Carson Michaelis
P01 → American Landscapes
Summer 2023
Photo Essay
The following was originally published on a blog shared with my great friend Thomas Chen, here. This piece is entirely mine.
This summer I drove over 14,000 miles. The trip had been a long time coming, but remained relatively unplanned - giving a much needed air of spontaneity. I drove from Pittsburgh to Colorado, Chicago to Vegas, with minimal time on interstates and more time on dirt than most may ever log in their Jeeps. The first leg has previously been documented here, in a time where the things I wrote were not intended to remain inside my notebook. In lieu of more words, below are some of the images from my travels. Most nights were spent in a tent or the reclined drivers seat of a gray 2011 Toyota Camry, and most days were spent behind the wheel of that Camry, sitting and listening or chatting in rural diners, or walking along a trail.
Boundary between Indiana Dunes National Park and Bailey Generation Station, Burns Harbor, IN
Beach day at Indiana Dunes National Park
Posing at Picasso Unitled Sculpture, Chicago, IL
Sunset pictures at Cottonwood Pass, west of Buena Vista, CO
Drive-In Theater, Buena Vista, CO
Site Preparation, Crested Butte, CO
Sandhills at sunset outside Halsey, NE
‘Country’ Billboard in Western Kansas
Greenhouse, Sheridan, IL
Demolished wind turbines, near Sheridan, IL
Impact site, outside Sheridan, IL
Turbine interior, near Sheridan, IL
Sinclair, WY
Wildlife in Sinclair, WY
Eagle Butte Coal Mine, Gillette, WY
Overturned cars at NTEC Antelope Mine, Powder River Basin, WY
Cordero Rojo Mine, Powder River Basin, WY
Iron Mountain Mine, south of Lander, WY
Simplon Phosphates waste pile, Rock Springs, WY
Simplon Phosphates waste pile, Rock Springs, WY
Robinson Copper Mine, Ruth, NV
Robinson Mine behind Ruth, NV
Robinson Mine behind bar in Ruth, NV
McCurdy Gulch at Pactola Lake, SD
Palisades Reservoir Dam on Snake River, ID
St. Anthony Sand Dunes, ID
Center-Pivot Irrigation near St. Anthony Sand Dunes, ID
Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, UT
Photos on the shore beyond Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, UT
Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels, Northwest of Great Salt Lake, UT
Devil’s Tower Approach, from Linden, WY
Entrance to Devils Tower, WY
Flaming Gorge, UT
Simplot Phosphates mining on US191 North of Vernal, UT
Teen donning American flag at Golden Spike National Monument reenactment, Promontory, UT
Tire change in Death Valley, CA
Crossing Wires at Hoover Dam, AZ
Low Water at Hoover Dam, NV
Colorado River from Historic Navajo Bridge, Navajo Nation
Rural Billboards in Bitter Springs, Navajo Nation
Mexican Hat Uranium Disposal Cell, Navajo Nation
Monument Valley, Navajo Nation
Pictures on US163 at Forrest Gump Point, Navajo Nation
Four Corners Monument, Navajo Nation
Self portrait at Michael Heizer’s Double Negative, outside Moapa Valley, UT