Road Trip 08

What is this blog?

2008-02-23T17:55:00.000-08:00

This blog is the tale and photos of a cross country move from California to Nashville. The trip is over so the blog is not currently being updated, but I'm going to leave it up for access to the pictures.

If a web search dropped you here, now you know what you're looking at.

Answer Key

2008-01-22T11:03:00.001-08:00

Here are the explanations of the post title challenge. I am a little disappointed that so few of you chose to participate. But props to Nate and Jen for trying. Jen had more correct anwers, which I guess means she's a bigger nerd than Nate.

Points Available: 22 plus 5 E/C for anyone who pointed out/identifed This is End Game as being left out. I awarded discretionary half-points in situations where I felt it justified.

Ranking:

Jen Smith: 10.5 with a few missed points for incorrect characters in Star Wars quotes. I did give you a half point for Dustin Hoffman.
Nate: 8.5 with missed points for "close but wrong" references in Star Wars.

Answers:

It won't work. I have an exceptionally large mind. Marvin the Paranoid Android from H2G2 regarding his inability to be distracted from the mundane tedium of his existence due to the fact that he has a brain the size of a planet. There is no explanation of this, but since Marvin's head is much smaller than a planet, his brain may feature construction similar to Asimov's Positronic Brain, or it may contain Hammerspace.

We've got to give him more time... Lando Calrissian to Admiral Akbar regarding Han and Team's delayed success in destroying the Shield Generator station located on the moon of Endor referred to as either the Forest Moon or Sanctuary Moon. Return of the Jedi.

Hoover Dam is big. H2G2. Replace Hoover Dam with Space and you have the beginning of the Guide's entry on Space. "Chemist" is your big clue here.

Where my nose ends and space begins. Modified version of a quote from Bernard Jaffee, played by Dustin Hoffman in I [heart] Huckabees regarding his Unified Theory of Everything or Theory of Universal Interconnectedness. The philosophy of the film is not ground breaking, but the havoc that the philosophies create in the lives of the characters is quite entertaining.

There's something very weak coming through... Rebel Comm officer regarding the transmissions from an Imperial Probe Droid that has discovered the Rebel power generator on Hoth. This triggers the devastating (for the Rebellion) Battle of Hoth when Admiral Ozzel attempts to lead the Imperial Fleet against the Rebels but is "relieved of command" by Vader for his clumsy stupidity. Empire Strikes Back.

Fire. F-F-F-Fire. Only Nate got this. The relatively unknown (in the US) Faulty Towers written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth (who also plays Polly). Spoken by the soon-to-be-concussed Basil Faulty trying to clear the hotel due to a kitchen fire which has occurred shortly after a botched fire drill.

Be just like Mosaic Canyon back home. Luke regarding the terminal maneuver required in the Trench Run that ultimately destroyed Death Star I at the Battle of Yavin. Specifically, running down the trench at full throttle (a term which actually makes little sense in zero-g piloting, but we aren't talking gaffes here), attempting a Proton Torpedo shot at the Thermal Exhaust Port and pulling up before smashing into the end of the trench. A New Hope.

I'll return. I promise. Luke to Yoda when leaving, quite rashly, to attempt rescue of Han and Leia from Cloud City. However, Luke ultimately requiring rescue himself. He does return to finish his training, but not until Return of the Jedi, when he finds his only remaining trial is to confront Darth Vader again.

Only an old ghost town... The Muppet Movie. Line by Dr. Teeth. "An old ghost town" is where Kermit and friends finally have a showdown with Doc Hopper before continuing on to Hollywood to become rich and famous.

Play back the entire message! Luke to C3-P0 who is translating for R2-D2 after seeing only part of a holographic message recorded by Leia Organa aboard the Tantive IV.

I don't see you crying, robot! George Oscar Bluth ("GOB"), amateur Illusionist talking to his brother Michael Bluth. GOB is the one crying. Arrested Development.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Obi Wan to Luke regarding Mos Eisley. Again, we aren't talking gaffes, but I would think Jabba's Palace would qualify. Maybe Obi Wan didn't expect Luke to find it. A New Hope.

