American Trails magazine #4 International edition by Paper Heart Publishing

Yabba Dabba Doo!

WE MET THE SON OF CACTUS SLIM IN SOUTH CALI, VIEWED SOME ART IN ARIZONA AND TEXAS, WENT TO A PARTY IN THE APPALACHIANS, AND HUNG OUT IN A DIVE BAR IN FLORIDA. BUT WE ALSO SIPPED A COCKTAIL IN SUPER-HIP PALM SPRINGS, AND PAID VISITS TO VEGAS AND HARLEM. WHAT DID WE LISTEN TO ALONG THE WAY? GRAM PARSONS AND LINDA MARTELL, OF COURSE!

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Where are you headed next?

raveling has always been a metaphor for life and death. Like a path, life reveals our changeable nature, our curiosity and our wishes to be somewhere else, in different surroundings. We yearn to find out what's beyond the next turn. Whether the path is mapped out or open and free to explore is up to each and everyone one of us. For Chip Thomas, a short excursion to Shonto, Arizona resulted in him staying for more than thirty years, changing his life forever (page 68). The human race has always known that we learn new things about the world by stepping out of the familiar and the comfortable. Traveling shaped our world and gave us the answers to numerous questions of philosophy and science. In addition, the development of our world in a way no one thought was possible was also the result of traveling and our thirst for discovery. A traveler is a pilgrim, a nomad, a migrant, a tourist, and an explorer. A traveler is someone whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s looking for something, who knows that they are lost and embraces it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and for that reason always finds something more valuable than they ever thought possible. For Cactus Slim, it was his love of traveling through the desert that led him to ultimately find his home and literally evade his own death (page 22). For us, it's also about falling in love to the extent that a change takes place in us. We know that traveling and meeting people create more understanding around the world. In an increasingly polarized world, coming in contact with other people is thus gaining in importance. And a wise colleague once said that when we travel and meet people, we always leave an impression. Regardless how small these impressions are, they plant the seeds of greater understanding for one another. And we think that is something beautiful, and that is exactly what we embodied as we went on the trips and met the people that ultimately resulted in this issue. One of our many unforgettable encounters was with Richie Stearns at Turkey Scratch in Virginia (page 40). P.S. As we write this, we have just won the Swedish Publishing Prize for our first issue of American Trails (it can still be ordered at americantrailsmag. com). We are ecstatic about winning this award and feel motivated to work even harder on the next issue. And the next one. Happy reading! Jonas Henningsson and Jonas Larsson

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Nevada

VEGAS, BABY! OUR GUIDE TO SIN CITY. PAGE 80.

Utah

TAKE A NIGHTTIME STROLL I N PARK CITY. PAGE 18.

Wyoming

EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES, AND SING THE BLUES TOO, FOR THAT MATTER. WE CHAT WITH PERFORMER AND COWGIRL JESSICA CAMILLA O’NEILL. PAGE 96.

Oregon

WE RIDE THE COAST STARLIGHT EXPRESS, AND OF COURSE, WE SIT IN THE SIGHTSEER LOUNGE CAR. PAGE 158.

California

A MORNING WALK AT POINT REYES IN MARIN COUNTY IS THE BEST POSSIBLE START TO A DAY. PAGE 20.

We toured the US, again!

This issue ended up being rather focused on art. And while we enjoy art as much as anyone else, we also love driving a Ferrari in Vegas, or taking a nighttime hike through the mountains of Utah. Send us your tips about the places that you love! info@amtrailsmag.com

Arizona

CHIP THOMAS IS AN ARIZONA-BASED ARTIST WHO’S TAKEN A STAND. PAGE 68.

New York

STREET ARTISTS HAVE GONE CUCKOO IN NEW YORK. PAGE 16.

Virginia

THE APPALACHIANS OFFER AN ABUNDANCE OF GREENERY, PIGS, AND MUSIC. PAGE 40.

Florida Texas

THE TINY DESERT TOWN OF MARFA OFFERS A MIX OF COWBOYS AND ARTISTS. PAGE 104.

GET OFF THE TRAIN IN ORLANDO AND EXPLORE THE DOWNTOWN AREA–YOU’LL BE IN FOR A SURPRISE! PAGE 124.

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a tribe called

Contributors

Say hi to our beloved contributors. In this issue we are proud to present four talented people from three different countries. Ah, how we love working with no borders.

CECILIA CARLSTEDT, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

Cecilia has been working as a full time illustrator ever since she graduated fromLondon Collage of Communication in 2003. She spent several years in London and New York but is now back in her home town of Stockholm. She has worked with a wide range of clients but is essentially linked to the world of fashion. Experimentation is an integral part of her working process and she uses various techniques in her work such as ink, screen printing and collage. ceciliacarlstedt.com ANDREW MUNZ, JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING, USA

Andrew is a writer, director and actor from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. As a novelist he is represented by Bradford Literary Agency. His first book, "I Can Ski Forever" will be released in Winter 2018/2019, and is currently at work on his first young adult novel. An avid traveler, he splits his time between Wyoming and Iceland.

CECILIA NÚÑEZ, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

Cecilia Núñez is a journalist with an almost obsessive penchant for food. Since 2013 she has directed the Food and Travel México´s editorial team. She is also hosting and producing Food and Travels radio program and in charge of travel and culinary sections in different radio stations. When not working, she loves riding her bike and to meditate. DEIDRA PEACHES, FLAGSTAFF, USA

Deidra Peaches is a Navajo documentarian and photographer. After the successful screening of her short film at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, she co-founded the independent media company Paper Rocket Productions.

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Contents 5. WHERE ARE YOU HEADED?

96. SPIRIT OF THE WEST

Jonas and Jonas wax poetic over the essence of travel. We’re proud of our talented contributors.

Even cowgirls get the blues, but Jessica Camilla O’Neil picked herself up, dusted herself off, and never, ever gave up. Now, she is a celebrated musician working out of Wyoming.

14. TRAILS FAVORITES

104. MARFA

10. A TRIBE CALLED CONTRIBUTORS

Check out some of our favorite stops in different corners of this great nation.

Larsson rubs shoulders with hipsters and cowboys in the strangest one-horse town in Texas.

22. CHILL OUT WITH CACTUS SLIM

Cactus Slim refused to die, and dedicated his life to the spiny survivors we mortals refer to as cacti instead. Henningsson went to the desert to visit his son Clark, who keeps his legacy alive today.

124. ORLANDO

38. TO DIVE FOR

Photojournalist Linda Gren can’t get enough of Harlem. We tag along!

What happens if you get off the train at the wrong stop? Come with us to the city that is not what it seems. 130. HARLEM

So you want to know what a really cool sports bar should be like? We have the answer!

142. SKIN TO SKIN

Leatherworker Billy Badger shows off her work.

40. TURKEY SCRATCH

We head for the Appalachians to explore more of the region’s musical heritage.

148. FORGOTTEN CLASSICS

Donivan Berube tells the story of Linda Martell.

56. THE HOTTEST DESERT HANGOUT SINCE THE 50S?

Of course, the place we’re talking about is Palm Springs. We sent our California-based colleague Laura Kiniry there.

152. FAVORITE SPOTS IN FLAGSTAFF

Naturally, we don’t want to miss the hottest city in Arizona, and you shouldn’t either!

66. GRAM PARSONS

We tell the story of the godfather of Cosmic American Music.

158. LONG TRAINS OF LONGING

We board the Coast Starlight Express from Seattle to LA.

68. IN WHAT DIRECTION ARE YOU HEADED?

Say hello to physician and artist Chip Thomas, who only meant to visit tiny Shonto, Arizona– but who’s still there today, thirty years later!

160. MUSIC FOR THE NOTHINGNESS

Bryan Weinthal grew up in Florida but then lived in Arizona. That’s where he started playing music for the nothingness.

80. VEGAS, BABY!

American Trails explores the glitteringest city in the USA. What happens in Vegas ends up in this issue, basically. 14

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Black Fuel SONOMA, CALIFORNIA

WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON • PHOTO BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

– Stop! Turn back! Turn back! You know that feeling when you’re craving morning coffee something horrendous, and you’re just driving past one of those old gas stations that’s been converted into a coffee shop, and there are lots of cool motorcycles, scooters, and cars outside? Well, that’s when I tend to lose it a little and start barking out orders. In the tiny, sleepy, town of Sonoma, in Sonoma (!), Nick Grimm is guilty as charged of having founded the coffee shop of my dreams. An awesome supercool place with insanely good coffee, tasty sandwiches, and great baked goods. The aging hipster in me is doing cartwheels with glee. Nick Grimm tells me that they used to rent bicycles and repair motorcycles. – But it turned out that there was more money in selling coffee, so we turned it into a coffee shop, he tells me over a glorious, strong cappuccino. Nick grew up here, and he gives us lots of good suggestions of places to visit – you’ll get to see them in future issues of American Trails! But for now, I’m going to have another coffee. 17

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Audobon Mural Project

1883, 1885, AND 1887 AMSTERDAM, HARLEM, NEW YORK WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS HENNINGSSON

The Audubon Mural Project is a collaboration between the National Audubon Society and Gitler & Gallery to create murals of 314 climate-threatened birds throughout scientist and artist John James Audubon's old Harlem‐based neighborhood in New York City. Like this striking one from street artist Gaia with a black-and-white Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Magnolia Warbler and Tree Swallow. Gaia grew up in New York City but lives in Baltimore. Gaia was just listed in the Forbes “30 Under 30” list in Art and Style. Follow Gaia gaiastreetart or check him out at gaiastreetart.com Ett bra sätt att uppleva projektet är att följa med frivilligorganisatonen Big Apple Greeter på en gratis rundvandring med en tvättäkta New Yorker, se mer på bigapplegreeter.com

Hiking in silence

WASATCH MOUNTAINS, PARK CITY, UTAH WORDS BY CECILIA NÚÑEZ • PHOTO BY JONAS HENNINGSSON

When the snow melts at the Wasatch Mountains, in Park City, the pristine white turns bright green. The perfect time to make your way to the top and try to conquer yourself is just a couple of hours before sunset. The nocturnal walks are one of the favorite activities of locals and travelers who seek to find the essence of the mountains of this old mining town. We walk along the natural paths, feeling the heat of the last rays of the sun, dismissing the day. When the sun falls asleep and the night come on, I still feel his presence following my footsteps, like the one who follows his truest path.

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Come to the Point of the Kings POINT REYES, MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON • PHOTO BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

415 years, 3 months, and 4 days after Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno cast his anchor below the barren cliffs where we parked, and named the place Punto de los Reyes, I wake up in the backseat of our rental car. The sun is just starting to come up over my stiff body and over a fascinating landscape. The fog is low over the sand dunes, the lighthouse stares coldly out over the Pacific Ocean, and some deer move carefully but fearlessly a couple meters from the car. It’s incredibly beautiful and very cold. I pull up the zipper on my down jacket and go out for a morning stroll in Marin County. Point Reyes (the Point of the Kings) is about 50 km northwest of San Francisco and is a national park: Point Reyes National Seashore. There’s plenty of wildlife here, including deer, elephant seals, and seals. If you’re lucky and are here in the middle of January, you could see gray whales passing by on their way up to Alaska. The nice little town of Point Reyes Station has a couple of options in terms of accommodation, and several really good cafes and restaurants.

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CACTU Looking Sharp! The Story of

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Cactus Slim was an actor, cactus stylist, and survivor.

