Bruno and Layla US trip, round 3, the deserts of Utah

Bruno Compagnet & Layla Jean Kerley take us through the final chapter of their trip through the Rockies. After doing the rounds of shops and skiing in Jackson Hole, here they are losing themselves in the deserts of Utah with their eyes wide open.

The idea behind this trip was to meet the people who breathe life into the black crows brand over in the U.S. and to take the chance to discover some new snow-covered mountains. Once these objectives were behind us and disappearing into the rear-view mirror, we took a radical road that would lead us through the last few days of our adventure. In just a few hours the page was turned and we were well immersed in the world of Cormac McCarthy and Edward Abbey novels.

Layla Kerley

Layla tuned in to an excellent radio station that just played good old rock music, as if it was carefully chosen to act as the soundtrack to our road movie.
I could have easily drunk a beer…But it’s still early and Zac warned us against it: in Mormon country representatives of law and order do not mess around when it comes to drinking at the wheel. I’ve also slipped back into contemplation of the sumptuous nature of Western America.
“It’s pretty wild man”
Zac’s words bounce around a corner of my mind and seem to assume all their meaning as we continue through an environment so barren that it’s like we’re in a different world altogether. Nothing seems to have changed but everything is completely different. The silence that reigns over the space now resounds really loudly in our heads.

Layla Kerley

Layla Kerley A shadow passes, brought by the wind and it makes us jump. We turn our eyes upwards to see a vulture way up high in the sky circling widely in solitary contemplation of the canyon that we are in. We lose ourselves beyond time, in the staggering landscapes far, far away from everything and that feeling of having set foot in another world stayed with us for a long while after getting back on the road.
Vastness sprawls out from the summit of a plateau where different shades of purple dominate the colour palette…The earth’s crust reveals itself here with no shame.

Our days follow the rhythm of service station stops and nights in cheap motels. After Mohab, we reluctantly have to leave the land of arches and extreme biking to once again suffer the monotony of endless arid plains that are home to the mule deer. Denver is suddenly not so far away.

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