The Sun Tunnels

On Saturday morning, I got into a truck with five of my classmates and we headed west, aiming to end up at the Sun Tunnels. On our way, we stopped at numerous spots to take pictures of our art project for our class with Terry Tempest Williams. It was really nice to have an extended period of adult time, where I could enjoy my company without worrying about my wonderful daughter. It was like a big dose of medicine that lifted my soul. Then, we got to the Sun Tunnels. I kept wondering what kind of impact they would have on me. I mean, they are four giant, concrete tunnels with holes cut in them to represent constellations. On the summer and winter solstices, the sun aligns perfectly in the center of two of the tunnels.


After viewing them up close, I decided to walk away and observe them from a far. It's amazing how huge they felt when up close and how tiny and insignificant they seemed once I stepped back. In this shot below, I found a piece of glass from a car's side mirror. You can't see it well, but the Sun Tunnels are pretty much in the middle of the shot. "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear"...hm. Are they?


Terry took this photo of me.


In the end, I was unimpressed. I mean, it's just a bunch of hunks of concrete in the middle of the desert. Everyone else, about twenty people, were really moved by them. I, however, called them "useless". I don't know. What do you think?


Here's my favorite shot of our art project. Basically, it's a four-foot representation of Earth, where currency marks the land and coins comprise the ocean. We're calling it, Cost-Benefit Analysis. It stemmed from the idea that it's absurd to put a dollar value on natural places.


After leaving the Sun Tunnels, we stopped in Montello, Nevada (population 104). Somehow, we ended up in this pawn shop, home to "Nevada's largest drum set". The owner of the shop, this guy with a beer belly and dreadlocks, jammed with a classmate of mine as he smoked a joint. It was very odd, yet a lot of fun. Terry said that we should all dance, so we danced.


After the pawn shop, we went next door to the Cowboy Bar and Grill. The locals were amused at us city folk barging in on their bar that was decorated with dead animal heads and slot machines. We enjoyed a shot of whiskey, then headed home. I got home just before 10:00 pm. It was a very full day, and the highlight, for me, was everything but the Sun Tunnels.