S SLIM The cactus is an iconic survivor that is hotter now than ever. Perhaps it’s this generation’s longing for continuity in an increasingly perishable world that attracts them so to the spiny succulent. We went to the desert to find out why this native American plant has such a cult following. Despite being a survivor, it needs love and care just like you do. WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JONAS HENNINGSSON

AMERICAN TRAILS WINTER | 2018/2019

ad had everything going for him. But then sound film came around and ruined everything. And that's when everything began for Cactus Slim. Clark Moorten is telling us about his father, Chester Moorten, who came to California from Washington State to work on the railroad just like his father had done. As a young man, he also tried working as a lumberjack before traveling south to prospect for gold in Kern County and the San Bernardino Mountains–in the area that has since become the Joshua Tree National Park. It was when he was worked in Mojave Desert that Chester became fascinated by the native plants that survived in the desert, in environments that no other living thing could withstand. One day, he decided to fill his car up with cacti and go to Los Angeles. There, he sold his plants, and also found work as an actor. He turned out to be just as on point on the silver screen as he was with the cacti. Chester managed to get roles in films by both W. C. Fields and Buster Keaton. When people asked him how he had done so well in the film industry, he always said that it was because he was so good at blowing stuff up. Chester Moorten was one of the first of the extremely popular Keystone Kops of silent movie fame. He was quick and razor-sharp, a gifted storyteller with his body, and a comedic genius. His thin body and love of cacti won him the nickname Cactus Slim. Cactus Slim was simply the right man at the right place, and at the right time. But when silence gave way to constant noise, and sound

films, Chester Moorten also vanished from the scene. This turned out to be good news for the cactus family. DESERT BOUND

When Chester Moorten packed his bags and went back out to the desert, he went to work in the mine near Cottonwood Springs at first. After a few years, Chester realized that mining wasn’t his true passion, nor his main source of income. Over the years, he had gathered and sold cacti, and he soon realized that he was earning more from that than he was from the mining. In 1933, he packed up again, and moved to the desert city of Palm Springs, where he opened a museum, a nursery, and a botanical garden. A home for cacti. He had fallen in love with these sharp, slim survivors, who could find ways to succeed where no one else could. They reminded him of himself in many ways. By doing all this, he well and truly earned his nickname. The following year, a young botanist called Patricia Haliday turned up in Palm Springs. Chester and Patricia fell in love, and remained a couple from then on. A few years later, they had their only child, Clark, who is sitting in front of us, peering around, rummaging through his memories. As we sit in the shade of a big Elephant tree, Clark tells us that none of this was really supposed to happen, and that Cactus Slim really shouldn’t have survived for very long in the desert. – He was diagnosed with tuberculosis in LA, and the doctors gave him a few months, and told him: “You may as well go to bed and wait to die.” But Cactus Slim was too busy living his life. The desert did him good. He loved cacti, and now he got to spend

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Clark Moorten is continuing his father's work in the best possible way.

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Prickly and tangled and just gorgeous.

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Past all ordinary plants and trees, where the desert Cedar Lodgethe är realm en takes over, klassisk amerikansk of the cacti begins. lodge och ligger nära Yosmite National Park.

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Cacti come in thousands of shapes.

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HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH TUBERCULOSIS IN LA, AND THE DOCTORS GAVE HIM A FEW MONTHS, AND TOLD HIM: “YOU MAY AS WELL GO TO BED AND WAIT TO DIE.” BUT CACTUS SLIM WAS TOO BUSY LIVING HIS LIFE. THE DESERT DID HIM GOOD. HE LOVED CACTI, AND NOW HE GOT TO SPEND TIME IN THEIR KINGDOM.

time in their kingdom. A few months was out of the question; he had too much to do. Cactus Slim ended up having another fifty years with Patricia and Clark. And with his cacti. Clark still works in the botanical garden that his parents built. You can see him here caring for his cacti almost every day. Despite the stinging heat outside, it is relatively cool in the shade, and we’re avoiding the worst of the heat. The thermometer was pointing to 46 degrees centigrade yesterday, and there’s nothing to suggest that the heat is going anywhere. The cacti like it, and Clark looks very happy, too. The collection is absolutely outstanding, 3,000 different cacti and desert plants are kept here in a collection that’s been divided into states and regions: Arizona, Baja California, California, Colorado, the Mojave Desert, the Sonora Desert, and Texas. A sign informs us that we’re in the “World's First Cactarium”, an invented name for this greenhouse. The rarest specimens of cacti are kept here, sheltered by the glass, along with tropical cacti and succulents that need protection from the wind and the cold. The cactarium is home to the Asclepiad, Aztecia, Chin Cactus, Alstroemeria, Euphorbia, and Devil’s Tongue Cactus. Next to the greenhouse is the house where the family has lived ever since the day when Cactus Slim first strolled onto this farm.

attractive than ever. But the downside to this is that some species of cacti are endangered, and that the busy trade in these durable plants has attracted the attention of unscrupulous smugglers. Cacti have become fashionable to an extent that nobody could have predicted. In Arizona and New Mexico, a new variety of nighttime smuggling has grown common. The shady characters involved in this business are hunting for rare treasures that can fetch thousands of dollars in profits on the black market. They have been classified as one of the world's five most endangered organisms by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). But the business is lucrative enough to ensure that the smugglers, who are often European or Asian according to the police, won’t give up easily, even though they risk being deported or sentenced to prison if they are discovered. SAGUARA

The romantic notion of a true and untouched American Wild West has no more obvious or powerful symbol than the Saguaro cactus. Although it grows exclusively in Arizona and Mexico, it has been portrayed in countless western movies set in other parts of the West. The Saguaro cactus, with its big enticing arms, is a real star–and many people want to have this icon in their gardens. Similarly, many want to pay homage to this stubborn survivor on some part of their body. For Max Martin and his friends, it was this prevalent and narrow view of what cacti really are that caused them to open the Cactus Store in Echo Park, Los Angeles in 2015. – We opened the store because there was a whole world of cacti and succulents beyond the emoji and the awful terrariums that people have at their weddings, and the

THE DESERT POACHERS

The cactus has become an American icon. You can see it on everything from clothes, tattooed body parts, expensive watches, emoji, and all kinds of design objects. This symbol of the old west has never been hotter than it is now, and its attitude and survival instincts make it more 33

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The cacti require care and consideration.

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Where nothing else can survive, the succulent thrives.

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More and more people want to explore the captivating world of cacti.

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DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE

ABOUT CACTI? American Trails have the answers

CACTUS PLANTS (CACTACEAE):

Cactus plants are a succulent plant family, usually with spiny seedlings, and are more formally referred to as cacti. There are between 1,500 and 2,000 different species of cacti, although the exact number will vary depending on who you ask.

CACTI ARE USED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS: as

ornamental plants as well as for feed and food. Cactus water, from the vegetable Nopal, which is prepared from cactus leaves, is also very popular. Nopal is used in more and more food recipes.

SUCCULENT: A kind of plant that can store water, and which usually has thick fleshy leaves or stalks. All cacti are succulents, but far from all succulents are cacti. Succulents exist all over the world. “Succulent” means juicy and comes from the Latin succus, which means juice or liquid.

THE ORIGIN AND CULTURE OF CACTI:

Native Americans used a number of symbols to express various meanings and secret messages. Cacti symbolized warmth, protection, and endurance

GREAT PLACES TO SEE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CACTI

Mesa Garden, Belen, New Mexico, mesagarden.com, Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona, dbg.org, Cactus Store, Los Angeles, California, hotcactus.la, Moorten Botanical Garden, Palm Springs, California, moortenbotanicalgarden.com

ALL AMERICAN CACTI:

Cacti come in all kinds of shapes. Most live in dry and hot environments, many of them in extremely dry environments such as the Atacama Desert, which is one of the driest places in the world. Cacti are incredibly good at retaining water. Almost all cacti are succulents, which means that they have hard, thick sections specifically adapted for preserving water. Most species of cacti have lost their leaves, only retaining the spines, which are actually modified leaves. Cacti are found throughout America, from Patagonia in the South to parts of western Canada in the North.

THE BEST CACTUS ACCOUNTS ON INSTAGRAM

* cactusmagazine * hotcactus_la * thecactusfactory TAG US!

CARE FOR A CACTUS IN YOUR FOOD? Yes

please! Here are four awesome dishes (visit americantrailsmag. com for recipes!) Grilled Nopales Cactus Salsa Cactus Salad Huevos con Nopales and Cilantro

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#americantrailsmag

The spines are modified leaves, just to make sure youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll know what you're talking about.

Vi gillar den coola cowboyÂestetiken.

ONE DAY A YOUNG MAN CAME IN AND ASKED IF DAD COULD HELP HIM TO DESIGN HIS NEW AMUSEMENT PARK. SURE, CACTUS SLIM COULD DO THAT, IT WAS THE KIND OF THING HE DID EVERY DAY! THE MAN WHO HAD SHOWN UP HERE WAS NONE OTHER THAN WALT DISNEY.

world simply wasn’t getting to see them. We wanted to share the gnarlier, more enigmatic aspects of these plants with the world; and the best place to get a glimpse of them is in our book Xerophile: Cactus Photographs from Expeditions of the Obsessed.

However, Max stresses that he isn’t trying to say that you have to be absolutely obsessive about it: – An old friend of ours was telling us recently how he used to bike from Italy to France just to learn about how to take care of specific plants from an old master.

THE ENIGMATIC PLANT

CACTUS SLIM AND SINATRA

Cacti and the desert possess undying value, and this new generation has discovered them. Max Martin can never get over his fascination with this enigmatic plant. – For starters, there is the fact that they survive where most things–including ourselves–would die. Also, there is such a mindboggling number of different species and sub-species, varieties, and cultivars, all with their own particular shape, coloration, spination, habitats, growing conditions, and so on and on. There are far too many of them for them to ever get boring. Many want to collect cacti, but how do you best take care of this very special friend? Max Martin explains: – They are not sculptures for your coffee table! People literally treat them like taking a goldfish out of water and putting it on their television because it looks so pretty. And sure, they do, but if you do that to them, they will most certainly die. You have to think of yourself as their caretaker. Maybe think of yourself as a caretaker of a very, very old person, who is kind of an asshole. Because they’re old, you have to monitor them all the time, but because they are assholes, you have to be careful how much you talk to them or hang around them, or they’ll start to hate you. Max emphasizes that you should read about the plant before you choose to buy one. Thorough research is a must. Where does the cactus come from, how is it best treated? In a post-Google world, there are no longer any excuses.

Clark Moorten also gets philosophical about cacti in the shade in his garden. He’s blissfully ignorant of the increasing attention the plants have enjoyed in recent years. Clark simply does what he and his family have always done: he takes care of his cacti. Clark has a lot of great anecdotes to share, and tells us about how his dad planted cacti in Frank Sinatra's garden over there, and Bing Crosby’s and Lily Pond’s over there. – One day a young man came in and asked if dad could help him to design his new amusement park. Sure, Cactus Slim could do that, it was the kind of thing he did every day! The man who had shown up here was none other than Walt Disney, and the assignment eventually grew more extensive than he had ever imagined. Frontierland received the perfect look indeed! Cactus Slim also designed the garden of Frank Sinatra's Smoke Tree Ranch, and a lot of other gardens over in Palm Springs. What strikes us the most when we walk around with Clark among all his wonderful plants is the sense that there is something of the old Palm Springs lingering here in the garden. The low, Spanish-style stone house where the family lives blends in perfectly with the cacti. Very little has changed here since that day almost ninety years ago when Cactus Slim walked in here with his hands full of cacti and a burning desire to shower them with love. He knew right away: he had found his home! 39

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To Dive for

THE OCEANVIEW INN & SPORTS PUB, ISLAMORADA, FLORIDA WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JONAS HENNINGSSON

What should a sports bar in the sun look like? Just like The Oceanview Inn! The owner Gary Dunn is always here, and always ready to share the occasional anecdote from his time as defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. Join the regulars at the long bar, and order whatever they’re having. Don’t miss the back yard where Danny got into a big fight in the TV show Bloodline (yes, they shot the scene here). Continue on down to the water, too–it’s really pretty there! And if you don’t want to leave, you can book a room and stay the night! 84500 OVERSEAS HWY, ISLAMORADA. FLORIDA THEOCEAN-VIEW.COM

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Andrew Zinn, Wolfgang Boyer, Scott W Needs, and Jay Devore playing a set by the back door of Wolfgangâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Volvo 245.