Where's not going to get another chance at this... Lando Calrissian to Admiral Akbar advising against a retreat Akbar was about to order from the Battle of Endor. The advice, though risky and costly, led to Rebel success at the Battle of Endor when Death Star II was destroyed, though Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader were already dead. This did not end tyranny in the galaxy however, as most of the Imperial Fleet and command officers survived, though the Star Dreadnought (Super Star Destroyer) Executor was also destroyed in the battle. Return of the Jedi

What makes you think there will be settlements over there? C3-P0 to R2-D2 in the desert of Tatooine, bickering over which direction to head after escaping the Tantive IV, filmed at the Stovepipe Dunes, Death Valley, CA. A New Hope.

If there's a bright center to the universe... Luke, who doesn't like Tatooine much. He feels it is the planet farthest from the bright center to the universe. LIttle does he know the Universe has no center, being infinite, even though it is expanding. Or maybe it isn't infinite and they know more about the universe in Star Wars. It's all very confusing. A New Hope.

There's not much to see... Luke to the partially-blind and Carbon-Sick Han Solo aboard one of Jabba's skiffs shortly before they are unsuccessfully executed by Saarlac. Han isn't missing much Luke says, who knows because he was born on Tatooine. Han replies, "You're going to die here, you know. Convenient." Exactly what I would say in that situation. Good old Han. Return of the Jedi.

A Day Late and Many Dollars Shorter... Simple play on the "Day late, Dollar short" folk phrase given I was a day late and the cost of equipment and food was many dollars.

Hear me baby, hold together. Han to The Falcon after a Tie Fighter patrol squadron knocks out the Falcon's lateral control capacity during their escape from Death Star I in A New Hope. The lateral control appears to be fixed by the Battle of Yavin.

Life is like a box of... Forrest Gump. Duh.

Tick Tock. No one got this, but it is a pretty generic phrase from an important but obscure character from an obscure sci-fi phenom: Babylon 5. This is Lorien, the first sentient being in the B5 universe, talking to the (mostly?) dead Captain John Sheridan on Z'ha'dum, the homeworld of The Shadows. This is after Sheridan has managed to kill himself in addition to innumerable Shadows through the use of his penchant "suicide nuclear weapon aboard otherwise harmless starship" strategy.

I have a baaad feeling about this... Recurring line in the Start Wars universe used by Force-Attuned and Force-Aware characters about the early warning feeling in bad situations. We hear it from Han, Luke, Leia, young Obi Wan, Anakin, and C3-PO.

We're in for some Chop. Certainly the geekiest reference. This is an achievement ("medal") in the Halo 3 Universe awarded when you destroy an enemy occupied vehicle using equipment, such as a Trip Mine.

Somehow, I left This is End Game out of the list. When I realized I had done so, I resolved to give Extra Credit if anyone pointed this out or picked it up. However, only someone who recognized Tick Tock would recognize it. It is Ivanova talking "to herself" as narrator in Babylon 5 referring to the fast approaching climax of the Shadow War. It is in desperation though, as Sheridan has gone to Z'ha'dum and not been heard from since. Consequently, the delicate alliance is threatening to dissolve while they are outmatched militarily by both the Vorlons and Shadows.

I think that settles it.

2008-01-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

The motion for a Living in the South Blog is carried by the yea's.

So here it is with inaugural post, California Diaspora:

http://californiadiaspora.blogspot.com/

I will also link it from the sidebar here.

Are you interested?

2008-01-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

I am contemplating a new blog idea. It would be dispatches from a Californian living in the South highlighting the cultural differences and experiences happening here everyday.

If you are interested in reading something like that leave me a comment on this post. If there is enough interest, I'll do it.

Overheard Conversation

2008-01-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

I have to over-use the local coffeeshop for internet access while I wait for the planets of Comcast and PODS to align, and while doing so I overheard the following exchange:

Well-Dressed Lady: "By the way, I have some part-time work if you know anyone who needs it."

Shaggy Barista: "I'll keep my ears open. What kind of work is it?"

WDL: "Mostly floors, starts at $7/hr."

