semillerimages - Image of the Week 11.07.05 4000 Miles
Steve
It is has been quite awhile since my last update, mainly due to the
fact of my three week road trip and then ensuing work load when I got
back home. Things are picking up quite nicely in the commercial
photography realm, and it is heading toward a banner year... one factor
of which is not having to worry about how I am going to pay rent in
January of 2006. Working at the Castle makes times quite difficult when
the slow season comes around, I really cannot figure how some of my
collegues actually manage to make it through the season. I am thankful
this year that it will ease by without much of a difficulty. Thanks to
all that made that happen, as you know who you are :)
If you're not interested in reading, here is the link to the gallery of
50 some odd images, of which, the web does them no justice whatsoever.
http://semillerimages.com/iow-link/4000miles/
My roadtrip planning was on the edge of the legendary thoughts I think
all people have about getting in their car and driving off to the great
unknown. I had some great plans, some of which played out as they were
planned out, some did not work at all. One of the major points I was
debating as I prepared to leave in the beginning of October was to take
the Tioga Pass through Yosemite on the way up to Washington State or on
the way back. The weather would be difficult to predict, and it was a
chance that the pass would be open fine by the end of October when I
planned my return through California. I put off the decision until I
got on the road. I packed my car full of my photo equipment, a borrowed
ice chest, food, film, and a big happy smile.
Since I was not sure I would take the Tioga Pass to the 395 at the
beginning or end, I headed east out of San Luis County on HWY 41. A
rather blah drive for the most part, although some compelling decrepit
structures in the valley before and after Fresno beckon me to come back
for some more perusal. I think on the next trip I will take a voice
recorder so I can remember better the spots that I would be interested
in later. After a few hours of driving, I arrived in Oakhurst, home of
West Coast Imaging (the shop I use to scan my 4x5 film and make some
select prints). My maps were handy, and I decided at that point to not
take the pass and bet on the fact it would be open on my way back down
from Washington. I bet wrong. The pass closed the morning I was in Lee
Vining preparing for the drive into Yosemite. It was open the day
before. Auugghh. This is later in the story though. Now I gotta tell
you, I am not a stupid guy, but in Oakhurst, a problem began for me
that plagued me throughout my trip. For some reason, my fault or the
government's fault, road signs do not seem to accurately indicate
proper directions as they show on the map. For the sake of not being a
whiner, I am going to chalk it up to my fault. I was sitting at a
stoplight in Oakhurst looking at my map, when I guy pulled up aside me
and asked if I needed help finding something. I replyed no, and
proceeded off in a wrong direction. A few miles later, I realized my
mistake, cursed a little, did a u-turn and went back to find my way. By
pure luck, I got back on track and headed north on the 49. Hours later,
after passing through gold town after gold town, I finally realized why
the highway was called the 49. I kicked myself for being so dense.
Either way, it was one boring highway when it comes to photographic
opportunities. I think the highway department had some blind people
indicating 'vista points' too. Not a single supposed 'vista point' was
worth a frame of imagery. Maybe they are worth it in the winter, but I
doubt it. This little niggle followed me for some time also. I think it
was all the way to Washington when I would see a 'vista point' sign
that actually indicated something interesting to pull over and see.
I had planned on going only to mom and pop restaurants to eat, but as I
grew hungry the first night I could find nothing that was not a chain.
I succumbed to my hunger pains and ate at some 50's diner place
somewhere along HWY 20.Not particularly memorable at all. My goal for
the day was to get to Lassen National Park. Leaving out the boring
details of driving up through Chico to get to the park, I arrived late
at night with no one at the park kiosk and no gate closed. I grabbed a
park brochure and sped along the tree lined road, arriving around
midnight at the parking lot close to the summit of Mt. Lassen. I pulled
in, rearranged the car, and tried to go to sleep. It took awhile to get
to sleep, as being out in the middle of nowhere, sleeping in the car
can be subtly disturbing sometimes. The weight of my eyes overcame me
eventually and I woke up around 6ish. I cannot sleep in a hotel and get
up early enough most of the time to get good sunrise pics, so I sleep
in my car. I rushed down the road looking for some good spot for some
sunrise light and stopped. The most IMPORTANT element of my trip came
out of the car first - my camp stove, water, pot, french press and
Uptown coffee! The savior of my 4000 mile journey, hot good coffee
while watching natures spectacles in the morning... I cannot emphasize
how important this factor is, I will never leave home again on a trip
without it! The first picture in the series '4000 miles' is the sight
of the sunrise coming up over the mountains of Lassen National Park. I
stuck around the park for a few hours, darting up and down the road
looking and stopping and shooting. All in all, a good stop, and I
probably will not go back again unless it's in the winter time. I was
not horribly impressed, but then again if I were to hike out into the
forest maybe I would change my mind.
Next stop, Mt. Shasta.
