the religious people.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed the organ recital in the Tabernacle.

I-15穿过处女河峡谷。穿越峡谷及之后在庞大的坡地下滑进入炎热盆地中的Las Vegas的经历和穿越红山口驶向吐鲁番的地貌变化和道路走向都极其相似。

Virgin River Canyon， I-15 westbound. The driving experience reminds me of my 2013 trip to Turpan in northwest China via G312.

在观察巨大景观时，人造建筑能够帮助保持正确的空间尺度感。胡佛水坝。

In fact, we routed through Vegas just to see Hoover Dam. Man-made structures are generally good spatial reference when we view vast landscape.

而参照物的缺失会导致对空间的误解。关于大峡谷最常见的问题是它有多宽，有多深。

And the lack of it will promote false perception of space.

虽然白天连续开车，三点爬起来的习惯还是改不了。不是写作而是为了去看黑沉沉的大裂缝。我独自在边缘地带呆了两小时，其间只见到一个去摄影的人（还把彼此吓了一跳），除此之外只有无尽的风声。虽然没有三脚架也没有合适的支点，但三十秒曝光还是暴露了人类在峡谷中的活动——那些和星星一样闪亮的点。也许不是运动健将们，而是一些举着火把的印第安古人，他们只在三点穿越时空。

One advantage of lodging inside the park is you can get up at 3AM and execute some secret task.  I stood on the edge of Yavapai Point for 2 hours,  only saw a photographer.  I guess we scared each other big time.  In the rest of the time, I was totally enthralled by the unfathomable darkness and howling winds.  Despite of lack of tripod or any stable support,  a 30 second long exposure revealed other people carried out secret tasks at 3AM.  In this resized picture you can still identify 3 bright spots, two near the south rim and one on the north. Human activity.

最早的一抹晨曦只能被长曝光捕捉。肉眼看东方依旧是一片黑暗。在这张照片上，夜行的人们快要爬到崖顶了。

The signs of human activities are even more prominent in this picture.  Long exposure greatly enhanced the first glimpse of dawn, which was totally invisible to bare eyes at the moment.

六点多，我回到旅馆把老人拉出来看日出。

I went back the lodge and brought my dad to see the sunrise.

东出大峡谷国家公园之后，在一个印第安人的公园里能从近距离看到小科罗拉多河。

Little Colorado River viewed from an Indian tribal park east of Grand Canyon National Park. I came back to check whether the canyon was cut deeper since my last visit.  The answer is always a yes.

可以想象早期探险者如Wetherill和Nordenskold第一次从崖上看见这片包括了一百五十间屋子的Cliff Palace，会是如何的惊叹。这并不是一座墓葬或是祭祀之处，而是很多人共同居住了几百年的复杂生活设施。

I can imagine the excitement of Wetherill and Nordenskold when the 150-room Cliff Palace entered their views for the first time.  What fascinated me is the fact that this is not a mausoleum, mound or monument, but a much more complex system in which people with established life style lived for hundreds of years.

拒绝到此一游式的自拍已经很多年，因为此地在我的认知体系中已经成为一个符号，所以自拍。确切地说，是合影留念。

The will of picturing myself has already diminished many years ago, but since the place is symbolic in my vision of the world in migration,  I had to do this.  Thus the absence of native residents and the presence of an alien.

回放2004年在查科峡谷和北美古文明的近距接触。

I did it in the past.  Me with Kin Kletso, Chaco Canyon, 2004.

Cliff Palace通向峭壁顶端的通道陡峭狭窄，部分路段需要爬梯子，全程都由导游带领，无怪乎这儿的游客比黄石少了几乎一个数量级，虽然这儿美国的第一处世界遗产（黄石是第二处），和最大的考古发掘点。

Half of the Mesa Verde was already closed for the season, and the Cliff Palace is for guided-tour only. Route to/from the Palace involves some steep paths and nearly vertical ladders. Being the first World Heritage Site in the United States, its tourist traffic is certainly nowhere near that of Yellowstone.  Good news for preservation. The guide said our timing was perfect for the west-facing structure.

公园内有大量类似的岩壁居住遗址，比如这座Hemenway House，是不对游客开放的。

Hemenway House (named after a Bostonian who never visited the site but sponsored the first archaeological expedition in American southwest) is just one of hundred of sites in the park not accessible to visitors.

因为在快要关门的博物馆里为老人讲解藏品花了些时间，当我们快步走下馆后通往Spruce Tree House的时候，它已被阴影遮盖。

It took me a while to explain to my dad about everything inside the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum on top of the mesa, before it closed at 6PM.  When we started descending, Spruce Tree House was already in the shadow.  Timing was indeed critical.