SB: "Actually, you know, a friend of mine is looking for something, I'll let her know."

WDL: "Is she white?"

SB: "Yeah, she is."

WDL: "Ok, good."

Yep, I live in the South.

Again?

2008-01-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

Another reminder to keep scrolling 'cause I added several posts.

Also, there had better be more than 2 people reading this blog, so I expect more responses to the Title Identification challenge. You'll have to go to page 2 for it since the Trip by Numbers series was so long.

Trip by Numbers: Shooting

2008-01-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

Total Exposures:
2169

Err99's:
2

Metering Freakouts:
1. Camera suddenly decides that proper exposure for subject is actually 4 stops under. Riiiight.

Shots Sucked into a Black Hole:
2. Camera fired but images not written to the memory card. Weird. Never had this happen before.

Failure to Fire Events:
5. Camera metered and focused but shutter fails to fire from both body and grip until power is cycled.

Cursing at the Camera Incidents:
12! Includes Err99s, meter freakouts, and Failures to Fire.

Injuries Incurred to Get the Shot:
Two minor falls sustaining minor bruising and abrasions.

Trip by Numbers: Lodging

2008-01-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

Most Expensive Night:
Lakeland, TN (just East of Memphis). Taxes on the room came to over 20% of the room cost.

Least Expensive Night:
Last night at Death Valley. My "ticket" proving I paid for camping went AWOL on my first day so the host gave me a pass and told me to stay as long as I like. I stayed 1 day longer than planned.

Nicest Lodging:
Shamrock, TX.

Worst Town to Stay In:
Shamrock, TX. Most buildings looked abandoned, there were only two choices for dinner, and continental breakfast included Biscuits and Gravy.

Coldest Night:
First night in Death Valley. Recorded low at Stovepipe was 21 Degrees. After that it kept getting warmer every night. I kept trying unsuccessfully to refreeze some of my perishables.

Warmest Night:
Memphis. The last few days were unseasonably warm at the same time my California readers were getting rained on like Noah.

Bedbug Infestations:
Zero, Flo makes me check every time.

Slept Better Inside or Outside:
Outside. After sleeping outside for 5 nights, I have still not been able to re-adjust to sleeping indoors. Consequently I am exhausted.

Trip by Number: Dining

2008-01-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

Best Meal:
Jerry's Diner in Holbrook, AZ.
Huge Shake, decent burger. They got the burger closest to rare I've had in a long time. It was supposed to have swiss cheese but they only had American Cheese. The green chili was a nice addition.

Worst Meal:
Shamrock, TX. A choice between McDonalds and Dairy Queen. I picked DQ.

Ounces of Mountain Dew Consumed:
Zero!

Ounces of Caffeinated Drinks Consumed:
Zero!

Ounces of Candy Consumed:
Zero!

Worst Food:
Snickers Energy/Protein Bar. Like Cardboard it tastes!

Most Frequent Camp Meal:
Cheeseburger at 4.

Least Successful Food Item:
Campfire Baked Potato. Burned 'em every time.

Trip by Numbers: The Road

2008-01-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

Total Roadkill Seen:
4, none identifiable.

State with the Least Law:
Texas.

State with the Most Law:
Arizona.

Number of Tickets:
0

Number of Near Accidents:
Only 1, a Semi changed lanes right at me. Floor it and drive on the shoulder. Thanks.

Number of States:
8 (includes California)

Most States in 1 Day:

4: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas (pronounced ARE-can-zus), Tennessee.

Number of States I've never been to:
None unfortunately.

State Where it Finally Felt Like the South:
Tennessee. The divided highway cut through rocky cliffs topped with bare trees. A good portion of the 24 and 75 look like this, so when I hit it on the 40, I finally realized I was there.

Giant Crosses Passed:
Just the one in Texas. I didn't stop 'cause it was getting late and the sign said it was a spiritual experience I would never forget. No thanks.

Burned out Cars Passed:
One that had clearly seen the end of it's life on Route 66 rather than I-40.

Cattle Lots Passed:
Only 1.