I took the 89 north through Lassen NP to Mt. Shasta. Weather perfect,
sleepy factor weighed in in the early afternoon. I pulled off, ate some
crackers and cheese, slept, and went off on my way when I was roused my
slumber by an over zealous park employee who though I was homeless or
something. HWY 89 is a beautiful road, not much traffic, and smooth. I
got into the Shasta area with the sun still high in the sky, when I did
not find any good spot for some pictures, I headed up HYW 97 toward
Klamath Falls. I stopped in one spot and got some very cool pics of Mt
Shasta, one of which is in the portfolio. Driving on, I came across one
vista point which was really a vista point - at which I did not stop. I
regretted it a few miles down the road though and went back. I ended up
sitting there for a couple hours taking a time lapse series of Mt
Shasta in the changing light of the sun setting. This set of images
will come out later... they are pretty incredible as a group and it
gave me a good idea for a future set of images. Regret is good.
I slept in Klamath Falls, I town I lived in when I was a very small
child. I found out that they have $400,000 houses there now.
Incredible. Ate at a mom and pop diner, great fish dish. I slept in a
hotel and managed to get up early enough to drive 80ish miles to Crater
Lake before the sun came up. The last time I was at the lake, there was
eight feet of snow on the side of the road. This time, it was clear and
VERY VERY cold. Fortunately, my friends Damien and Tina bought me an
AWESOME Patagonia jacket last year for Christmas, and I suffered
through the cold bite of Crater Lake without much trouble. I lost a
tripod foot somewhere on the trail though, much to my chagrin to this
day, considering how hard they are to replace. Crater Lake I will have
to come back to, I did not have enough time to get a truly spectacular
shot because I did not know the vantage points well enough. I did
manage a few rather interesting perspectives though, as you will see in
the gallery. The one major 'discovery' was Mt. Thielsen, by far the
most awesome single peak I saw on my whole trip - straight out of the
Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, no close-up was possible as it was a
four mile hike to the base of the peak which on this trip I was
unwilling to do do. Off on the 62 to the 138. A road as impressive as
any for a scenic highway, the south side was bordered by an overgrown
three hundred foot running cliff of solid lava. I pulled off at a
picnic area which I did not write down the name and hiked up to a
waterfall coming off this lava face. Two hundred sixty five feet was
the drop, and it was the most silent waterfall I have ever heard. Just
a whisper of water like a soft shower, I stood near it's base for
awhile and was in awe. The water whipped down to the ground in an ever
changing pattern that really has to been seen to understand. It was
just plain wild. I snacked and drank some coffee at a picnic bench
pictured in this gallery, and ended up spending a few hours exploring
and shooting my favorite subject - leaves.
Off I went down the road. I was shocked and surprised when I came
across a road sign that said 'Speed Zone Ahead'. I reveled in all that
was Oregon, and stomped on the gas pedal. My heart broke when I came to
a sign that showed a slower speed. I guess people in Oregon are smarter
than Californians, because they leave off words on their road signs. I
was quite amused and had a whole side story made up about this
revelation, but I decided to leave it out for now... needless to say,
it was a stitch in my side for quite awhile. A glint of the golden
trees in the Umpqua river below the highway caught my eye and kept me
busy for the hours heading into sunset. Never have I seen water
reflections as extraordinary as I saw this day in Oregon. Metallic
water of the gold hue, flowing past my camera lens.
I arrived on Hwy 5 loathing that I would have to stop and get gas
somewhere in Oregon where they don't allow you to pump your own gas. I
finally had to stop, ate some fast food, filled up with the cheapest
gas I had seen so far on my trip and sped off to a friend Josh's house
in Corvalis. A night and day spent in Corvalis led to a short trip up
HWY 99W to McMinnville to another friend's house. A very pleasant time
was spent with my friends Leif and Sarah, which we went to Portland and
saw an incredible nursery operation, and some other things which will
be left for later stories... a couple days later I was off again for
Washington. I buzzed up the 5 to the 14 which runs along the Columbia
river. I drove in anticipation of fantastic scenery and a recreation of
Stonehenge which a friend had told me about before I left on my trip. I
found Stonehenge, and then found out from my parents later I chose the
wrong side of the Columbia for a scenery drive. Bummer. I ate at a
truckstop that night, the atmosphere was good, the food not so good.
The 14 to the 82 to the 182 to the 395 to the 21, I discovered that in
the eastern Washington outback gas stations close at 5pm. Not good, a
little frantic for awhile, and I finally found a do it yourself no
attendant station much to my relief. HWY 21 was absolutely empty.
Nothing around, no cars. I came across a lone silo begging to be
photographed. I think it is one of the highlights of the gallery. A
lone car passed me when I was out there with my tripod, and I know they
thought either I was crazy or a terrorist. A nights sleep in my car
near the Grand Coulee dam, some average photographs of the sunrise, and
I was off again.