Highway 49 slingrar sig makligt fram längs foten av Sierra Nevada

Turkey Scratch

The Hidden Treasure of the Appalachians Mountain music, old-time music–this music, which has been played by generations of people in Virginia and other parts of the Appalachians, goes by many names. A banjo builder who lives in the mountains invited us to a party, and we leapt at this great opportunity to find out more about this intriguing style of music. WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON • PHOTOS BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

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Beer from Wicked Weed Brewing in Asheville.

here is a golden Volvo 245 parked on the meadow. This appeals to the car lover in me, for sure, but I’m even more fascinated by the quartet that is playing behind the car’s open back door: Andrew, Wolfgang, Scott, and Jay. What do a bearded, banjo picking brewer from Asheville, an upright bass thumping teacher, a fiddling cider maker from Athens, Ohio and a soft-spoken guitarist from God knows where have in common? The same thing as all the other little groups of people who have gathered on this meadow, in the smithy, in the arbor, in the pig shack, and on the porch: they’re all playing old-time music at the unofficial Turkey Scratch festival, which is hosted by banjo builder Greg and blacksmith Cindy (who we featured in American Trails 1/2018). Greg and Cindy have been organizing the Turkey Scratch mini festival, a three-day event at the end of the summer, for almost twenty years. Friends, musicians, and cool people of

all sorts flock to this farm under Buckeye mountain in the foothills of the Virginian Appalachians to play music, dance, eat, drink, and most of all hang out – and well, we really dig it! OLD-TIME MUSIC

Old-time music is a catch-all phrase used to refer to certain kinds of traditional North American music. The term was originally applied to Fiddlin’ John Carson’s recordings for the Okeh record company from the early 20th century. Previously, this music, which is common in the Appalachians and in the South and has roots in the British Isles–particularly in Ireland–was called “hillbilly music”. The fiddle tends to take a leading role in the string bands that perform it, but banjo, guitar, bass, and other instruments are also used. The style of banjo that is generally used is an open back banjo, unlike the bluegrass banjo which has a sealed resonator. The most common banjo picking style in old-time music is the clawhammer style, in which the strings are struck with a downward motion of the nail rather than plucked with the fingertips. 44

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Liam, a.k.a. "Old Man Kelly", is not just a performer, he makes a mean gumbo, too.

Partying and listening to music can make the best of us feel a little tired after a while.

Greg, Cindy, and some of their friends have a band, Farm Use Only, which performs at various festivals and nearby water holes.

fiddle, and finally, harmony singing to top it off. The pig shack is swinging something tremendous. I feel a pang of jealousy, wishing I could play too, but then again, sitting here in the front row with a glass of bourbon isn’t bad at all.

AN IMPROVISED FESTIVAL AND POTLUCK

Andrew, the brewer and banjo picker from Asheville, has brought some kegs of beer. Greg and Cindy are cooking. It's a potluck of sorts, and there is food and drink from morning to evening. Breakfasts are long and enjoyed late in the morning. There is lots of laughter in the air, and plenty of more or less credible stories are told. It’s very similar in structure to a Swedish spelmansstämma in Dalarna, where people gather to jam in smaller groups. I spend the afternoon relaxing on the balcony of Greg’s workshop with a glass of bourbon. Beneath me, in the pig shack, a group has gathered. The fiddle kicks it off alone, and the others follow it and groove their way into the tune. The notes of a banjo trickle in, and the mountains come alive, and then, a second banjo follows, then another

ARTISTIC SOULS

I catch an angry look from the corner of my eye. – Stop taking pictures, I’m wanted in three states! Joe gives me the evil eye–for two seconds, before bursting into laughter. – I’m just messing with you! Take as many pictures as you like. Joe is a fun guy who likes to shoot the breeze. Most of the people here very obviously go back quite a way, and it’s up to us newcomers to find our place in the group. Fortunately, this isn’t much of a challenge; the people who come to Turkey Scratch are friendly, artistic types. We have many rewarding conversations, which often erupt into huge, shared laughs. We chat with Old Man Kelly, or Liam Patrick Kelly, as he is really called. Kelly lives in his RV, which also serves 45

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Everyone is welcome at this party, including dogs.

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Nancy from Asheville with a great crowd in the pig shack.

as the office for his IT consulting business. A musical vagabond with a somehow both grouchy and friendly face. – Almost everybody here owns a Buckeye banjo, and the ones who don’t wish they did. This is also a kind of homecoming party for the instruments, he laughs. Old Man Kelly plays a modernized version of old-time music; there are moments when he reminds me of Tom Waits, and others where he reminds me of a vaudeville singer. Kelly went through several phases and genres as he quested for a music that he could make truly his own. In the music of the Southwest Virginian Appalachians, he found something he’d never come across before: a musical genre that was deeply rooted in a specific geographic location. Songs appeared in different variations in different parts of the region. He realized that he could travel around and learn the various variations in their respective places of origin. He found that you don’t so much bring the music with you when you leave as borrow it while you’re there and return it when you leave. Since he grew up in a military family that was constantly moving from one naval base to another, he’d always thought

of roots as something other people had. Along the way, Liam learned to listen and learn in order to fit in. Ironically, the music he plays today is a kind of roots music. PLAYING IN THE RAIN

– Here comes Greg with the pig! I don’t know who it is that announces this, but it’s most welcome news. I’ve forgotten to eat, which is something I’m very prone to do when I meet so many interesting people. Greg has made pulled pork, and it is eagerly anticipated. We all gather like a flock of starving wolves around the food, and the beer starts flowing from the tap again. When it starts to rain, we all bunch up in the outdoor kitchen pavilion. And this is no soft, warm summer drizzle; no, it’s a full-fledged deluge. One group, who were sitting down to play just outside, is soon completely flooded. They pick up their banjo cases and raise their parasols, and the music soon continues. Before long, they’re sitting in a little lake of water, but nobody stops playing. It feels a bit like watching the band on the Titanic continuing to play as the ship went below the waves. 52

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Greg and Cindy have been organizing Turkey Scratch for 20 years. Read more about the couple in American Trails no. 1, 2018. Available to order at americantrailsmag.com

If thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a train AMERICAN TRAILS passing by, you may| 2018/2019 WINTER have to wait for quite some time.

The Appalachian Trail is often called "The Green Tunnel".

Richie Stearns is one of America's most celebrated banjo pickers, and an allaround nice guy.

Michael and Oliver sharing a moment in the grass. Michael is on the right.

But what harm could a little rain do? Bring out the inflatable crocodile and swan! The beer helps us make the best of the rain, and soon, we’re paddling around in the new lake that is forming. The rain intensifies, and we have to place boards of wood over the mud to keep from slipping in it. We move the party into a camper, and I get flashbacks of the Scat Cat and his crew from Aristocats– you know, the cat jazz band that doesn’t stop playing even as they plummet through several floors of a building.

– I think that’s him down there, Michael responds. He’s quite old now, so he’s not very fast. Oliver is the king of the castle. When he arrives, Perdy and Mato want to snuggle with him, and he oinks contentedly as Gagaia the cat runs around the pigs, wanting to join in. There’s quite a Garden of Eden vibe going on up here in Woods Hole, a hostel and mountain retreat that’s run by Neville and Michael. This is a great place to spend the night if you’re following the Appalachian trail, which passes by just around the corner. You could also come up here for a yoga retreat. When we visit, there is a whole group here practicing yoga and relaxing. Woods Hole is run according to an organic, holistic ethos. It is pleasantly removed from the world, surrounded as it is by the Jefferson National Forest. And if your muscles should be aching after days on the trail, you’ll be glad to know that Neville and Michael also give massages. – Woods Hole has been in my family since the late 19th century, and it’s been a hostel since 1986. My grandparents, Mama Tillie and Roy, bought it and started the business.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL

– MAMAH, MAMAH! Michael hollers across the valley that lies stretched out below where we’re standing. Soon, we see motion at the far end of the meadow: some goats come running at full speed, followed by a pair of rather fat pigs. – MAMAH, MAMAH! The animals speed up. Soon, the expectant and very loving goats have arrived, and are given some food. The pigs Mato and Perdy (Tomato and Pretty) want to snuggle and get itched. – Where’s Oliver, Neville asks. 54

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A horse and a barn with a crucifix in the mountains.

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It doesn’t get any more authentic than this.

I’ve been running it with Michael since 2009, she tells us. – We want it to be a place with a great sense of community, and if you can’t pay for your stay, you’re free to help out for room and board if there is anything we need to have done at the time. We also have a system called the “Broke hikers’ jar”, where you can leave some cash behind for other hikers who are less fortunate. – One hiker came here asking to work for room and board, and all she had was three dollars. I told her: “I don’t have anything that needs doing right now, but we’ll take care of you.” I took money from the jar. It’s a good way to look out for each other. I like to say that if you’re in a bad situation in life, you can either get out of it or stay there, and with the help of others, you can always get out. Neville and Michael have big hearts and Woods Hole feels like a place for weary wanderers to heal their souls or their bodies, almost like something out of the Bible. TIME FOR GOODBYE

On Sunday, it’s all over. There aren’t many of us left, and we’re all hanging out in Greg and Cindy’s living room,

somewhat the worse for wear, laughing at memories from this year’s Turkey Scratch, which have already been added to festival’s own stock of legends. Richie Stearns, who is one of the most celebrated banjo pickers in all the US, a beautiful spirit and a kind-hearted man, sits peacefully in a corner, playfully plucking melodies from his banjo. I sink back into the couch, take another sip of coffee, and close my eyes. I’m awoken by the photographer, who’s shaking me by the shoulder. – Come on, it’s time to leave, he tells me. And I suppose he’s right. We say our thank yous and goodbyes to everybody who’s still here, and promise them that we’ll return next year. Our last sight of Turkey Scratch is Old Man Kelly, sitting on the step of his RV with his banjo on his knee, playing what feels like a tune of farewell as we drive off. Find out more online: oldmankelly.com | richiestearnsmusic.com buckeyebanjos.com | woodsholehostel.com

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Viva Palm Springs FALL IN LOVE WITH

Embrace Southern California's desert spirit in one of Its most storied towns. Laura Kiniry tells the story of a mid-century desert dream. WORDS BY LAURA KINIRY â&#x20AC;¢ ILLUSTRATIONS BY CECILIA CARLSTEDT

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Wine harvest time! Smiles all around, of course.

he sun is shining down on us as Joanne and I peer into the windows of 1123 Via Monte Vista in Palm Springs' tony Las Palmas neighborhood. Currently under construction, the unoccupied home with the sloping roof once belonged to Rat Pack crooner and “King of Cool” Dean Martin – “Dino” for short. It's the same place where Martin's three young kids would sell cups of lemonade to passerbys from a small stand, a tidbit that Joanne is thrilled to share. – He was always one of my favorites, she says, gushing. Joanne's boyfriend Daryl is waiting patiently for us in a rented SUV at the end of the driveway. Technically we're trespassing, but the local residents are surely used to it here in Palm Springs, Hollywood's illustrious desert playground.

A PLAYGROUND FOR THE RICH

It's only taken me 22 years since moving to California to finally make it to this Southern Californian gem, an arid getaway in the Sonora Desert's Coachella Valley, just a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles. With its sleek Jetsons-style homes and a lollipop-like color palette, the city looks like something straight of out of the architectural minds of animators Hanna and Barbera, but with one caveat: it's real. That is, at least to a point. In some ways Palm Springs feels as though it's popped straight off a movie set. Neighborhoods sporting names like Old Las Palmas and Racquet Club Estates house the former vacation estates of Old Hollywood's crème de la crème – stars like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Cary Grant – and current escapes of celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, and Goldie Hawn. It's a resort oasis that feels like an adaptable time capsule. Something you might see at Warner Bros. 60

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Joanne and I pile back into the SUV, and Daryl starts driving slowly along the neighborhood streets. – That's Liberace's former place, he says, pointing to a stark white exterior and an entry of double wrought iron gates, each decorated with large musical notes. – And over here was the home of Peter Lawford, where his brother-in-law John F. Kennedy would sometimes stay. Notice how close it is to Marilyn Monroe's former bungalow? Daryl is of course referring to the once U.S. president and Monroe's alleged affair. For someone who grew up reading the tabloids like me, this place is an absolute goldmine of Hollywood gossip. Even Daryl has a story to tell, proudly sharing how he once dated the daughter of Elizabeth Montgomery, the nose-twitching star of TV's 1960s sitcom Bewitched. One of their first outings was a party at Debbie Reynold's estate. Daryl said he ran into the Singing in the Rain star and mother of

Carrie Fisher years later, while working as security for an event in Reynold's honor. – Can you believe it? says Daryl, gushing, She remembered me! I catch eyes with Joanne and smile. Since first meeting the couple, my guides for the day, outside the Riviera Hotel that morning, the three of us have become fast friends. Although they're at least a decade older, we've found we have plenty of things in common. After hours spent exploring the wilds of Joshua Tree National Park, sipping on date shakes (a Palm Springs delicacy) at the city's Windmill Market, and posing for pics with the statue of former mayor and ex-husband of Cher, Sony Bono, along downtown's South Palm Canyon Drive – bonding was simply inevitable. In fact, when I first approached the tourism board about things to do in Palm Springs, they insisted that 61

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WHILE LOUNGING BY THE WATER (OR UPON A GIANT SWAN FLOAT) IS A DEFINITE MUST, THE CITY ALSO HAS A SURPRISING NUMBER OF ATTRACTIONS – ESPECIALLY FOR FANS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND OLD HOLLYWOOD HISTORY.