日落Mesa Verde（西班牙语中意为绿桌子）

Sunset at Mesa Verde （the green table, in Spanish）

当晚住宿的Far View Lodge视野开阔，地平线上的灯火应该是新墨西哥州的Farmington。

Viewing from Far View Lodge inside the park, in the direction of Farmington, NM. (Note the lights on the horizon)

又一次三点起床溜出来拍摄星空。有一次在长曝光结果中看见了最早的晨曦。地平线上的灯火应该是来自新墨西哥州的Azetc和Farmington。

These were taken between 3-4AM. Again, dawn was captured by long exposure but not visible to eyes. The lights scattered on the horizon must be from Azetc, NM and Farmington, NM ( far right, brighter).

最好的星空其实是在六点钟左右拍到的。再没有流云的干扰。

This was taken around 6AM, on the top of the Far View Lodge, with all the clouds gone.

日出前，圣胡安国家森林的雪峰被云层遮蔽。

The snowy peaks partially obscured by new clouds are those from San Juan National Forest.

日出的方位对于几百年前生活在这片高地上的古人是何等重要，这一点在十年前访问查科峡谷时就已了解。

The rising point of the sun has its significance in the knowledge system of Anasazi.  Everything on the mesa still submits to its power on a daily basis.

拱门国家公园的一切都是时间留下的古老遗产，虽然人们总希望它们是人类文明的一部分，或是干脆活过来——比如这块“象石”。

The Elephant Rock sneered at the completely overflowed parking lot.  Just like other immortal figures in the Arches National Park, she only parks and travels in the time domain.

虽然著名的Delicate Arch只能用长焦镜头拜访，但我们还是步行两英里来回去仰望了Landscape Arch。

The longest hike we did, a 2-mile round trip from Devil’s Garden Trailhead, led to Landscape Arch.

开车沿I-70向东穿越落基山的心愿，和多年前读过的余光中散文有关。“科罗拉多西陲,峙立犹他州入口附近,悍然俯觎大站城(Grand Junction)的不毛石山，便是这种奇迹之一。蟠蛟走鳞,饿成爪形的山系,水浸风吹,凿成体魄摄人的雕塑巨构,在平旷的科罗拉多河域上,供数十哩的峥嵘。那气象,全看你怎样去赞叹。”

My intention of crossing the Rockies on I-70 has been long inspired by a travel essay by Taiwan poet/writer Yu Guangzhong, in which he vividly depicted the barren mountains near Grand Junction.

在Glenwood峡谷，我们停车沿河畔小路散步，为的是靠近观瞧科罗拉多河，一位忠实旅伴和无数西部地貌奇观的创造者。

Glenwood Canyon Hiking and Biking Trail.  We stopped for a short walk on this trail, which is parallel with I-70 and just feet away. I just meant to pay a close tribute to Colorado River,  a faithful companion to our road trip and the creator for many of the wonders we just witnessed.

I-70和I-6分岔处的Dillon水库是为丹佛市服务的。周围的山峰已经白雪皑皑。

Dillon Reservoir near the intersection of I-70 and older I-6. It serves the city of Denver.

之所以换上I-6是为了能从盘山公路爬上Loveland山口，重要的北美大陆分水岭基点之一（如果继续走I-70，就会从这片群山下的隧道穿过，什么也看不见）。虽然海拔只有三千六百米，但狂风和酷寒让我们只有几分钟的耐力观景拍照。（盘山路程本身也很激动人心，但是没有时间整理了）

We took I-6 instead of I-70 tunnel just to climb over Loverland Pass.  A must to complete our traverse through the Rockies.

去尼亚加拉大瀑布是一个阴雨天。不过，既然是关于水的主题，天上的水不妨事。图中的船是著名的雾女号。上次来的时候，通向码头的高速电梯还没有修建。远处是横跨美加边境的彩虹桥。

Niagara Fall was on the top of my dad’s list and was visited one week after the journey to the west. Unfortunately it was a rainy day. I had an umbrella handy, and at moments we had to use the rain ponchos as well.The above 2 pictures were taken on the elevator platform for The Maid of the Mist (bottom).  Rainbow Bridge is in the background.

每个游客都得到了一件雨衣，否则站在甲板上会全身湿透，即便是大晴天也是如此。上图是美国瀑布，下图是更大的马蹄瀑布。

These were take on board,  passing The American Fall(top), heading towards Horseshoe Fall(bottom).