"Authentic" "Indian" Souvenir Stands Passed:
Too Many to Count

Most played Music:
Rilo Kiley, Under the Blacklight.
A subtle and sublime album. Highly recommended.

Trip by Numbers: Miles

2008-01-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

Total Gallons of Gas:
123.62

Total Miles Driven:
2970

Average MPG:
24.02

Most Efficient Leg:
New Mexico to Texas
The Subie's best recorded, 31 MPG!

Least Efficient Leg:
Second half of Local Driving in DV
Driving around the park netted only 20 MPG.

Largest Attraction:
Death Valley at 5,219 square miles!

Trip by Numbers: Gas

2008-01-09T13:42:00.000-08:00

Most Expensive Gas Purchased:
Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley at $3.720
Can you believe that? No 9/10's of a cent! Just 3.72.

Most Expensive Gas Sighted:
Panamint Springs, Death Valley at $4.499

Least Expensive Gas Purchased or Sighted:
Moriarty, NM at $2.879

Average Cost Per Gallon:
$3.113

Reserve Gas Carried:
1 Gallon

Reserve Gas Used:
None, but it was very close in Death Valley.

Windiest Gas Stop:
Brinkley, AR.
I was knocked into the car.

It won't work. I have an exceptionally large mind.

2008-01-07T05:53:00.000-08:00

I've posted 21 entries so far where the titles are references, and I thought it might be fun to try and get you all to guess what they are. I have listed all the relevant titles. In the comments, list what you think the title is a reference to.

No fair putting Star Wars for each. If you think a title is a SW reference, I need the specific movie or context (speaker and subject). No googling.

Here you go from newest to oldest:

It won't work. I have an exceptionally large mind.
We've got to give him more time...
Hoover Dam is big.
Where my nose ends and space begins.
There's something very weak coming through...
Fire. F-F-F-Fire.
Be just like Mosaic Canyon back home.
I'll return. I promise.
Only an old ghost town..
Play back the entire message!
I don't see you crying, robot!
You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
Where's not going to get another chance at this...
What makes you think there will be settlements over there?
If there's a bright center to the universe...
There's not much to see...
A Day Late and Many Dollars Shorter...
Hear me baby, hold together.
Life is like a box of...
Tick Tock
I have a baaad feeling about this...

We're in for some Chop.

This is End Game

2008-01-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

Since leaving the Valley of Fire, I have been on the road through to Tennessee. I have been timing this last leg of my trip to arrive Monday since I wouldn't be able to get the keys to the house on Sunday.

The last few days I have been driving until it is about dark, and finding a place to stay, each day making it further than I planned. Which is why I am spending the night in Memphis, TN. I was in four states today (Texas, drove through Oklahoma and Arkansas, landing in Tennessee).

In honor of making it to the Volunteer State, I have shaved the goatee. Tomorrow, Nashville, hopefully the House, and soon, a haircut.

We've got to give him more time...

2008-01-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

I am now caught up on photo posts and posts that I couldn't get photos to upload, so scroll down to check them out and check the full album link in the left sidebar.

While on the subject, the album export I used from Aperture doesn't list all the album pages from the index, so you have to page through the album to see additional pages at the end, where the most recent pictures are.

Hoover Dam is big.

2008-01-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to Hoover Dam.

Hoover Dam is, like a giant rock, hard to photograph. Ansel Adams photographed it from downstream, where mere mortals like myself would not be allowed today.

So I had to work with what I could get from the dam and parking lots around it. So I got a few shots I am happy with walking across the dam and back.

As I walked, I watched couples and families drive the dam with their windows down, taking pictures, or trying, in the 30 seconds that it takes to cross the dam. From the dam in a car all you can really see is the canyon walls and the power lines.

When I am photographing something, I like to know it first or, to invoke Heinlein, to grok it. This doesn't always work out; it is impossible to grok Death Valley in 4 days, but knowing something about the geography, geology, and ecology helps. This is why photography projects take a long time for me. I'm looking, or trying to look, at the truth of each facet of the thing.