These days Palm Springs is a popular LGBT hangout, and overflows with fashionista hipsters drawn by the annual Coachella Festival each April. It's times like this that the city's year-round population of 45,000 swells to extreme proportions. It also more than doubles during winter months, when summer's dry and excessive heat gives way to more moderate temps – a natural medicine for aching bones and arthritis. Add to this its relaxed pace, surplus of swimming pools, tennis courts, and golf courses, and an average of 350 sunny days a year, and it's no wonder the city's a retiree hotspot as well.

I hit the pool – and stay there. While lounging by the water (or upon a giant swan float) is a definite must, the city also has a surprising number of attractions – especially for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture and Old Hollywood history. The surrounding mountains boast hiking and horseback riding trails, and there are art galleries and shops to explore. Living Desert Zoo & Gardens – a botanical wonderland – is home to native plants and exotic wildlife, like bearded dragons and African pygmy hedgehogs, while the rotating Palm Springs Ariel Tramway offers scenic access to Mt. San Jacinto State Park, more than 8,500 feet up the mountainside. Then there's the sheer beauty of Joshua Tree National Park and the faux Old West facades of Pioneertown, both within an hour's drive.

DESERT MODERN

To get an in-depth sense of local architecture, I booked a tour with Palm Springs Mod Squad, a company that runs 90-minute excursions highlighting some of the city's most intriguing design elements and architectural styles such as the works of Donald Wexler, whose steel homes and signature “butterfly” roofs are especially suited for Palms Springs desert landscape. Together with our guide Kurt, a young couple from Arkansas and I set out in an air-conditioned van to explore. – First things first, says Kurt, Palm Springs' architecture is actually an off-shoot of Mid-Century Modern known as Desert Modern. While both styles grew out of post-war technologies and an urban exodus to suburbs, and feature notable elements such as ample glass, clean lines, and an open-floor layout, Palm Springs' temperate weather and its reputation as a vacation spot allowed architects more freedom to both work with inexpensive materials and go wild with their imaginations. They designed sleek, modern properties in which it's sometimes hard to tell were the structure ends and the desert begins. As we go, Kurt points out some of the city's most iconic structures, providing both a bit of background and some

A HOLLYWOOD HIDEOUT

Although the city itself is filled with fruit-bearing Canary Island Date Palms and the towering, rounded canopies of Mexican Fan Palms, only one type of palm tree is native to the area: California Washingtonia, or the California Fan Palm, best recognized by its burly dry leave skirt. Palm Springs gets the latter half of its name from the hot springs that still bubble up from beneath a metal cover in the center of town. The valley has been home to the Agua Caliente band of native Cahuilla people for millenia. They still own the majority of the land, renting it out to home-owners. While the area first caught on as a health resort for tourists in the 1900s, it wasn't until the late 1920s and early '30s that Hollywood began moving in, drawn by Palm Springs' relative seclusion – as well as its convention location: the city its within early movie studios' two-hour contract clause, which stated that actors needed to be available within two-hours for any last-minute film shoots or photos. 65

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THIS IS TWIN PALMS, SAYS KURT, ORIGINALLY BUILT FOR FRANK SINATRA. OL' BLUE EYES OCCUPIED THE FOUR-BEDROOM PROPERTY FROM 1947-1953, OFTEN HOSTING PARTIES HERE FOR FRIENDS LIKE FELLOW RAT PACK MEMBERS DEAN MARTIN AND SAMMY DAVIS, JR. THE HOME STILL HAS SINATRA'S ORIGINAL SOUND AND RECORDING SYSTEM.

fun facts and trivia. We take in the stunning glass exterior of the international-style Kaufmann house, a National Historic Landmark that famed Austrian-American architect Richard Neutra designed in the 1940s and “Copacabana” singer Barry Manilow owned in the 1970s. Next, we head over to a cul-de-sac to find Elvis' Honeymoon Hideaway, a curved and winged-roof home where “The King” and his new bride Priscilla bedded down after their 1967 Vegas wedding. – Their daughter Lisa Marie was born exactly 9 months later, says Kurt. Next up is the city's Movie Colony neighborhood, where Kurt pulls the van up to the rear of a property, which looks very much like it could be the front. – This is Twin Palms, says Kurt, originally built for Frank Sinatra. Ol' Blue Eyes occupied the four-bedroom property from 1947–1953, often hosting parties here for friends like fellow Rat Pack members Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. The home still has Sinatra's original sound and recording system, as well as another unusual jewel: a cracked sink basin where the famously tempered singer is said to have hurled a champagne bottle at his second wife, Ava Gardner. Today the property – as well as others like the Dinah Shore Estate, now owned by Leonardo DiCaprio – are available for party and event rentals.

Sinatra who made it a regular hangout. The entertainer even held the rehearsal dinner for his third marriage – this one to his Palm Springs neighbor Barbara Marx (ne Blakeley) – in the restaurant's back room. His favorite stool remains at the end of the bar closest to entry, so the man notorious for having mob ties could always see who was coming and going. Sliding into Haber's own personal booth (the beloved owner passed away about seven months prior to my visit), I feel like a celebrity myself. Like much of the staff, my tuxedo-clad server Stephen has worked at Melvyn's practically since its opening – and so much of the place feels like its frozen in time (something that may change under its new ownership). The menu is lined with classic dishes such as lobster pot pie and steak au poivre, as well as Sinatra's favorite, Steak Diane, a plate of individual filet mignon medallions that the servers prepare tableside with French mustard and red-wine demi-glaze. I start with a Caesar salad, move on to the sole de piccata, and by the time I'm ready for dessert Stephen has warmed up to me considerably. He recommends the Chocolate Bomb, a mix of chocolate grenache and chocolate cake laced with Meyer's Rum and Kahlua. It's divine. Afterward, I head past the bar to Melvyn's Casablanca Lounge, where longtime performer Mikael Heal is just beginning his evening set. Though I promise myself I'll only stay a few minutes, Heal draws me in with his nostalgic tunes – favorites like Mack the Knife and Sinatra's Witchcraft. Large illustrated portraits of Elvis, Marilyn, Sinatra, and James Dean hang on the wall beside Heal's piano, and the cocktail napkins are all adorned with images of Frank's young face. I feel like I've stepped back in time and that any minute Ol' Blue Eyes will come walking through the door. When I finally get up to leave, two hours have passed.

MELVYN'S

Sinatra is actually one of Palm Springs most legendary residents, and stories of him abound. One of his favorite hangouts was Melvyn's, a 1970s steakhouse that embraces the era of Old Hollywood, right down to its plush booths, white tablecloths, and piano bar. Melvyn's is part of the historic Ingleside Inn, which New York businessman Mel Haber purchased in 1975 and completely restored. His namesake restaurant soon became a stop for such luminaries as Jerry Lewis, Liza Minnelli, and Cher, but it was 66

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Gram Parsons The Fallen Angel Gram Parsons served his songs shaken, not stirred, with an equal blend of honest heartache and fearless rebellion. Donivan Berube tells the story of the godfather of cosmic American music.

WORDS BY DONIVAN BERUBE • ILLUSTRATION BY JONAS LARSSON

ew narratives in music history are as captivating as the orphan boy who turned the world of rock music upside down before a conspiratorial burnout in the Mojave Desert. Gram Parsons' legacy began with the death of both of his parents due to years of alcohol abuse while he was still a teenager. Of all the tragic losses he would go on to experience, none would prove to be more impactful or prophetic. But he channeled these catastrophes into music throughout the entirety of his short life, recording and performing in various groups all across the country. In 1968 he struck gold, replacing David Crosby in the folk-rock super group The Byrds before forming The Flying Burrito Brothers and eventually graduating into his self-produced solo masterpiece "Grievous Angel."

Townes Earle alike all credit Parsons as a defining presence in their own musicality. Parsons served his songs shaken, not stirred, with an equal blend of honest heartache and fearless rebellion. Who else could wear a sequined Nudie suit covered in marijuana leaves onstage at the Altamont Speedway and leave the scene alive? With the infamous Hell's Angels providing security, no less. THE GODFATHER OF COSMIC AMERICAN MUSIC.

Despite the fact that he never had what might qualify as a hit record of his own, Parsons couldn't outrun the textbook rock n' roll demise that he'd been seemingly destined for. He overdosed on a heavy mixture of morphine and alcohol in Joshua Tree, California, a mystic and fitting resting place for the “Godfather of Cosmic American Music” “He considered himself The Fallen Angel,” said his road manager Phil Kaufman. “If Gram was here today, he'd still be dead. He was heading in that direction.” So after just 26 years, Parsons fell the only way an angel could: tragically, beautifully, and far too soon.

IT'S MUSIC. EITHER IT'S GOOD OR IT'S BAD

Parsons couldn't see the lines people drew between rock, country, blues, or soul. "I just say this:," he explained. "It's music. Either it's good or it's bad; either you like it or you don't.” Blending each of those styles into something entirely his own, it was Parsons' writing that would go on to be the greatest influence of every outlaw countryman thereafter. Classic country stars like Emmylou Harris and Dwight Yoakam, rock gods like Keith Richards & the Rolling Stones, and contemporary folk singers like Justin 68

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AMERICAN TRAILS’S FAVORITE SONGS BY GRAM PARSONS BRASS BUTTONS | Grievous Angel, 1974 A SONG FOR YOU | GP, 1973 HICKORY WIND | The Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 1969/Grievous Angel, 1974 1000 $ WEDDING | Grievous Angel, 1974 THE NEW SOFT SHOE | GP, 1973 THE DARK END OF THE STREET | The Gilded Palace of Sin, 1969 SHE | GP, 1973 RETURN OF THE GRIEVOUS ANGEL | Grievous Angel, 1974 WILD HORSES | Gram Parsons & The Flying Burrito Brothers – Burrito Deluxe, 1970 HOT BURRITO #1 | The Gilded Palace of Sin, 1969 HOW MUCH I'VE LIED | GP, 1973 LUXURY LINER | Safe At Home, 1968 ONE HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW | Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, 1968

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In What

DIRECTION ARE YOU HEADED? THE PAINTED DESERT MURAL PROJECT Donivan Berube and Deidra Peaches travel to Shonto, Arizona to meet doctor-turned-mural-artist Chip Thomas. WORDS BY DONIVAN BERUBE â&#x20AC;¢ PHOTOS BY DEIDRA PEACHES AND CHIP THOMAS

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The famed Four Corners Monument marks the only place in America where visitors can stand in four states at once: Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. To most tourists, it’s nothing more than a mindless photo opportunity, traveling there for a simple picture and leaving completely unaware of the region’s geographic and cultural significance in the American Southwest. Yet deep into the surrounding high desert of the Colorado Plateau is the small town of Shonto, Arizona, a high-elevation crossroads and home of doctor-turned-mural-artist Chip Thomas, who’s lived there for over half of his life, not only caring for the people to whom this land belongs to, but also sharing their stories through an art series he calls the Painted Desert Project. 71

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The clinic where Thomas works as a physician, the Inscription House Navajo Health Center, serves over 7,000 nearby residents of the Navajo Nation. He moved there initially only to fulfill a four-year obligation to the National Health Service Corps, wherein medical students are granted scholarships in return for a postgraduate commitment to work in underserved areas. “As much as I love it here, I never saw myself staying this long,” he says of Shonto.

ways is vehicles passing by at 70-plus miles per hour, he continues. The work needs to register quickly and tell a short story in the two seconds it might attract someone’s attention. At the very least I hope it gets viewers curious about people on the reservation, and that they stop to engage locals about the art or perhaps have conversations or interactions that might not have occurred without the art. My primary conversation with the work, though, is with people on the reservation. It's me thanking them for sharing their beauty over the past 31 years, and maybe to remind them of that beauty.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS GALLERY

