Ground Expedition

I lowered myself carefully down the siped rubber ribs of the front tire until both my feet hit solid ground. The Austin asphalt stretched out like an immense, petrified lava field under the morning sun. Just inches from the tire wall, an irregular fissure cut across the black tar. Kneeling on one knee, I gripped a stray weathered wooden toothpick discarded in the dirt. I used its pointed tip to excavate a tiny, golden fossilized resin drop—hardened tree sap encasing a speck of red dirt—wedged firmly into the crack. Touching the open earth directly for the first time made the entire perimeter feel like an expansive dig site.