It isn't possible to grok, or even to know Hoover Dam without walking it, seeing the inside of the dam, feeling the vibration of the turbines, or looking down the long face of the dam and imagining falling the 1244ft. to the bottom. Can you really claim to have been to Hoover Dam if you've just ridden over it in a car and shot a picture of the canyon? You certainly haven't experienced the dam, one of the most remarkable works of man in the last 100 years, and possibly of all time.

Where my nose ends and space begins.

2008-01-04T19:07:00.001-08:00

Humans have been doing the road trip for a long time. A lot of American History can be described as a search. A search for the intangible which becomes a search for a place where we think this intangible exists, or can be made by our own hands. So we sail across the ocean in search of freedom from tyranny, we cross the plains in a wagon in search for our "destiny," across the continent on a train in search of progress, and to the stars in search of man's ultimate crown.

When I planned this trip, packed the Subie and set off for Death Valley, I didn't think I was in search of anything at all. But now I think, in the middle of America, I might be searching for something. Perhaps being on the road has stripped away preoccupations and distractions that were preventing this realization, or perhaps the nature of the road trip created the search in me.

I try to live with as few regrets as possible. Not that I am the skydiving, bull-running, Killamanjaro-climbing type, but that I have enough in my past to haunt me for more than a lifetime. One regret that I don't mind confessing is that I didn't do this until I had turned 30. I regret that at 18 I wasn't at a place in my life to pack a car and just drive places I hadn't been and stay there until I was ready to move on. I regret not drinking milkshakes in crappy roadside diners that are so unremarkable as to be special because they exist without being special. I regret not sharing a campfire with strangers. I regret not stopping to talk on the trail. I regret not searching for the intangible on a desert road that leads nowhere because it leads everywhere. I regret not driving across the country with someone I hardly know until we came to the place that we would always know each other.

I don't know what it is that I am searching for, but I do know that it isn't Nashville, or a job, or a better life or bigger car or a house. Pressed to it, I might be searching for the absence of all those things. But I don't know for sure now, and may not for some time; maybe this trip is far too short to find out.

There's something very weak coming through...

2008-01-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

Either this roadside hotel internet or blogger is being freakstastically lame.

I am still trying to get some basic posting and image uploading done but have not been successful in 3 freaking hours.

Apologies for this, I'm going to get dinner and try again later.

Fire. F-F-F-Fire.

2008-01-04T15:44:00.001-08:00

I'll warn you now, there are more shots of rocks in this post. Rocks are hard to shoot 'cause, well, they're rocks. And big rocks, like those you will see shortly are even harder. It is really tough to communicate the grandeur of these formations with such a short visit. There are more examples of most of these in the full resolution gallery linked in the sidebar.

What color is the giant rock formation in YOUR bedroom?

One of the things to see in Valley of Fire is Petroglyph Canyon. There are lots of petroglyphs that have survived here from long lost cultures.

Formations in the sandstone, including Arch Rock, the Beehive, other details.

Be just like Mosaic Canyon back home.

2008-01-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

The road to Mosaic Canyon was just 10 yards up the road from Stovepipe Campground. It's long uphill hike through huge slabs of polished marble framed with red rock cliffs. I started up Mosaic Canyon just after midday and went as far as I could without bouldering while wearing all my photo gear. In the 3 or so hours on the trail much of the canyon never saw full sun because the walls are so high.

Geological forces are still at work in Death Valley. Some point in the recent past, this boulder rolled off a ledge some 20 feet above to rest in trail.

Details of marble and rock from Mosaic Canyon.

There are many more pictures from Mosaic Canyon in the full gallery, linked in the sidebar.

I'll return. I promise.

2008-01-04T06:53:00.000-08:00

More posts and photos coming. I was on the road for two days. I have internet now, but have spent most of my time trying to get high resolution pictures uploaded.

That shouldn't be hard, should it?

Only an old ghost town..

2008-01-03T21:26:00.000-08:00

When I left Death Valley, I took a slightly longer route out the valley to go through Ryolite, and gold boom and bust town from the early 1900's.

