The Voyage Home

Churning over roads well traveled

beaten by the wind and snow

you hold your direction steady 

wide awake on the voyage home.

Parallel lines stretch anchored 

between tiny handfuls of cars,

as you watch the day's last light 

fade beneath a heavy blanket of stars. 

The cloak of night arrives with speed

lofty buildings and cities gone

cast off into an inky darkness

mere shadows of places you've known

So collect the little hours like teeth

Under all boundless, stretching skies

Beyond blind cliffs and ocean's waves

Above all dark the sun will rise. 

Life is a well worn book of journeys

you march, ramble, and roam,

your years a slew of countless tales

the most important- the voyage home.

-Emily Caldwell

Apple Annie's Orchard. Tucson, AZ

The fruits of the autumn season have ripened across the United States over the last few months. Having missed apple season on the East Coast by a matter of weeks, I decided to find an apple orchard in my unlikely location - Arizona. Little could I imagine what I'd find once I started looking.

During a stopover in Tucson for some car repairs, I decided to venture out one Sunday in search of the season. What I found was Apple Annie's - a family-run farm nestled in the mountains 2 hours outside of Tucson. A tractor took me out to the best area for picking and I spent the next hour in the orchard. I ended up with a full basket of 20 pounds of Granny Smith and Rome Beauty apples - making for 6 apple pies for my mechanics and many more apples for the road. This will always be a reminder to me to look around me for what's in season, even if it seems unlikely. 

The Walled Gardens/ Norfolk, England

Hailing from Norfolk, England, I can’t help but have a sense of pride, especially when it comes to matters of sustainability. With a rich history, I can really nerd out on this stuff. Let's start with the 1700s, when 2/3 of the region was being used to grow food. Throughout the next century, Norfolk farmers gained a reputation for their progressive farming techniques, inspiring English agriculture and supplying much of Europe with grain. This culture of farming was embroidered through every demographic, pulling the country together through wars and crisis.

One of the best examples of upper class small-scale farming is Holkham Hall near Eastern the coast of England. This seemingly ornamental garden contains 8 perfectly walled "rooms", creating sheltered, warm microclimates. In Victorian times, these gardens supplied a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and floral decoration to the hall. Sunken greenhouses dot the property like jewels and were implemented to withstand great temperature fluctuations. It's easy to get inspired when beautiful design meets the nature of a rambling English garden.

Great Point Lighthouse, Nantucket

 Merely a dot on the map, Nantucket was once one of the world's biggest whaling ports. Great Point Lighthouse stands proudly at the edge of the island, the first shining beacon leading into the east coast ports. The lighthouse keeper's daughter, lighting the lamp for her father, wrote in 1937 that she felt as though she was "helping God" guide mariners to shore. 

During an end of summer sojourn in Nantucket a few weeks ago, some friends and I carved out a day to spend getting to the lighthouse, as it's far from any paved roads. We ventured miles into the dunes, through the brush and along the shore. Eventually, we ran out of island and there standing 60 feet tall was Great Point Lighthouse. We collapsed into deck chairs in front of the ivory tower and told stories of our summers apart and together. Sitting in the warm sun, it was hard to imagine such a serene place could ever be ravaged by storms or pull ships ashore. A shining example of being in the right place at the right time.

Once Upon a Blue Moon

A few months ago, I got that familiar nagging that often happens when I've been a couple of weeks in one place. On this particular afternoon, I dipped off Interstate 17 heading North to explore a string of ghost towns along a winding dirt road. Immediately off the exit, I dove onto a perfect, dusty highway straight into the sun.

A little dot on the map, Cleator, Arizona is a town that has been run by the Cleator family since it closed the 1950s. All that remains now are a few small shacks and a bar -- the perfect watering hole in the middle of nowhere. I met some of the last residents in town there; old miners and desert rats with more words of wisdom than they had teeth. Those afternoon laughs are some I won't be forgetting for a long time.

Driving back to the freeway, I took one of my favorite portraits of the year against the blue moon sky. You never know quite what you'll find down a dirt road, which is exactly why you should take the journey. Keep your wits about you, leave your expectations on the freeway, and drive.

Introducing Myself...

A few years ago, I decided to leave the windy city of Chicago and travel the open road, experiencing and photographing this vast country I call home. That original one-year goal flew out the window over the 200,000+ miles on some lonely two lane highway in the desert.

I started this blog in a response to a desire to reflect back and document some of the incredible places I have found myself. Every week, I will be sharing some of my favorite places and perspectives from these life-changing years. My name is Emily Caldwell and these are my stories. Nice to meet you.

Self in Sonoran sunrise

Oregon Coast

Shoes in NYC

Abandoned Church, California Desert

Dropping elevation...