Desert Hallucinations

On the way up north to our mini-vacation in San Francisco yesterday, Chris and I stopped for gas near Coalinga off Highway 5 and came across what I would call a flea market of kitschy ceramics and statuary - a crazy bazaar camped out across the street from the 76 Station in a vacant lot.

The merchandise was set up in neat rows in the dirt, and from afar, looked colorful and new. In reality, all the ceramics were chipped and obviously old: cartoon characters from the 60s and 70s, Greek-style garden cherubs, Hallmark-esque boys and girls, depression-era Disneyana. And lots and lots of dog banks. It was weird.

So weird, in fact, that given the 100 degree heat (and the smell of Cowschwitz just up the road), I thought that perhaps it was all a mirage.





Maybe it was.