Lower 48

As a boy, my parents and I would often drive from Maine to New York City to visit my mother’s parents and brothers. The drive seemed to take forever - it was about eight hours - and I was very conscious of the various state lines that needed to be crossed before we reached the city: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and finally New York, our time in each state increasing as we drove south.

When I was in fifth grade, my Mom entered a sort of work-exchange program and accepted a nursing job in Tucson, Arizona for the winter. Mom, Dad, and I then drove across the country and moved into an apartment. As before, I was keenly aware of and interested in the states we entered, keeping track by writing their names on my basketball in pen (this decision would later prove to be unfortunate as my hands would become covered with ink every time I played ball). The three of us stopped at the Four Corners so I could place a limb in each of the states and get my picture taken; I chose to face east, toward home.

It’s now clear to me that these trips had a lasting effect on me, for years later when I got my first digital camera and was able to save photos in perpetuity, I started taking pictures of various state signs as I entered them. I remember distinctly taking a picture of the Florida welcome sign on college spring break in 2005 and recognizing that I was then beginning what would surely be a years- or perhaps decades-long mission to photograph every state’s sign.

After that first picture, I did not take many state sign photos for several years even though I made it down to Florida for spring break again and took a number of road trips around New England and the northeast. Part of the reason was that, I knew or felt that these were states that I’d frequent and I could easily get a photo of their signs later (at least the northeast ones) but I also think it’s likely that I temporarily forgot about the project. However, when I left Maine for New Zealand in 2009, the transitory nature of my life increased dramatically, thereby granting me ample opportunities for state sign photography.

I was in New Zealand by myself for two months and then my old friend Lucas arrived. I was fishing somewhere in the northern part of the South Island just before he flew in so resolved myself to make a day-long drive back to Christchurch to meet him at the airport. For that drive, I plugged in my iPod and shuffled all songs, also resolving myself to not skip a single one as it came on. At some point during that long drive, The Gourds’ “Lower 48” came on. It was the only song I played more than once, and also the only song I played more than twice.

You can guess the subject matter of “Lower 48” but what really struck me was the breakdown: a 30-second-long rhyming roots-rap of all the state names. It hit me: I was to make a music video set to this song and cycle through my state sign photos as the lyrics said their names.

I returned to the States in 2010 and accepted a guiding job in Colorado and that meant I’d have to drive there. With “Lower 48” still on repeat, my project picked up steam and I started snapping pics as I made my way west. I also started keeping track of the states signs that I’d taken pictures of and those I hadn’t. That trip turned out to be the first of five cross-country drives I’d make over the next 13 years, and I racked up my state sign pics. I made a few detours while on regional road trips to get pictures of signs that I needed and when I flew somewhere for a trip, if a photo of a state sign I needed presented itself, I’d make the stop and snap the pic. Ever-so-slowly, my count to 48 got greater and greater. Eventually, after nearly 20 years at the project, my count stalled at 46, with the two remaining states being the Dakotas.

For a long time, it was unclear when I would be ‘passing by’ the Dakotas, but an invite to my old friend and fellow guide Drew’s wedding in Minneapolis provided the opportunity. Stacey and I tacked on an extra day to our trip, rented a car for 12 hours, and hit the road. After one big loop through some very flat and very cold roads and a pitstop for some great fried cheese curds, I snapped pictures 47 and 48.

So here it is, the ‘music video’ that I imagined in New Zealand way back in 2009.

Thanks to all my passengers over the years and all my various vehicles that carted me across, up, down, over, and back across the country: Scuba Blue, Car Multi-Color, Whiptastic, White Lightning, Snake Eyes, and Silver Woolf, who’s still running great and just got an oil change today!

And thanks to The Gourds for this jam that has traveled with me and inspired travels for me for so long. I did get to see them play in Seattle once, opening for James McMurtry. They played their bluegrass version of “Gin and Juice”, which brought the house down, but unfortunately didn’t play “Lower 48”. Next time.