I've been to a few other ghost towns in the past, but they dated much earlier that Ryolite. The construction in Ryolite isn't wood framed and sided structures like most towns built before 1900. Most the remaining structures Ryolite are concrete construction, and the missing structures were prefab structures that the inhabitants packed out of town on wagons after the local gold stocks went bust. The bottle house, however, is made of bottles.

The bank buildings were intact, including the vaults.

There was also an abandoned Union Pacific car in town.

For more, see the full album linked in the sidebar.

Play back the entire message!

2008-01-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

This post is just to tell you to keep scrolling down 'cause I added several posts today.

Incidentally, this wouldn't be an issue if you were using an RSS Reader, which you should, so get one. Mac users, I recommend Vienna or NetNewsWire. Windows users, I recommend getting a Mac and using Vienna or NetNewsWire.

I don't see you crying, robot!

2008-01-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

(The is the only Star Wars-less title for the day)

I feel like this is about to be the scene in the final episode of Arrested Development when the family finally sees Michael Bluth cry and are put off.

I find a significant serenity out here that I have hitherto found unmatched in any other type of vacation.

It is difficult to describe concisely, and I would say that I have not put enough thought to the matter to truly communicate it if I had the time, but I will say that I feel both more and less like myself here than I do anywhere else. Sitting in front of the fire after a full day exploring the natural wonders here and eating a simple but hot meal, I feel far different than I do most any other time.

I can't attribute it to the lack of responsibility that typifies vacations since I have many of the same stresses here that I have "at home" (rather than daily work stress I have the stress of securing a new job, rather than the stress of feeding and getting the kids to bed I have the stress of getting to camp before dark and preparing a meal before the temperature drops, rather than the stress of daily home tasks I have the burden of lost potential on a trip that I will truly only make once in my lifetime) so I don't really know what the cause is.

Perhaps it is the combination of the place and the solitude. It may be that this is what vacations - and I mean real vacations - are like for others and that this is the only kind of vacation that does this for me.

As I said in so many words, I cant truly explain the origin or effect. But I am grateful.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany.

2008-01-01T15:24:00.000-08:00

We must be cautious.

The picture you see below is the view from Dante's View (5475ft). It is just Southeast of Badwater and a steep drive. The last 1/4 mile of the drive is a 15% Grade. I bring it to your particular attention because it is the view from which we first see Mos Eisley, the spaceport where Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi find a smuggler who agrees to take them to Alderaan. The valley floor has changed significantly from the film since it goes through typical natural processes (and it's been 30 years) but if you watch the film and look at the picture, you'll see it.

Where's not going to get another chance at this...

2008-01-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

(Admiral).

So I've changed my plans. I initially chose Zion as a destination because, well, everything else was far out of the way. But I have decided that I like the desert more. So while I would like to see Zion, on my limited time, I am going to shuffle things in favor of the desert.

First, I am going to stay in Deva tonight and head to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada tomorrow, where I will probably stay only one night. On the way, I will check out Ryolite and gold boom town which is now a ghost town. This will take me through Vegas, so I might have to stop for a sweet all you can eat buffet and some cards. Hmmmm. Maybe that is how I will be able to afford my second camera body.

After a night in VoF I am going to cross the Hoover Dam for the second time in my life and drive to Holbrook AZ - the closest town to The Petrified Forest. This will give me more time in the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. I was initially planning on staying only 1 night here, which would mean less than half a day to visit and photograph.

From there, it's long driving days through the middle part of the country, but there is plenty of "Weird America" type stuff to see, so I might get some good shots of the Giant Cross in Texas, or the Woody Guthrie Statue (really).

What makes you think there will be settlements over there?

2008-01-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

What is with all these Star Wars related titles anyway? Well, gentle reader, many of the scenes on Tatooine (Luke Skywalker's home planet) were filmed here in Death Valley. The dunes you are about to see are Stovepipe Dunes. The desolate dunes C3-PO and R2-D2 are lost in after escaping from the captured Tantive IV are these very dunes. They big'uns are about 1.5 miles from the road through loose desert sand. Once there, it took some hiking to find the shots I was looking for. I don't know if you have hiked through this kind of sand before but it is exhausting. It's hard to take a bad shot of these dunes if you show up for the sunrise (like I did). After mid-morning the sun makes these (and any dunes) flat and bright. But early morning and late in the afternoon, the contrast is great. After the first shot of some bird footprints (most likely a Kildeer) there are just sundry shots of the dunes, including one featuring me.

