Roadtrip Across the USA: Day 13

Today did not start out good for me. Everybody I know now knows that I am supposed to start a temporary job with Google. Well I was supposed to receive an email about my flight information to San Francisco this Sunday but I never received that email. So this morning I called the agency before we left Vegas and they told me that Google canceled this project they wanted to do.

I was crushed. Completely taken aback. Completely heartbroken. Why? Because I seriously thought this was my big break, my chance to get out of Spartanburg. I know I can still get out of Spartanburg but its muthaf***ing Google! The biggest website on this planet. The project can still happen in the future but as of right now Google canceled it. Don't know why either.

Now I really don't want to come home from this roadtrip. This roadtrip has cleansed my mind and soul and I don't want to go back to what got it all scrambled. Don't get me wrong, I love Spartanburg and I love the people that are my life there. I love both with everything I have. Deep down I have to, not because I feel obligated to love the city but because it's been my life since I was 5 years old. But I've come to the point where I feel that Spartanburg has nothing else to offer me. I can't fully blossom in my career as a photographer there. Check Monster.com and type in 'Photographer' for Spartanburg and see what results come up. You will know exactly what I mean. I've gained everything I can from this city and now I want more.

Seeing the West Coast again made my heart skip a beat. And now that this Google thing sorta collapsed on me, what do I have to lose? I've begun to think that I will start looking for jobs out West in San Francisco or L.A. or New York. And I've even thought about asking my Godfather in Guam if I can move in with him for a few months just to get away from it all.

With this on my mind all morning it was hard to let it go and go back to enjoying the roadtrip. We left Vegas and headed back East. Made a stop at the Hoover Dam, which actually is smaller than I expected it to be. It was massive, of course, but in my mind I always pictured bigger. Hot as hell too. The desert reached 119 degrees outside. Our sunroof was too hot you couldn't place your bare skin on it for more than 3 seconds without yelling a bunch of four letter words. Driving through the Arizona mountainous desert, however, made up for the heat and was gorgeous. It really made me just stop what I was doing and daze out the window to absorb its massive beauty. We stopped at this small gas station in this small town called Seligman, Arizona, home of the birthplace of Route 66. Pretty cool. Didn't plan on stopping there and it happened to be the birthplace of America's most famous road. Got back on the road and headed to the Grand Canyon.

We got there when the sun was setting. I was getting antsy in the car because I knew I would get gorgeous shots of the Grand Canyon as the sun settled. I dashed out of the SUV as soon as we parked and gunned it. I jogged for about a half a mile and was immediately out of breath. Jogging at 8,000 feet is sorta difficult. As I ran, to my right was the Grand Canyon. No guardrails or anything to keep you from falling to your death. My first glance of it stopped me in my tracks. As I walked towards the edge I was still struggling for air but it didn't phase me as I looked at the most beautiful, massive, awe-inspiring creation by God or whatever higher power you believe in. You do not come to see the Grand Canyon, you come to experience it. You come to absorb it. You come to make it feel how small you are and how grand life is and how f***ing beautiful this world we live on is. You just have to stop and observe.

I found a ledge to take my shots, one mile up from the bottom. The air was nice and crisp. I was one minute to late to get the shots that I wanted as I ran to beat the sun. The sun had the entire sky a deep orange but when I finally got to a good spot the sky was beginning to turn dark blue and black. Still took my shots but I didn't hustle enough. The darkness took over quickly and it became dangerous to climb out onto the cliffs and ledges in the dark. We headed back to find a hotel room. We did and now the Grand Canyon waits for the sun to glisten its beauty. Come on sun. Hurry up and get here.