The Stop Sign – John Fraim – Ft. Collins, Colorado – 10/19/26

CONTEXT OF A SYMBOL

John Fraim

We drove from Columbus, Ohio to our home in Ft. Collins, Colorado in three days. Averaging 450 miles a day on I-70, it was a tough drive. Sections of the interstate merged into just one lane and there was construction for long stretches in various states. The radio helped pass the time but it was full of political attack ads a few weeks before the midterm elections. I took a few of those littler energizer bottles (sold at all the service stations) to keep awake on the long stretches of road.

The final day of travel took us from Salina, Kansas into Ft. Collins, Colorado. It was the toughest drive after a few days on the road at 450 miles a day. Finally, we passed the Colorado state line and were happy to be in Colorado, a major milestone on our trip. But eastern Colorado is not much different from the Kansas Prairies. A small town or restaurant of I-70. But little mote. In a an hour we the interstate went ump a long hill and at the top we could see the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

It is early afternoon in late October. And we are still a number of hours from Ft. Collins. The Colorado prairie is on both sides of the road with splotches of developments here and there. It reminds you of that west you see in the commercial for Tecova boots.

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Finally, we are in the Denver metro and take the 470 bypass to I-25 North towards Ft. Collins. Heading North on I-25 is the final leg of our trip. I’ve been driving a couple hours since I had my last energy drink at the last stop in Colorado. I’m having a form of anxiety attack from all the energy drinks I’ve had. But there was also the experience of driving across the country. Staying in lanes. Watching for cars to come up onto you when you are in the fast lane. Very close lanes in cities where new roads are being constructed. Not much distance between you and big trucks on the road. Close to a state of hypnosis when you spend all day concentrating on the road ahead.

* * *

After unloading the car I laid down while my wife unpacked. I was asleep in a few minutes and woke up around nine. I got bottle of water and walked down to my office in the front on the house. I opened the office blinds of my window. It looked out on the front yard and the stop sign at the end of our street. It was illuminated under a single street light. Behind it, the darkness of the field and above the darkness a road on a slight ridge.

Just a stop sign. Yet it seemed an appropriate symbol for the end of a long trip. Finally, a sign to stop all the driving. Yet it also seemed a sign for something larger. It was just a week before the midterms and it seemed to have a warning for the world and our culture today to stop running wildly into a future. To stop and reflect on the world.

I played around with some time different exposures and selected a shot with a five second time exposure. It caught the lights of a car traveling on the road above the fields as a long streak. In the photo it looked like a colored sword intersecting with the stop sign. In the photo, the streetlight became a good stand-in for the moon watching over everything.

(John has written and published extensively on symbolism)