Gone Daddy Gone....

Film has all been developed, except for two rolls I found yesterday. Everything has been scanned as well. New ideas are gelling in my head. I have been busy with gear issues (cameras to fix or buy), and thinking about where to head next. I have wanted to go to Cuba for years and I am sooo close right now. The only downside is possible arrest and or fine on the return. That is a pretty big downside. I think it is ridiculous that we (US Citizens) can't go to Cuba. Obama is talking about changing that, but I will believe it when I see it.

The other destination I am thinking about I will keep to myself for now. I still have work to do on the Jeep. Hopefully I will get to that soon.

This image is from a slot canyon in Utah. I was told about this unique place by some German tourists. One of the benefits of making it a point to talk to everybody (and also speaking German).

Time to Develop and See What is There.....

I haven't posted in a while since I had been completely burned out on traveling and picture taking after four months and something like 15-17,000 miles on the road. I was tired as you can imagine. It was time for a break. I am now developing and scanning film, but unfortunately I do not have easy access to the "internets." I am going to start posting the images and of course the stories that go along with them. I had originally wanted to develop film on the road, but it was just too difficult. I have finished scanning the color and am starting to develop the black and white which, as you can imagine if you know me, is the bulk of the work. I am in Florida right now and will be here for a while until I can get the film all sorted and fix a few things on the Jeep. Then back on the road....

Molly's Cafe somewhere in southern Idaho.

A Place in Time....

Life sure can be strange sometimes. I believe that things happen for a reason; that we are put in a place in time to do a specific thing. Last night for me was one of those times. I was driving along the sand in Holly Beach, Louisiana amazed at the amount of debris scattered around as a result of a hurricane last fall. There was junk everywhere. Little did I know that all of that junk would soon be useful. I stumbled upon a baby dolphin beached on its side above the surf line and stopped to photograph it. As I started to sadden at the fate and the beauty of the poor thing lo and behold I saw it move. I figured it was a twitch or something so I took a closer look at it and realized it was still alive! Its heart was thumping a mile a minute. It was sunburned and had abrasions on its stomach. It was a mess. I figured that it had been laying there for at least several hours after looking at the tide charts on my IPhone. I made some clicking noises to it and it opened it's eye, made a couple of clicks and moved it's tail. It was heart breaking. I wasn't sure what to do. In doing some research earlier in the day, I read that Holly Beach was too remote for wildlife rescue. I though about euthanising it, but I knew I would not be able to bring myself to do it. I couldn't leave it either. I found a bucket and poured water on it to try to cool it off. It came alive! I realized I needed to get it in the water but I was pretty sure you can't pick up a dolphin or you can hurt it (yes I watch a lot of the Discovery channel). I couldn't drag it into the water either since the beach was full of shell fragments that would have surely severely cut it up. I looked around the debris on the beach and found two poles and some mooring rope nearby. I cut the rope into stands and made a stretcher type thing to support it's weight. After rolling it onto the stretcher I pulled it into the water. Amazingly it didn't struggle at all during this process. Dolphins are supposed to be one of the most intelligent creatures and it probably knew I was trying to help it, at least I would like to think so. After a couple of minutes in the water it gained some life and swam away rather shakily, but soon managed to beach itself again a couple of hundred feet down the shore. I thought I owed it one more shot and got it back out into the surf. This time its swimming appeared to be much more normal and it disappeared out into the waves. I waited a while and didn't see it again but it was getting dark. I did a search for it this morning up and down the beach and didn't see it, so I figure, and hope, it is okay. Sorry about the poor IPhone picture but it was fairly dark.

The sunset was beautiful though!

Edit- I added a photo of the poor guy when I first found him when I was assuming he was dead.

Baseball in the Heartland....

Yesterday I had a unique opportunity for which I have been waiting many years. My father played professional baseball in the minor leagues in the 1930's and 40's (you can see his stats here). The opportunity of which I am speaking is seeing a field upon which he played. While driving through Nebraska I seemed to remember that he talked about Lincoln. A call to my brother to verify it and a little internet time later, I found the field and pointed my Jeep to it. Sherman Field was built in 1947 which is the year my father played there, and it still stands, although I am sure there have been changes to it. I was a great experience seeing it and being there. I am looking forward to seeing my fathers pictures when I get to Florida. I wish my father was still around so I could tell him about it and hear his stories, but I am sure he knows.

Still Rainin'...

It is still raining so I have a rainy day story for you. I mentioned I spent a weekend relaxing at a hot springs in southern Montana. What I didn't tell you was the second day I was there I decided to walk the mile to the springs in the early afternoon and when I arrived there were three attractive women in the springs in their birthday suits. It reminded me of movie Sirens with Elle Macphereson. They turned out to be really cool and they invited me to join them later for dinner. I spent the evening and next morning with them. They were gracious enough to offer me elk burgers (delicious if you have never had one), salad and homemade salsa. They even gave me coffee in the morning before we headed back to the spring. All in all it was quite an experience. I am not sure why these types of things happen to me but I am not complaining. Sorry folks, I know you want pictures, but you are out of luck! Here are a couple from Montana though.