Several trips to Africa in the 90’s provided the training ground for his eventual work in the Navajo Nation. Inversely, this onesame tribal land provides the perfect blank canvas for his art, which simply wouldn’t fit in any lesser gallery than the great outdoors. In this way, the sights worth stopping for are no longer strictly limited to Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, or other natural wonders of the West, but an entirely new map of artworks that speak to the people of the land as well as the land itself. These murals might come as a surprising discovery amidst the otherwise desolate landscape. An area characterized by windblown scrub brush and deserted roadside stands can suddenly seem like a point of focus thanks to a bright painting or a larger-than-life black & white photograph that’s been wheat pasted to the side of a building. The smiling faces of generations of Native Americans stare back at unsuspecting passersby, providing heartwarming glimpses of the people who reside there. This is the exact reason why Thomas chose portraiture as his medium. – I actually used to hate portraiture, he says. It always felt too stiff and unnatural. However, looking at unconventional portraiture by the likes of Richard Avedon and Roger Ballen helped me see the medium differently. Presenting these pieces of art to an audience naturally fleeting in all directions provides its own set of difficulties and considerations. – The primary audience for my work along the high-

ARROWHEAD VILLAGE

Wheat paste is an age-old medium that ranges in uses from the famous Toulouse-Lautrec posters of the 1800’s to the modern day graffiti art of Shepard Fairey. It allows the artist to effectively glue their prints onto any surface with a transparent seal. During the winter, Thomas can’t paste in northern Arizona because the ambient temperature needs to be above 50-degrees Fahrenheit for his glue to dry properly. Despite this unfavorable climate, though, his work has been featured by National Geographic, Men’s Journal, PBS, and other media outlets. He says that working on the artworks has made him a better doctor, as the opportunity for home visits to take photographs allows for a closer doctor/patient relationship than a conventional clinic might allow. Most recently in his line of wheat paste murals is the soon-to-be leveled mobile home park of Arrowhead Village in Flagstaff, Arizona’s Plaza Vieja neighborhood. Thomas was contacted by the Arizona Repeal Coalition, who work with marginalized communities and actively fight against anti-immigration laws enacted by state politicians. They reached out to Thomas in the hopes of a collaborative effort to bring awareness to the fact that the residents of this low-income neighborhood were being forcibly evicted. Most of its 50-plus families, being without the funds to move their homes, were left with no 72

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Chip Thomas has lived there for over half of his life, not only caring for the people to whom this land belongs to, but also sharing their stories through an art series he calls the Painted Desert Project. The clinic where Thomas works as a physician, the Inscription House Navajo Health Center, serves over 7 000 nearby residents of the Navajo Nation. He moved there initially only to fulfill a four-year obligation to the National Health Service Corps, wherein medical students are granted scholarships in return for a postgraduate commitment to work in underserved areas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As much as I love it here, I never saw myself staying this long,â&#x20AC;? he says of Shonto.

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Mining poisoned the soil and the people. These are two of the problems facing the native population that Chip wants to highlight.

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The wind-battered plain has been given a new look thanks to the visual art of Chip Thomas.

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It used to be a society where everybody helped each other, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gone now.

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THE SIGHTS WORTH STOPPING FOR ARE NO LONGER STRICTLY LIMITED TO MONUMENT VALLEY, THE GRAND CANYON, OR OTHER NATURAL WONDERS OF THE WEST, BUT AN ENTIRELY NEW MAP OF ARTWORKS THAT SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND AS WELL AS THE LAND ITSELF.

choice but to accept the state’s offer for their home, land, and title, and make do elsewhere. There has been much speculation as to what’s really going on behind the scenes at Arrowhead Village. The property was almost sold a few years earlier, when a student housing developer ultimately withdrew its request for the land to be rezoned. This time around, however, the residents were evicted before another commercial rezoning request was even submitted. Some expect another luxury apartment complex or hotel, something that would undoubtedly eclipse any monetary gains that a mobile home park can provide to the city. This choking out of what little affordable housing Flagstaff already offers, or doesn’t offer, is quite naturally a topic of much contention for the local community. Signs like “more houses, less breweries” and “community over profit” are becoming more and more common as the subject continually hits closer and closer to home. It’s as much a tongue-in-cheek protest as it is a sign of the growing desperation by those who feel they’re slowly getting pushed out of their own livelihoods.

care responsibilities, and look after one another. Children were free to play and ride their bikes on the main road in the park, trusting in the villagers to hold them in a safe space. Besides leaving family and friends, many people who could use public transportation, walk, or ride bicycles to get to work downtown in the past were now challenged with figuring that out. It was frustrating to meet the residents so close to the time they were being made to move. I was left wishing I could have done more to advocate on their behalf, and at the very least hear more of their stories. For now, remnants of Arrowhead Village still remain. Although weathered and torn in time, some of Thomas’ murals stand as a testament to the people who used to call this place home. Inscriptions on the walls of the houses, often in Spanish, express sentiments like: “I lived here for seven years and learned to live with my neighbors who I now consider my family,” with much thanks to the residents of Flagstaff for their support in trying to keep this community alive. As the West continues to grow less and less wild, the bright light of hope that is the Painted Desert Project will shine on those devastated by this region’s ever-shifting political landscape, while continuing to engage and educate the unsuspecting public who would otherwise travel on in their adventures unknowingly.

FLAGSTAFF - CUTTHROAT HOUSING MARKET

As a small mountain town, Flagstaff is literally dominated by Grand Canyon tourism and the ever-expanding student body of Northern Arizona University, which this year tops 30,000 in total admissions, with 65% of them living off-campus. For Flagstaff ’s residents, this means a cutthroat housing market and skyrocketing costs of living, yet without the metropolitan appeal that such costs usually merit. – Sadly, Arrowhead Village was one of my more difficult and frustrating projects, Thomas reflects. In my work on the reservation I try to use imagery to help build community. Documenting stories of people being displaced from their homes, for some that was more than 30 years, was documenting the dissolution of a community. And it truly was a community, representing extended families where people could come together and share meals, child

Learn more about Chip Thomas and the Painted Desert Mural Project at jetsonorama.net or by following him on Instagram (@jetsonorama).

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Las Vegas Baby!

Las Vegas has shown many faces over the years. Today the city also attracts families and dedicated travelers who want to eat world-class food and see the shows, as well as travel out of the city to experience Nevada’s dramatic natural landscape. So add a few extra days to your visit and see the beautiful national parks that surround Las Vegas. WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON • PHOTOS BY CAMILLA LINDQVIST

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Dining | Bouchon, The Venetian

Ed, the friendly doorman, recommends Bouchon at the Venetian where he works. Thomas Keller, the man behind the famous French Laundry restaurant in Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Napa Valley, has created a classic French bistro. Bouchon is well worth a visit for food lovers. 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas venetian.com

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Adventure | Helicopter tours

If you have some time to spare, a helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon is a real must. It takes about 40 minutes to fly out to the Canyon, including a small detour to fly above the gigantic Hoover Dam. From $259. Maverick also has other helicopter tours that are more affordable. maverickhelicopter.com

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PHOTO: JONAS LARSSON

Where to stay | Caesars Palace Live like a Roman Caesars Palace, was Theemperor. Art Institute ofwhich Chicago

completed in Inte 1966,bara wasett theavfirst theme-based hotel utan även i hela USA. Här hittar du inte bara Chicagos bästa museum complex in Las Vegas. Today you can check in one och olika stilepoker utan även foto och inte målningar och skulptur från hela to världen of their over 3,000 rooms, gamble, enjoy fine dining, go minst flera trevliga restauranger. Ett måste. shopping and see a show. One of the true classic hotels. 111 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE. ARTIC.EDU caesars.com

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Must-dos | The Strip

The view from the Cosmopolitan is striking. Las Vegas as most people imagine it. The Strip, the main avenue that is home to all of the major hotels and casinos, is fascinating. The Bellagio and its fountain show are on the left. This is the setting of the final scene of Oceanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eleven, where Danny Ocean parts ways with his partners in crime. The Strip is at its most beautiful at sunset, when the last rays of the sun compete with the neon lights.

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PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN

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FOTO: MHUGE GALDONES

Downtown Container Park is a short distance down Fremont Street. It’s an open-air shopping center made from old shipping containers. downtowncontainerpark.com

The Fremont Street Experience is the glowing background to Fremont Street. Once you’ve ridden a zip line over the canopied street, it’s time to explore the restaurants and bars further along the street.

Atomic Liquors was a working-class bar that was also the spot where the Rat Pack and other celebrities went to enjoy their martinis in peace. Today it’s a nice bar 88 with a great 1950s vibe. AMERICAN 917 TRAILS Fremont Street 1 | 2017 atomic.vegas

Cool Neighborhoods | Downtown Vegas

Right now things are happening in old Las Vegas. New restaurants and bars are starting up side-by-side, with old classics like Atomic Liquors. This was where it all began, and now it’s where the hip and trendy visitors hang out. You’ll find El Cortez, one of the original casinos, here too. At El Cortez you can still play with quarters, which you keep in a plastic mug of course, like the regulars.

The neon sign on the wall says “Fucking beautiful,” and that’s exactly what it is. Park on Fremont is one of my absolute favorite places in Las Vegas. 506 Fremont Street parkonfremont.com

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PHOTO: JONAS LARSSON

Outings | Grand Canyon

The canyon, which is over 300 miles long, was hollowed out by the Colorado River over the course of over two million years. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at its most beautiful in the mornings and evenings, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fascinating place even if you visit during the day. It takes a bit over two hours to drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, but you can also take a bus tour there. Or why not a helicopter tour, with an intermediate landing at the bottom of the canyon? grandcanyon.com

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High-speed Thrills | Speed Vegas

This is absolutely one of the best experiences in Las Vegas – if you’re a car enthusiast. The only things you need to bring are a valid driver’s license and a bit of common sense. You can choose among some of the classiest sports cars in the world: Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche. Or why not take a Shelby Mustang GT for a run around the track? From $59 per lap. You’ll burn money just as fast as at the casino, but what a thrill! speedvegas.com

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PHOTO: JONAS LARSSON

Outing | Zion National Park

Okay, it’s in another state, and okay it’s nearly a 125 mile drive to get there, but it’s worth it. Flying in to Las Vegas and spending a couple of days there and then taking a road trip through Nevada, Arizona and Utah is an excellent idea, and Zion is one stop along the way. If you don’t want to drive such long distances, Valley of Fire State Park, the oldest state park in Nevada, is a nice alternative: parks. nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire-state-park

Museums | The Neon Museum

PHOTO: JONAS LARSSON

Going to a museum when you’re in Sin City might seem like an odd thing to do, but believe me, this place is worth the trip. The Neon Museum is a cemetery for the old neon signs that once lit up the city. Don’t miss it. neonmuseum.org

Museums | The Mob Museum

If you are truly interested in people who put horse heads in other people’s beds, you’re in the right place. This is an excellent museum that tells the story of how Las Vegas was ruled by the mafia once upon a time. themobmuseum.org

Outings | The Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam is the reason Las Vegas became the entertainment metropolis it is now. When the dam was being built in the 1930s the workers came in to Las Vegas to play away 94 their hard-earned dollars, but with the hope of winning it all AMERICAN TRAILS back and more. There are organized bus tours to the dam, or it HÖST | 2018 takes about half an hour to drive there if you rent a car.