I had a meat-normous breakfast sandwich at Burger King in Omak, worth
mentioning because it was just so bad. I shoulda gone to McDonalds.
Stupid commercials.
HWY 97 to the 20. I saw for the first time in my life, a Larch tree.
Yellow needles on a deciduous pine tree. Wow. WoW. WOW. Trippy stuff
really, I did not know what to make of them until my dad told me what
they were later that day. I spent a few days in the Kettle Falls area
with my parents and experienced the first and only rain of my trip. I
was very lucky I think.
I made a side trip up to Canada, just so I could say I did. I found out
that it is not wise today to drive into Canada and then come out within
an hour. My car was completely searched for pot, and the border guys
had a good time putting the scare into me. For some reason, they
believed I was a drug smuggler, thankfully I had nothing for them.
Fast forward a bit, I arrived in Seattle took a few wrong turns, went
under a cool tunnel twice and finally made my way to Mt. Rainier.
Rainier, the gem of the trip. Unbelievable. I initially parked in a
spot to sleep, but fortunately realized that the mountain I was seeing
in the moonlight was not Rainier, off I drove through the forest, elk
dotting the roadside and mist on the trees that made me think it was
snowing. I found a smidgen of shoulder to park on and slept, only to
wake up to a tremendous display of natural beauty. I cannot say enough
about the Rainier National Park, see it before the mountain blows. It
is expected by the way, and it is in the top ten most devastating
natural disasters that can happen to the US. Not the volcano itself
mind you, but rather the glaciers and snow melting off it's beautiful
14,000 foot peaks. Dangerous and beautiful, just like women :) heh.
Several images in the gallery are of Mt Rainier, the images speak for
themselves. I will go back there sometime, to spend a week or more at
least... amazing.
I spent a good time with my sister and her two daughters in Onalaska
for a a couple days, and then was off again. Notably a stop in Oregon
off of HWY 22, where a lake had drained enough to show a tree graveyard
along it's banks. I probably spent too much time there, but the chopped
tree trunks were just too enticing for me to leave quickly. I ended up
driving into the night along a desolate HWY 31 with gas dwindling. Yet
again, no gas stations open after five pm. I drove slowly, mile after
mile, hoping my tank would hold out to the next town only to find that
no gas stations were open. I finally arrived in Lakeview, Oregon with a
gallon left in my tank. I was getting more than 27 mpg, higher than the
25 I was estimating, With relief, I crashed in Lakeview and rose the
next morning early. I shot a few pictures of Goose Lake on HWY 395, one
of which is in the gallery and among my favorite of the trip.
The 395 in north eastern California is lonely and quick. The road dips
into Nevada, and after a few bucks on food and a slot machine I sped
off to Virginia City. Landmark for it's silver deposit of the Comstock
lode, I spent way too much time looking in the silly nonhistorical
shops of the town. Total kitsch. Total waste of time. A couple good
pics.
I wasted so much time on Virginia City, I missed the light on the
Sierras at sunset - managing only a nice shot of the Mono Lake overlook
in the gallery.
The food highpoint of my trip was to come. A friend had told me about a
gourmet restaurant in the Chevron or Exxon station in Lee Vining, CA.
Whoa Nellie Deli... whoa is right. Twenty seven dollars got me an
incredible chicken tortilla and black bean soup, lobster taquitos, a
slice of chocolate cake and a mango margarita. Twenty seven dollars
made the best dinner I have ever paid for. You order, pay, and they
call your number. The food is presented and tasted like a class A
restaurant in any big city of the world. If you're ever on the 395,
this place is worth visiting for sure.
I got up the next morning to shoot the tufa towers at Mono Lake. The
sky was not giving up any light though, and some time passed before I
walked to the waterside. I was betting the sun would come out, the
other fifteen cars of photographers bet otherwise. I won. I arrived
later, left later with a couple very nice images of the early light on
the tufa of Mono Lake. See the Gallery.
The rest of the trip was not all that huge in image prospects. A grand
cloud formation over the sierras, an incredible view of the Alabama
hills below Mt Whitney, a killer waterfall at the base of the Whitney
portal start. All shown in the gallery.
I zipped home on 27th of October via a heinous route through
Bakersfield. Three hundred miles of two lane road terror really. The
395 to the 14 to the 58 to the 5 to the 46 to the 101 - not fun at
night time. Sleeping in my own bed, priceless.
I drove a tremendous distance, 4000 miles. I spent around $450 on gas
alone. I discovered that even over almost three weeks it was still too
much to see in too little time. I did not plan all that well, but I saw
some awesome things, especially Mt Rainier which was not in my original
trip itinerary.
The gallery is here: fifty some odd images, it might take some time to
flip through. I have to say in advance, the web viewing of some of
these images does them no justice whatsoever...
If you're interested in a print of any of them, drop me a line...
http://semillerimages.com/iow-link/4000miles/
Enjoy,