Yesterday I decided to visit the Killpecker Sand Dunes in lower Wyoming. I had never heard of them so I thought what the heck? I found out the name for the dunes was given to them by visiting Army troops after drinking the water from the adjoining creek, although that may be too much information for you. The dunes are in the middle of nowhere, literally. To get to them you have to drive 31 miles down a dirt road. Was it worth the trip? The sky did not cooperate and the dunes were covered with tracks from ATVs. I think under the right circumstances, they could produce some nice images. I did make a few photographs on my way back out of a butte called Boar's Tusk. I think those images made it worth the misery of the drive. I am heading to Thunder Basin National Grassland in eastern Wyoming to meet up with a artist friend who is doing an installation piece there in several days. I am looking forward to that. I think I am going to hit some more hot springs along the way...

Fishin' in the Rain...

I have been fascinated with fly fishing for as long as I can remember. As a kid I even tried tying flies, which were horrendous I am sure. I have never possessed neither the equipment nor the opportunity to do it though. I was driving through Yellowstone, which is full of fishermen, and I saw this man in the water working his line. He was so stereotypical, at least to me, that I pulled over and started to photograph him. In the process I met his son (Steve) who happened to be an avid photographer who was fishing himself. Jerry later came ashore and we had a brief conversation. They hail from North Carolina. I meet a lot of people from other places that come to the West in search of adventure. I guess the West has always had that appeal.
I still haven't experienced fly fishing for myself though. I need to come back here one day just for that purpose.

Wild America...

I have been in the boondocks again, but I have come out with some interesting stories. I spent several days at a hot spring in Montana, then met with a friend of a friend in Billings, Mt. After that I went to Yellowstone and am currently exploring the Grand Tetons. I am in Jackson right now.

First the wildlife. It was a lot of fun seeing animals I have only seen on tv up until this point. After searching for Grizzlies up in Glacier, I saw a couple by chance (of course) in Yellowstone and just south of there. I also saw a multitude of other animals all in one day nonetheless. Without further ado, here is a list-
Grizzly bear, Black Bear, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (rare to see I am told), Elk (including newborn), Moose (including two newborn), Pronghorn, some kind of mountain goat, Bison, and a plethora of others. I didn't see any Wolves though. I am posting some pictures, but keep in mind I am not set up to do wildlife photography.

Edit: After looking at the pictures, they are so bad I am only including two here that are passable. And I call myself a photographer! Geesh.

Butte, Mt...

I am not sure I will be able to do justice to the landscape here. It is just too.. vast. I don't know how to photograph it. Shooting wide just makes it look empty, and longer lenses just don't capture the space. I am thinking a panoramic image would be the way to go, but I don't have a camera that would do that. Maybe it is about time to buy the 6x12 back for the 4x5. That could do it. Maybe.

Today is laundry day. Such fun!

Helena MT.

I don't think I was really prepared for Glacier National Park. It resembles the Alps since it was carved by glaciers (duh) only the place has an untouched beauty. The best word I could use to describe it is pure. Unfortunately, it rained, snowed and sleeted while I was there. Did I say it was cold? I will go back. No doubt about it. I think August would be a good time to go there. The water in the streams and lakes is so clean I just wanted to dive in and drink it. In August that would be possible I would think. I didn't get to explore the whole park. Once I decided I would go back some day I left on account of the reasons stated above.

I was overwhelmed by the light and sky on the drive down to Helena. I don't think I was ready to process the enormity of it. Big sky country is right. Amazing as it was, I didn't take a single picture. Go figure.

On Grizzlies and Pastries...

On thing I wanted to see in or near Glacier N.P. was a bear, preferably a Grizzly. Ever since I was a young'un I have watched, like most of us, nature programs and have been fascinated by the Grizzly. Did I see one? Nope. They were probably hiding someplace warm. I know I wish I had been. I did see a small black bear, but that is not quite the same thing. Aaaand it ran away from me. Wuss. I also kept repeating to myself the rest of the day in the Yogi voice, "Hey Boo-Boo!".

I was hungry one night so I decided to stop in the local general store in Polebridge to pick up some chips, which is ridiculously in the middle of nowhere. Upon entering the Polebridge Mercantile, what is that I smell? Warm baked goods? I am not kidding you. Glorious pastries, cinnamon rolls and bread. I highly recommend the cinnamon roll type things made with vanilla sugar instead of cinnamon, and the huckleberry beer bread. I think I instantly gained five pounds of sugary buttery goodness. Oh well.

Kalispell, Montana....

I am moving through the NW part of Montana towards Glacier N.P. It is still raining every day. In spite of that I am getting some good images from time to time. I was talking with a friend yesterday who was also traveling right now and I realized I haven't really looked at my negatives yet. As a result, I have no idea if I have anything worthwhile. I have always considered the shooting to be the most important part. Like the gambler song goes- you never count your money sitting at the table.... I will wait until I get to Florida to evaluate the loot. I am sure I will have images that are good, at least I would hope so, otherwise I will hang up the spurs and go do something else. What I really want is to have images that break new ground at least for myself. That is something I won't know about for quite some time.

Coeur d'Alene ended up being a nice little city that somehow seems larger than it is. The lake that it abuts has a beautiful feel to it. I would say it is definitely worth a trip for anyone passing through the area. I could imagine myself living on the water there, except for the 56" of snow in the winter. That is a lot of snow.

Here are three images from the last several days.

McCall, Idaho...

Cascade Lake is a reservoir that was renamed a lake several years ago at the behest of the marketers for an ambitious resort called Tamarack that was planned. As it is with many things these days, the resort encountered a few financial difficulties as of late and closed. The lake (or reservoir) is a beauty though. Here is an image of it and one of a cemetery in the ghost town of Bonanza from the previous post. The sun is poking its head out today. Let's hope it stays.