Hotels | The Venetian

One of the large luxury hotels in the heart of the Strip. The Venetian has actual canals and gondolas in the hotel. You can take a tour while being serenaded by a gondolier between your shopping trip and dinner at one of over twelve fine dining restaurants. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to go out in the heat, you can just stay at the hotel where there is a spa, nightclubs, bars and shows all under one roof. The Venetian is a beautiful and fascinating place. venetian.com

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Spirit of the West

Jessica Camilla O'Neil is a true cowgirl, a homegrown Wyomingite and an artist with an incredible voice and story. Andrew Munz met her to talk about shoot outs, ranching and making it as an artist in a small mountain town of Wyoming. WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ANDREW MUNZ

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he truck was only four days old. Buying it was the next step in Jessica and Rocky’s relationship, which had started years ago with Rocky riding his horse to Jessica’s cabin for quick make-out sessions and then riding back home before Jessica’s dad caught them. The tale was as old as the west itself: the charismatic cowboy stealing kisses from the free-spirited rancher’s daughter. Growing up in Wyoming, Jessica was torn between two worlds that of being a performer in the spotlight and also being a dude rancher clutching leather reins. That kind of upbringing wasn’t easy, but it made her tough. It put calluses on her palms and muscles under her skin. So that winter night, when the temperature was a frigid minus-24 Celsius, wasn’t altogether unbearable or unusual. Jessica had fared through far worse in her thirty-odd years. She had just finished DJ-ing at a bar in Dubois, one of her many “side-hustles” for extra cash, when Rocky spotted two men fighting down in the middle of the street. “Let’s go see who it is,” he said. Jessica protested. She was tired and not nearly drunk enough to care what two wasted cowboys were bickering about. But Rocky persisted, and they hopped into the new truck to check out the brawl. They knew both of the men—not too unusual in a town of 900 residents in West Jesus Nowhere, Wyoming. Both were bloodied and beer-soaked. When the fight was broken up, Rocky offered to take one of them home, which Jessica thought was a terrible idea. The man was gushing blood from his nose and mouth and looked like he was on the brink of passing out or vomiting, or both. “I don’t want him bleeding all over the seats, Rock,” she said, but ended up helping the young man into the truck anyway and bringing him home. Jessica sat in the

drivers seat with the heaters on, as the headlights glistened on Rocky’s back as he assisted the stumbling cowboy to his door. The man disappeared inside, but then Rocky immediately darted back to the truck. He threw himself into the passenger seat. “He’s going to shoot us,” he barked. Jessica threw the truck into reverse, but not before the man reappeared on the front porch with an automatic pistol in hand. The first shot hit the hood of the car, landing with a loud thud. Another shot came through the windshield, skidding across Jessica’s right cheek and slamming into the headrest. The drunk man emptied his clip as Jessica and Rocky drove away, thankfully unharmed. “Yeah, he ended up leaving the country,” Jessica told me, sitting in her home with a mug of tea in her hands. “Never heard from him again.” Living on a ranch surrounded by buttes and sagebrush, Jessica Camilla O’Neal lives the quintessential western existence. Outside, her dogs run free on the property, barking at whatever irks them and exploring new and familiar smells. The log home was built and designed by both her and Rocky, and it’s here where Jessica raises her son Gideon and writes songs on her guitar. WRANGLING AND SINGING

For her, enduring the shooting instigated a massive journey towards self-acceptance and healing. In the grand history that precedes our interview, Jessica has endured more trauma than her wide smile and ceaseless optimism would lead you to believe. Like many pioneers who have chosen to call the Wild West home, Jessica makes the most of her trials, rising to the occasion with only one goal in mind: survival. Jessica was born and raised in Moran, Wyoming, a small town—“if you can call it a town”—with nothing more than a post office and a school. Her family ran the

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The man was gushing blood from his nose and mouth and looked like he was on the brink of passing out or vomiting, or both. “I don’t want him bleeding all over the seats, Rock,” she said, but ended up helping the young man into the truck anyway and bringing him home. Jessica sat in the drivers seat with the heaters on, as the headlights glistened on Rocky’s back as he assisted the stumbling cowboy to his door. The man disappeared inside, but then Rocky immediately darted back to the truck. He threw himself into the passenger seat. “He’s going to shoot us,” he barked. Jessica threw the truck into reverse, but not before the man reappeared on the front porch with an automatic pistol in hand. The first shot hit the hood of the car, landing with a loud thud.

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Jade Kalikolehuaokalani

JESSICA WAS BORN AND RAISED IN MORAN, WYOMING, A SMALL TOWN—“IF YOU CAN CALL IT A TOWN”—WITH NOTHING MORE THAN A POST OFFICE AND A SCHOOL. HER FAMILY RAN THE HEART-SIX DUDE RANCH AS WELL AS A LIVE THEATRE IN NEARBY JACKSON

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When the mountains call, you listenâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;even lowlanders like us know that much!

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Heart-Six dude ranch as well as a live theatre in nearby Jackson. Her duties ranged from wrangling horses to performing as an actress, a career which began when she was five years old playing Marta in “The Sound of Music”. “I’ve been making a living as a performer since then,” she said. “And I’ve also been making a living as a cowgirl, so when I wasn’t making a living as a performer, I was ranching. And then ranching influenced my music and became the backbone and the palate for my music, so it’s all tied together.” Jessica’s multifaceted upbringing paired the rugged western lifestyle with the artistry of theatre productions, brewing a sensitive, creative interior beneath the dirt, grime and grit. The second-oldest of eight siblings, Jessica had spent her entire life in front of audiences with her brothers and sisters at her side. And while other members of her family have struggled balancing a double life, Jessica has found her groove in writing songs and performing them as no character but herself. In giving advice to her youngest brother, Golden, a graduate of Juilliard School in New York City, she encouraged him to find a similar groove. “I’m like, hey dude, look what I’m doing,” she said. “it may not be what you were thinking, but you can make a living as an artist wherever the heck you want and be proud of it and do good work. You know good work, so do good work. You can bring your best to whatever it is you’re doing.”

are calling, I must go’ thing, but that is huge for me. I can feel the call, deep. I tell my siblings, if I can make a living as a creative in Dubois, Wyoming, there is no excuse for anyone in the world to not be able to do what you love, where you love.” Jessica currently writes music and performs them regionally in Wyoming, but has dreams of taking her songs elsewhere. Enduring trauma and working through it has fueled her musical perspective, and she hopes to challenge the traditional concepts of rugged cowboy music, and fill it with hope, love and grace. She admits that living in a place like Dubois might limit her professionally, but she has no intention of plateauing anytime soon. Even after surviving her very own Wild West shootout, she lives where she belongs “That’s the key to ultimate creativity,” she said with a smile. “To be able to not fight where you’re living, not fight what you’re doing, but be immersed in the place that allows you to be as open and as creative and as settled as you can be. Because, let’s be honest: being an artist is unsettling enough.” Website: jesscamillaoneal.com Instagram: @jesscamillaoneal

THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING

The attraction of going somewhere like New York City or Los Angeles in search of larger opportunities no longer has a pull on Jessica. Dubois is her home now, and she doesn’t want it any other way. “I think if you’re from the mountains, what I feel like is that there is this pull, almost like an umbilical cord,” she said. “It’s really cliché, but it’s the whole ‘the mountains

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I THINK IF YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE FROM THE MOUNTAINS, WHAT I FEEL LIKE IS THAT THERE IS THIS PULL, ALMOST LIKE AN UMBILICAL CORD.

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Marfa, Texas

an art oasis in the desert A small backwater desert town in Texas with a population of 1800 is home to one of the most vital centers of art in the US. Of course, we have to go there and see what’s hiding behind the sand, cactuses, and hipsters. WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON • PHOTOS BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

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Camp Bosworth is a wood carver with a wonderful touch. His work is strongly influenced by Marfa and southwest Texas. (See more: campbosworth.com)

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It was clear to us already before we arrived in Marfa that we were close to the Mexican border and everything that entails. In Alpine, the closest thing to a city in this part of the world, we were stopped by the police for the second time – in seven minutes. That’s a new personal best. We are totally baffled by the claim that we were driving too fast, again. In a couple days, a shoemaker will explain this to us, but for now we are mostly surprised by the zealousness. But the police officer is kind and welcomes us to Texas. Because that’s where we are, in the southwest corner of Texas, near the Mexican border, in the middle of nowhere, in something that could best be described as a desert, cowboy land. And we are here to see art. SPACESHIPS AND GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES

“I’ve lived in Marfa my whole life and I build spaceships.” Real ones? I ask. “No, they are about this big,” says James, as he measures two inches with his fingers. “The largest one is about as big as her,” James responds, bending down and picking up his

terrier C.J. We just met our first Marfa artist outside the Museum of Electronic Wonders and late Night Grilled Cheese Parlour. Darkness has set in and I am standing here admiring both the stars and Adam Bork’s slightly kooky video installations while waiting for the grilled cheese sandwich I’m very excited about, which he will bring to me soon. The little shed is crawling with old television sets from the 60s and 70s. Adam talked nonstop as he grilled sandwiches. Welcome to Marfa – more about Adam a little later. Marfa, named after a character in Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, is a small town in southwest Texas, in the middle of nowhere. Along Highway 90, which runs through the city, are closed down gas stations and wrecked cars interspersed with bars and galleries. This is traditional cowboy land, full of rattlesnakes, scorpions and – artists. At first glance, Marfa looks like a typical sleepy and relatively boring small town in America that you would prefer to just zip past. Nothing could be further from the truth. DONALD JUDD

It all started with minimalist artist Donald Judd who moved here from New York in 1979. His one hundred exactly identical large aluminum cubes are lined up in

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Downtown Marfa can seem a bit deserted at times. Most visitors come at the weekends, and some places donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t open until Wednesday.

Adam is lovable goofball who runs the bizarre Museum of Electronic Wonders & Late Night Grilled Cheese Parlour and Food Shark with his wife Krista.

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Stay in a vintage trailer at the beautiful El Cosmico.

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Bildtext

The Chinati Foundation is housed in an old air force building.

THE CHINATI FOUNDATION IS THE KEY TO DONALD JUDD’S ART. A JUDD MUSEUM WAS STARTED TO GIVE HIS AND OTHERS’ ART A PERMANENT PLACE TO BE DISPLAYED.

straight lines in the former munitions warehouse that is now home to the Chinati Foundation. It’s incredibly magnificent; the beautiful Marfa light pours in through the windows. All of the cubes have the same outer dimensions, but they are all different on the inside, and they change shape depending on what time of day it is and how the light falls on them. We walk around ceremoniously in the cathedral-esque building. We have a coffee with Marianne Stockebrand who was the curator of the Chinati Foundation for 16 years. It feels exciting to talk to someone who worked closely for many years with the person who left such a strong mark on the town. “The Chinati Foundation is the key to Donald Judd’s art. A Judd Museum was started to give his and others’ art a permanent place to be displayed,” says Marianne. “Judd was a man of strong opinions, and he was highly critical of the way the museum and gallery world displays art,” she continues. He believed that the art and the venue

should work in harmony, and that it was totally ridiculous to squeeze art into too small spaces where the pieces competed too much for attention and thus lost their own character. ”This may sound theoretical, but everything falls into place once you’ve been there,” says Marianne. We absolutely agree with Marianne – visiting the Chinati Foundation was undeniably an eye-opener as to how important it is to present art in the right setting. Pleased with having come across one of Donald Judd's closest colleagues, we leave Marianne to finally go see the artist's home and studios. We’re going to go on a guided tour with the Judd Foundation, which was founded by Donald Judd shortly before his death in 1994 and is responsible for the artist's private buildings in Marfa and the two ranches a ways away from the town. I stand starstruck in front of a prototype of Gerrit Rietveld’s famous Zig Zag Chair. Oh my God, a prototype! Rietveld himself worked on this. It turns out that Donald 112

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Donald Juddâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100 untitled mill aluminum boxes make for a powerful art experience.

Outside the Museum of Electronic Wonders & Late Night Grilled Cheese Parlour. It gets incredibly dark in Marfa at night, and the view of the stars is amazing.

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Old cars, young artists, and Marfa's only traffic light.

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Jon, the owner of Planet Marfa, plays harmonica with some guests.

THEY PULL OVER ALL CARS THEY DON’T RECOGNIZE, MOSTLY TO BE ABLE TO STICK THEIR NOSES INSIDE AND SEE IF IT SMELLS LIKE MARIJUANA OR IF YOU’RE HIDING AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT.

Judd not only made his own furniture but also collected iconic pieces of furniture. There's a lot of Rietveld, Aalto, and Bauhaus, and you can clearly see their influences on Donald Judd’s own stripped-down and perfectly proportioned tables and chairs. When David, our guide, says it’s time to move on, I only very begrudgingly leave the collection, and I poke the Zig Zag prototype before I go. I know, you aren’t allowed to, but I had to. Now Gerrit Rietveld and I touched the same chair – do I get bonus grown-up points for that?

car so it’s fine. They pull over all cars they don’t recognize, mostly to be able to stick their noses inside and see if it smells like marijuana or if you’re hiding an illegal immigrant.” He doesn’t know how right he is. We were pulled over a total of seven times during our four days in Marfa. FOODIES

Some others who left the Big Apple behind them like Donald Judd are Tom Rapp and Toshi Sakihara, two successful New York restaurateurs who started a restaurant in Marfa called Cochineal. It’s a little bit absurd to find this chic restaurant in the middle of wrecked cars and abandoned gas stations, but Cochineal serves amazing food. If Cochineal is a gourmet restaurant, then Food Shark is the polar opposite. Every day, Adam and Krista turn their food truck up along the railroad tracks in central Marfa. Remember Adam, the guy with the grilled cheese Larry spelar sandwiches? This is where he and his wife work during

THE COBRA ROCK SHOEMAKER COUPLE

The next day we visit Colt Miller and Logan Caldbeck who run Cobra Rock Boot Company. They make a boot known as the South Highland Boot on beautiful old machines. Now Colt fills us in on why the local police were so zealous. “When I moved here, I got pulled over all the time and they claimed I was driving too fast. Now they recognize my 119

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schack med sin kompis på gatan. Jag är från Brooklyn men min fru växte upp här.

