If our carny rides are reflections of our deepest cultural impulses*, what does the “Badlands Express” ride at the New Mexico State Fair tell us about the modern West? Are these kids standing in for our lost Hayduke?

Badlands Express, New Mexico State Fair, September 2011

*Note: I don’t think our carny rides are reflections of our deepest cultural impulses. I just thought the cactus and fake little 4×4’s were hilarious. They had Fords too.