{"id":159196,"date":"2020-06-07T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2020-06-07T15:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=159196"},"modified":"2021-07-06T12:49:53","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T19:49:53","slug":"photo-essay-greetings-from-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/travel\/photo-essay-greetings-from-america","title":{"rendered":"Photo Essay: Greetings from America"},"content":{"rendered":"

A version of this story appeared in the summer 2020 issue of\u00a0Uncommon Path<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Using memories from her childhood summer road trips as a narrative spine, photographer Jennifer Emerling<\/a> creates her own contemporary \u201cpostcards.\u201d For this ongoing project, she looks to capture shared instances of joy, traveling to places where tourists from around the world converge. \u201cI gravitate toward sharing the human experience,\u201d says Emerling, who began the project in 2009. \u201cI am looking for moments that show the culture of tourism and connectivity when we are outdoors traveling along the same roads and having a collective experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

White Sands National Park, New Mexico<\/h4>\n

Pictured above<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI spent days not finding any people to photograph in White Sands. This was my last day. It was a very surreal moment. I saw the koi fish and thought, What in the world?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cody, Wyoming<\/h4>\n

\"Bikers<\/h4>\n

\u201cNational park gift-shop kitsch\u00a0meets biker culture, which is a little more tough. These bikers were about to leave Cody wearing their Yellowstone hats\u2014a moose and a bear.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bedrock City, Williams, Arizona<\/h4>\n

\"Bedrock<\/p>\n

\u201cBedrock City is a Flintstones<\/em> theme park from the \u201950s and \u201960s near the Grand Canyon. It\u2019s for when the kids are driving you crazy and you still have four hours to go. That dinosaur is a slide.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Siesta Key Beach, Sarasota, Florida<\/h4>\n

\"Siesta<\/p>\n

During the winter, members of the Mennonite community often travel to this area as snowbirds. Here, they\u2019re dipping their toes in the gulf waters and enjoying the last light of the day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona<\/h4>\n

\"Grand<\/p>\n

At the ever popular Mather Point, a rock before the main viewpoint makes for the perfect photo op.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Long Beach, Washington<\/h4>\n

\"Kite<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people say this kite festival is their one vacation, and they save up for it. Seeing a sky filled with colorful kites, I couldn\u2019t help but think, This is what joy looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Death Valley National Park, California<\/h4>\n

\"Glen<\/p>\n

\u201cGlen and Sandy are a retired couple who spend half their winters on the road. It\u2019s common to see such badges of honor, but these two have a higher number than most people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A version of this story appeared in the summer 2020 issue of\u00a0Uncommon Path.\u00a0 Using memories from her childhood summer road trips as a narrative spine, photographer Jennifer Emerling creates her own contemporary \u201cpostcards.\u201d For this ongoing project, she looks to capture shared instances of joy, traveling to places where tourists from around the world converge. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":159966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[387,388],"tags":[2006,1934,2024],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-159196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hike","category-travel","tag-issue-3","tag-uncommon-path","tag-uncommon-path-issues"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/travel\/photo-essay-greetings-from-america","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Photo Essay: Greetings from America","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/travel\/photo-essay-greetings-from-america","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/travel\/photo-essay-greetings-from-america"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/Copy-of-REI040120exposure01_hero.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/Copy-of-REI040120exposure01_hero.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Hike","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["issue 3","uncommon path","uncommon path issues"],"dateCreated":"2020-06-07T15:00:08Z","datePublished":"2020-06-07T15:00:08Z","dateModified":"2021-07-06T19:49:53Z"},"rendered":"