Most of Cobra Rock’s manufacturing is done with old machines.

Logan Caldbeck making a pair of South Highland Boots.

HIS ART CURRENTLY REVOLVES AROUND THE DRUG WAR IN MEXICO. A NEW EXHIBITION, PLATA A PLOMO, IS IN THE WORKS. CAMP HAS CARVED GUNS, COCAINE, WADS OF CASH, AND GOLDEN JEWELRY IN THE SHAPE OF DOLLAR SIGNS.

the day. You’ve got to be a survivor out here in the desert. There aren’t a lot of nine-to-five jobs, and hardly anyone who would want them anyway. The free spirit of the artist is deeply rooted in most of Marfa’s residents. CHURCH ART

We’ve heard of the artist Camp Bosworth. We meet him and his wife Buck Johnston at their store Wrong. The store is full of Camp’s art. He sculpts wood, which makes for amazing pop-culture works of art with a comic book quality. “Your art reminds me of Robert Crumb’s drawings a little bit,” I say. Camp brightens up from behind his beard and says. “Yes, you’re right, Crumb is amazing. They do resemble his pictures a little bit, and that’s positive.” His art currently revolves around the drug war in Mexico. A new exhibition, Plata a Plomo, is in the works. Camp has carved guns, cocaine, wads of cash, and golden jewelry

in the shape of dollar signs. I buy some drug money to bring back home. “What’re y’all doing tonight?” Buck asks. “We’re going to go take pictures of the Prada store,” we responded a little bit awkwardly. “OK, but come by our place afterwards so you can see the studio. Do y’all like tequila?” As mentioned, we are very close to the Mexican border. PRADA MARFA

We drive east. It feels like we are in the movie No Country for Old Men. Everything is iconic – wrecked cars alongside the road, isolated farms. The amazing light sets the landscape aglow. The road looks like it disappears off in the distance. Then, suddenly, a Prada store appears along the desolate road. Yes, it is art. A permanent installation by Danish-Norwegian artist duo Elmgreen and Dragset. 120 120

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Colt Miller and Logan Caldbeck founded Cobra Rock in 2011.

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The view the Så här skafrom en saloon town Marfa is very se ut, hall. frågor på det? isolated, that’s where Jeffersonand Hotels bar. this small town gets a lot of its charm from.

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Santa Monica Beach, Los Angeles.

The Prada Marfa artwork is unusual to say the least.

THEN, SUDDENLY, A PRADA STORE APPEARS ALONG THE DESOLATE ROAD. YES, IT IS ART. A PERMANENT INSTALLATION BY DANISH-NORWEGIAN ARTIST DUO ELMGREEN AND DRAGSET. IT’S TOTALLY ABSURD. ART AT ITS ABSOLUTE FINEST AND ALL WITH MIUCCIA PRADA’S BLESSING.

It’s totally absurd. Art at its absolute finest and all with Miuccia Prada’s blessing. You could say that the reactions among the local population were mixed. Now the purses don’t have bottoms and the work of art is equipped with an alarm system. We end up being questioned by the border police when we stay a suspiciously long time by the work of art. But it's a fascinating and slightly disruptive feature in the barren nature. We get back to Marfa pretty late, and we stop by Buck and Camp’s place. We are met by six happy dogs and two happy artists. “Hi, there you are!” “Hi, sorry we’re a little late.” “No problem, you look hungry," says Buck. "I'll whip up some eggs and bacon. Tequila?" Their hospitality is second to none. Buck and Camp's house is like something out of a B52’s 124 124

LP. Colorful and fifties-esque. Camp made most of the furniture himself and there’s a sculpture made out of empty tequila bottles in the backyard. We say goodnight to the charming artist couple and make our way home to the Thunderbird Motel under Marfa’s amazing starry sky. We don’t hear the sound of any cars and it’s totally quiet – except for one border police car slowly rolling up the main street – but this time we get away.

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Storytelling Marfa style.

Adam loves his old cars.

Buck Johnston loves the 50s and runs the Wrong store with her husband Camp.

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ORLANDO

OR WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET OFF THE TRAIN AT THE WRONG STATION If you thought Orlando was nothing but a bunch of theme parks, you’re way off. There’s an actual city there, too. We spontaneously got off the train and checked out the city that attracts 60 million people every year, but that few people really visit. WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JONAS HENNINGSSON

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mtrak's shiny train lets off steam after a long trip down the US East Coast. I hop off after saying goodbye to my fellow passengers. The 28-hour journey with Silver Service from New York via Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville left me with friends for life, new impressions, and new places that I jotted down in my well-thumbed notebook. Next time I’ll go there, next time I’ve got to see this – and that. But Orlando has never been jotted down in my notebook, and so my trip to Miami came to an abrupt early end because curiosity got the better of me in the meditative trance of the train journey. After leaving my baggage at a cheap hotel relatively far from downtown, I ask the girl in the reception what busses go to downtown. “No idea sir, I’ve never taken a bus here,” she responded. Of course not. In Orlando, people drive, the city is spread out like a gigantic urban patchwork quilt with highways cutting through it like jam-packed capillaries. I capitulate and take an Uber to the heart of the city. And I end up in an oasis. Because downtown is as far from the cacophony of theme park Orlando as you can get. Well-organized streets are lined with Victorian buildings. Delightful Spanish oak trees lean out listlessly over the streets and birds are dancing eagerly around in the foliage. They seem to like Orlando, I thought, and my mood improved further. I stroll by small cafes, restaurants

Now we get why Orlando is ranked as one of the most desirable cities to live in.

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To the future!

and bakeries. A park and Lake Eola serve as a natural lung for the center of the city. Downtown is just a few blocks, but an oasis. In downtown, I understand why Orlando is often ranked highly when the Americans themselves get to pick a dream city to move to.

and work as a chef,” says Matthew Martin, a pastry chef at Le Gourmet, a French bakery on Magnolia Avenue where you can also get real coffee, not the watered-down version that usually goes by the name coffee around here. Like many other people, Matthew has to have a second job. When it was time to hang up his apron for the day, I followed him to gastropub Frank & Stein, which it turns out has the best selection of beers in town, with three hundred brands to choose from. Over a Jai Alai IPA from Cigar City in Tampa, just a short trip to the west coast from here, he continues to tell me more while he conjures up my order, a Spicy Cubano. A formidable Cuban sandwich with pork, mustard, pickles, and Swiss cheese is placed under my nose. I promise myself that I'll never go to Florida again without eating Cuban sandwiches. “Before, everyone was moving to the suburbs where they wanted a big house and at least two cars,” Matthew explains. “Now we are seeing a whole new direction back toward downtown, which the politicians are also encouraging. You’ll also find this vibrant lifestyle with plenty

LEMON BARONS AND THE GOLDEN ERA

A train throwing off sparks slides by silently a few blocks away as I wander around the historic districts. Trains have naturally played a key role in urban development here. Soon, an express train line between Miami and Orlando will be opening. Orlando is a young city, with growing pains. The birth of the modern city accelerated between 1875 and 1895, the period that came to be called Orlando’s golden age, when the city became the hub of Florida’s lemon industry. The Great Freeze of 1894–95 forced many lemon growers to call it quits, which in turn gave just a few lemon barons control over much of the production. “Many people lived off of fruit; my little hometown was totally dependent on lemons, but I wanted to bake 130

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Cozy and intimate–very few of the 60 million annual visitors hang out here.

of restaurants and bars in parts of town such as College Park, Ivanhoe, and Winter Park. That's where the students hang out,” he continues, informing me that Orlando is the fourth largest student city in the country, which ensures a good night life. But Matthew still wants to move on – he says he'll be moving in a couple years and gets a dreamy look in his eyes. “My dream is to open my own restaurant in Puerto Rico. My girlfriend is from there, but first we’re going to have kids – you have to meet my girlfriend!”

is softly embedded in palmetto trees, the rustling palm trees that are so common here. A couple large pine trees hang over them. The sun reaches all the way down with its eager, stubborn rays. It's hot; the thermometer on the wall shows up to 95°F now in the late afternoon. “There's nothing better than sitting here in the evenings when it gets cooler and nicer,” says Matthew. “I make my own moonshine. Do you want some?” The step from sunshine to moonshine is never particularly far here in the South, and soon we are sipping on the moonshine and making small talk, waiting for his girlfriend who is on her way home from work. We lean back and listen to the soft chirping of the crickets, we maybe hear a train off in the distance but it’s hard to make out with the rustling of the palm trees. Otherwise, it’s quiet. And as far from the noise of the theme parks as possible.

BICYCLE CITY

Yes, of course I do! I follow Matthew home, as he wants to show me their house, which is just a couple kilometers away. And, believe it or not, he rides a bike! And I walk. You can actually live in Orlando without a car! The house is a typical wooden structure resting under a couple large treetops that protect it from the scorching hot sun. A large inviting porch as you often see in the Southern states welcomes us. We sit down on the porch. The house

For more about Orlando – check out our city guide at americantrailsmag.com

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ACROSS 110TH STREET BY PHOTOGRAPHER LINDA GREN

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Det var i slutet av 1970-talet. Jag var en ung fotograf på uppdrag för Månadsjournalen. För första gången i New York. Taxibilarna var gula, polisen satt på hästar vid Times Square och det rykte verkligen ur gatorna nere i West Broadway. Livet kunde inte vara bättre. Bruno Ehrs

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Harlem is vast. It reaches from Central Park and 110th street in the south to 155th street in Sugar Hill to the north. Two rivers, the Hudson River and the Harlem River, mark its west and east boundaries, respectively. In its central parts, 110th street lies just north of the Central Park limits. To the east, Spanish Harlem extends south along the side of Central Park, all the way to 94th street, where the Upper East Side begins. Harlem is also diverse and multifaceted. The Dutch were the first to arrive to this northern part of presentday Manhattan, as they built a military base haere in the mid-seventeenth century. After this, a period of Jewish, Italian, and English immigration followed. Next, wealthy Russians arrived, followed by workers from Eastern Europe. Starting in the early 20th century, a large wave of immigration, mainly from West Africa and Latin America, began. We asked photographer Linda Gren to capture the mood of this historied neighborhood. 135

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Battery Park, New York.

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Hide and seek

What do you do if you can’t afford to buy a saddle for your horse? Some people might have sold the horse, while others might have just ridden bareback. But if you’re a talented creative spirit named Bill Clemmer, you build your own. Meet “Billy Badger,” a self-taught leatherworker.

WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON • PHOTOS BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

ill Clemmer has just come in from practicing archery. She’s wearing a wide leather arm guard to protect her from the bowstring when she shoots. Bill grew up with animals, and she’s ridden horses for most of her life. Now she makes beautiful shoulder straps out of leather, mostly for the banjo. She grew up with the traditional folk music of the mountains and she plays the harmonica, so many of her friends are musicians, as well as customers. “This one’s called Big Eyed Rabbit, after a traditional tune that’s been played here in the mountains forever,” she says as she shows us an unbelievably beautiful strap with a big eyed rabbit tooled in the leather along with flower ornaments.

“I often start by thinking of an old song when I make my straps,” she continues. “See, this one’s called Rocky Mountain Goat,” she says, and shows us yet another lovely shoulder strap. It all began when Bill was working as a stonemason. She needed a new saddle for her horse, but saddles are expensive and Bill felt she couldn’t afford to buy one. So what do you do if you’re a creative person? You build your own saddle – from scratch! “It took awhile,” she laughs. “It usually takes a least a month to make a saddle. I learned the process from reading books and Googling,” she says. Bill sits down and resumes working on a shoulder strap. She has a collection of small tools that look like chisels to the untrained eye, but are actually stamping tools. “I don’t cut the leather. I use stamps to make patterns. 144

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Bill Clemmer is a self-taught leather artist from Virginia.

