08-Sep-2000 -- I was on my way to Winslow (standing
on the corner) Arizona to photograph 3 days of the West's Best rodeo and
thought I'd make a confluence detour along the way. 35°N 110°W
is another of those points very near Interstate 40, what was once Route
66. I had the GPS III on the dashboard of the Suburban watching as the
longitude ticked off units nearing 110°. When I got there, I pulled
off on the shoulder and hopped the barbed wire fence and headed north
looking for 35°. The soil is fine, soft sand and the terrain looks
more like prairie than desert. The ground is flat and featureless and
the vegetation was almost exclusively grass with no cactus, yucca, or
trees.
After walking about a half mile, I came to the place. Nothing there
but desolation. In the distance, to the south, I could hear the
incessant sound of trucks on I-40. With the Garmin doing an average on
the point, I took the photos of an empty landscape. 330 counts later I
was ready to hit the road. Went to the Minnetonka bar in Winslow that
night and had a nice time. You'll find nice folks in Winslow, AZ.