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E There’s no undo button when you’re working with punches and leather, so you need to know what you’re doing.

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Each shoulder strap takes up to a week to complete; the theme is often an old-time music tune.

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I’M DESPERATELY TRYING TO COME UP WITH A REASON WHY I NEED A BANJO SHOULDER STRAP. IT SEEMS I’D BE GOING THE LONG WAY ROUND TO LEARN TO PLAY THE BANJO JUST SO THAT I CAN WEAR A COOL SHOULDER STRAP, EVEN IF IT WOULD BE FUN. I THINK TO MYSELF THAT IT COULD WORK AS A SHOULDER STRAP FOR A SHOTGUN, AND THEN REALIZE THAT I’M NOT INTO HUNTING EITHER.

So if I want to put a border on a strap, I have one of these which I use to stamp the leather,” she says as she holds up a stamp with a zig-zag pattern. “Then I have these tools,” she continues, holding up a modeling spoon. “I press the leather with this tool to get the body of this deer to look more three-dimensional.” It’s impressive to see the deer’s muscles emerge when Bill carefully presses the leather. She’s already used a different tool to embed the area around the deer. It’s important to concentrate, because if you get this part wrong there’s nothing to do but start over. “Good tools are important like in any craft -- look at this one,” she says, holding up a stamp that is decidedly bent. “This one was a tenth of the cost of my best stamps, and this is what happens to these ones after awhile. But if you just want to try it out, it’s fine to buy some cheap ones. If you like leatherworking enough to keep at it, you can trade up after awhile. I usually buy half a hide at a time. And you have to be careful when you’re choosing the hide, too. You need to look for damage and choose good quality,” she says.

I’m desperately trying to come up with a reason why I need a banjo shoulder strap. It seems I’d be going the long way round to learn to play the banjo just so that I can wear a cool shoulder strap, even if it would be fun. I think to myself that it could work as a shoulder strap for a shotgun, and then realize that I’m not into hunting either. I finally ask Bill if she thinks a klutz like me could learn to do leatherworking. “You can start out by making borders like I did here,” she says, and shows me a beautiful little notebook with a leather binding and an elegant border stamped around the edges. Hmm, I could probably do that, I think, envisioning a leather laptop case with a stamped border made of beautiful triangles. If I ever manage to do it, I’ll call it ”Big swollen and hurting thumb.”

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Bill with one of her shoulder straps. This one is called "Big eyed rabbit".

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FORGOTTEN CLASSICS

Linda Martell

Color Me Country

In every issue, American Trails music editor Donivan Berube presents the story of an American album classic

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY: DONIVAN BERUBE

he stage that night was made for a massacre. Just picture the audience: An all-white 1960’s crowd tightly packed in a two-tiered horseshoe at the historic Ryman Auditorium, located downtown in Nashville, Tennessee. Out strides Linda Martell, who’d just turned 28 years old and was about to become the first African American woman to ever brave the stage at the Grand Ole Opry, the actual literal holy grail of American country music. Imagine the nerves it took just to stand before the microphone and hold her composure. Directly in front of her hung the highly controversial yet rarely publicized “Confederate Gallery” sign, a long wooden beam erected to honor the Confederate soldiers who’d helped to build the auditorium’s balcony. At this point there had only been two black performers at the Opry, Ever. One of them was the house band’s harmonica player DeFord Bailey, who was a regular cast

member for almost two decades. The other was Charley Pride, RCA Records’ best-selling recording artist since Elvis Presley, who rocked country music fans with his powerful songwriting and striking authenticity. People almost didn’t believe that Charley Pride was a country singer. They thought it was an act he was putting on, and would grill him with questions about old songs or performers to see if they could catch him in his lie. Only after talking with him and hearing him perform could they see how real he actually was. Much like Pride had done before her, Martell stunned the audience with her exceptional voice and captivating persona. It went so well, in fact, that later that year she was invited to perform on the country music sketch comedy show Hee Haw, welcomed on stage by none other than Roy Clark. She stood proudly atop a set built from hay bales and wooden fences, dolled up and smiling in a green mini skirt, singing and yodeling to perfection a somber song titled “Bad Case of the Blues,” and once again winning over the crowd with her unshakeable character.

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Linda Martell was the first African-American woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville!

in pursuit of wherever the greatest financial gains could be found. One of his earliest moves in the music business was to purchase the master recording of a song titled “Hey Paula” by an unknown folk duo going by Jill & Ray. All he had to do was change their names to Paul & Paula and re-release the song in a new package for it to spend three-straight weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 sales charts. Singleton was sued by RCA after purchasing Sun Records from the legendary Sam Phillips. The deal didn’t include the rights to Elvis Presley’s music, which had long-since been sold to RCA, but Singleton had grown seemingly obsessed with promoting an Elvis impersonator known as Jimmy Ellis, even overdubbing Ellis’ voice overtop of unreleased Jerry Lee Lewis recordings, and repackaging them into an album titled Jerry & Friends to suggest them as some never-before-heard collection of songs by the recently deceased Elvis Presley himself. Love him or hate him, Singleton was a slightly crooked yet bonafide genius in music marketing. Clearly he saw

NOT STRICTLY A COUNTRY SINGER

Despite a seemingly natural capability, Martell hadn’t come up as strictly a country singer. Born in 1941 to an extremely religious family in South Carolina, she spent her formative years singing in the church where her father served as pastor. She recorded a few R&B songs in the early 60’s as Linda Martell & the Anglos, playing out locally where she could. After performing a few shows at the nearby Air Force Base in Charleston, it didn’t take long for word to spread about this beautiful black girl singing country music. She was invited to Nashville to record some demos, which landed in the hands of the notorious country music mogul Shelby Singleton. It’s unclear whether Singleton’s interest in Martell was an honest act of musical insight or another wild swing in his long list of sleazy business dealings. Singleton was anything but shy about his label decisions, boldly and shamelessly reissuing sound-alike records to capitalize on whatever was popular in the moment. He pushed the boundaries of his artists and their listeners, strictly 152

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Releasing a classic album and then retiring–that's the way to do it!

a world of potential in this beautiful Carolina girl who could cross over into any market they desired.

into record store obscurity, leaving behind just one flawless relic for the world to wonder over. Color Me Country has never been repressed to vinyl since its original release in 1970, making it an extremely rare and collectible find for only the most careful crate diggers. Even that aforementioned R&B single is hard to track down, “A Little Tear (Was Falling From My Eyes)” backed with “The Things I Do For You” on 7-inch vinyl is rarely available, and at steep prices when it is. The prolific U.S. reissue label Real Gone Music released a remastered CD edition of Color Me Country in 2014, marking the first time the album became available since the 70’s, and no doubt shining a bright light on the beauty and bravery of Linda Martell for a whole new generation of American history buffs and country music listeners alike.

COLOR ME COUNTRY

Martell’s debut album Color Me Country was released in the summer of 1970. This is a record that overflowing with a youthful and effortless groove. The sound remains classic and raw, driven by chugging acoustic guitars and weeping, sweeping slides. Yet it’s her voice that clearly sets it apart; more comparable to an Etta James session at Muscle Shoals than a straight-ahead country record of the times. Even with her successes, however, Martell only lasted a few short years before officially retiring with just this one album under her belt. In hindsight, she said the gruesome touring schedule was costing her too much, leaving no time to spend at home with her young children. Legend has it that she gave up music for a happy career in education, and she never looked back. There was never another song, another show, or hardly another word that would be heard from Martell ever again. She vanished 153

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Flagstaff

If you are a big fan of BBQ and mountain biking, this is your town, if craft beer is your thing, you got to go here – and if you hear the call of the wild, it's just around the corner. Donivan Berube, our man in Flagstaff, shares his favorite spots in the place he nowadays call home. WORDS BY DONIVAN BERUBE • PHOTOS BY DEIDRA PEACHES AND JONAS LARSSON

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Mother Road Brewing

One of Flagstaff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest breweries is also its greatest. Located in the heart of downtown, Mother Roadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only problem over the years has been their popularity. An ever-growing demand for their flagship Tower Station and Lost Lighway IPAs seems to leave the brewery in a constant race to keep up. They share their building with the bicycle-themed Pizzicletta pizzeria and wine bar, so you can enjoy a fine wood-oven pizza alongside the greatest brews in Northern Arizona. motherroadbeer.com

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Orpheum Theater

The centerpiece of Flagstaff ’s historic downtown, the Orpheum Theater, boasts over 100 years as Northern Arizona’s premier music venue. Recently beatified with a massive 60-by-100-foot mural by local artists Sky Black and the Mural Mice, the Orpheum is Flagstaff ’s biggest and most storied venue besides smaller rooms like Firecreek, the Green Room, and the infamous punk rock Cottage House; a welcoming local mainstay for underground shows. orpheumflagstaff.com

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Pizzicletta pizzeria and wine

The bicycle crazy pizza place on the other end of the same building as Mother Road is a cool and laidback hang out. Short and sweet pizza menu, only Italian wines (Okey, there is one Pinot from Slovenia.), craft beer, and home made ice cream. Whats not to like? pizzicleta.com

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Lockett Meadow

With so many tourists and outdoor enthusiasts visiting Flagstaff every summer, it can be hard to escape the overwhelming presence of other adventurers. Luckily, Lockett Meadow provides a perfect alpine getaway high amongst the San Francisco Peaks. With no reservations accepted and no services provided, early arrivers will be find it a welcome respite from the bustling city below. The Inner Basin trail leads into an ancient volcanic crater from which the peaks were formed. fs.usda.gov

Satchmo’s Cajun Barbecue

Barbecue may be hard to come by in the high desert, but Satchmo’s brings the spirit of New Orleans to you, with its Louis Armstrong murals and endless sets of Dixieland jazz. Its holein-the-wall atmosphere in Flagstaff ’s east side supplements the deep-fried and beer-battered menu. satchmosaz.com

Winter Sun

Firecreek Coffee

* As Flagstaff ’s most renowned Native American art gallery and trading company, Winter Sun, with its creaky wooden floors, will serve you well in your Grand Canyon gift hunt. Gallery cases are adorned with beautiful handmade jewelry, traditional katsinas, and a dedicated selection of local medicinal and herbal teas. Be sure to ask for some creosote. It’s what makes the desert smell like the desert after the monsoon rains fall. wintersun.com

Originally founded in Sedona, Arizona, Firecreek has since moved its operations into a prime location on Route 66, America’s iconic desert highway. Supplementing their expertly-roasted coffee with a small bakery, breakfast bar, and craft beer and wine, the colorful wooden beams and exposed brick walls provide the perfect setting for intimate concerts once the sun goes down, as the space transforms into a full-service music venue. firecreekcoffee.com

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The Coast Starlight Express, Seattle to LA WORDS BY JONAS HENNINGSSON • PHOTO BY LINDA GREN

Road trips are great and all, but we actually think that riding a train through the US can be an even cooler experience. Many of the best railroads operate trains with dining cars, movie theater cars, bar cars, and observation cars. You can even experience a wine tasting while you’re chugging along through the wine districts. But the best part, of course, is catching the views as you swoosh through the majestic, vast American vistas. That’s exactly what you’ll get to do if you ride the Coast Starlight Express, which takes you through three different states. We traveled from Seattle, Washington, via Oregon, and got off in LA, California. If you want to read about more classic US railway lines, check out amtrak.com.

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Music for the nothingness HIGHWAY 1, CALIFORNIA

WORDS BY MARTIN BRUSEWITZ • PHOTO BY EMIL WESOLOWSKI

Driving north from Los Angeles on Highway 1 we suddenly spot a peculiar sight. A man is sitting by the cliff edge overlooking the pacific pounding away on a drumset. We hit the breaks and pull over as he gets into it with the Swedish band Litte Dragons song “Pretty girls”. – I’ve been here since 7 this morning. I played for some whales and sealions earlier. Sometimes the sealions respond and we go back and forth, he says. Bryan Weinthal grew up in Florida but then lived in Arizona. That’s where he started playing music for the nothingness. He would take his drumset to where the open desert begins and let his beats fly over sand and rock. Sometimes coyotes howled. A year ago he moved to LA to “find a tech job and a girlfriend”. He soon started doing the 45 minute drive up here to play for the ocean. – I’d like to say there is spiritual element to me doing this but there really isn’t. I just like playing and I don’t have a rehearsal space.

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