Here is a little guy I found in the Visitors' Center parking lot. Unfortunately he was pretty fearless, which means someone fed him. So I got some good shots, but he'll probably be dead soon. Wild animals that get fed by humans get used to seeing humans and then get sick from our food, hit by our cars, or become aggressive (in the case of feline and canis families) and are killed or put down. So it was cool to see him, but overall, the story is bad.

These last shots are from Hell's Gate. I went up at the end of the day to get some sidelighting of the valley hoping for some good color, but the haze in the valley defeated me. Still you can see me again, and a shot looking down the southern end of the valley.

If there's a bright center to the universe...

2007-12-31T12:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Day 1 in Death Valley.

(Please excuse the current lack of high resolution shots, internet here is slow so I may not get them all up for a while)

These first two shots are from the way into the park. The long road into the valley and the view from Crowley Point.

Started off by going to Badwater, the lowest point in the western hemisphere. There isn't much water here, but what little is here is, well, bad. The name was given when an early surveyor marked the small pools and his map with "Bad Water" after his mule wouldn't drink it. The water that forms the pool here can be runoff from the hills but mostly comes up through the ground picking up the mineral deposits as it comes. This is also the only known habitat of the Badwater Snail, who apparently doesn't mind the salt, but is too shy to be photographed. It is also endangered.

Next stop was Devil's Golf Course mostly because there is a sign pointing it out. The area consists of more salt and dirt, just taller formations than Badwater or the Salt Flats. That is Telescope Peak in the background. It is the highest point in the park. The drop from Telescope to Badwater is one of the biggest and steepest on the planet: from 11,048 feet to -282 feet.

After that I took Artist's Drive which doesn't photograph well in the morning and midday light. I may get back here in the evening for some shots. So then it was on to Zabriskie Point. Zabriskie is just above the Golden Canyon trailhead and overlooks the valley I was just in. I hiked out to the washes below the point and shot some pics. There isn't much water in Death Valley, but there is a lot of evidence of water and you can see in the runoffs, stratification in Zabriskie Point, and mud crusts.

I stopped and shot some roadside flowers as well. There ARE flowers in Death Valley. In the winter anyway.

Last shots, Stovepipe Dunes which I hiked this morning (exHAUSTing) and will have more for you later, the dusk sky in DeVa, and the homestead.

There's not much to see...

2007-12-30T14:43:00.000-08:00

Actually, there is, but just no photos yet since I haven't gotten any off the camera. I have been hiking and shooting and will hopefully have something to upload tomorrow.

Here are some tidbits from the drive:

Gas just outside DV: $3.39/gal.

Gas just inside DV: $4.49/gal

Firewood outside DV: $6.49/bundle, which is less than 1 nights' fire.

Firewood inside DV: Undiscovered so far (it's all BYOW).

Temperature at 7:30 AM: 27 Degrees.

The Sun goes down early in the valley due to the mountains on either side that, you know, make it a valley. This presents quite a challenge in photographing places that look their best just before and just after sunset.

A Day Late and Many Dollars Shorter...

2007-12-29T10:00:00.000-08:00

I'm on the road this morning, Saturday, instead of Friday because I haven't had time to get the day of prep work done with everything going on.

The plan now is to spend more time in Death Valley and Zion and skip Valley of Fire, and only spend maybe half a day in Petrified Forest, and still splitting the last leg into 2 long days.

Google Maps says my total driving distance for the trip is 2,446 miles (not including local miles). This should come to about 100 Gallons of gas for the main trip and 38 Hours of drive time.

Next stop, Death Valley where the current weather is highs in the 60s and lows in the 30s. Fortunately, staying in Templeton has prepared me a bit for this, with lows in the 20s and 30s for the last several days.

Hear me baby, hold together.

2007-12-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

Today the Subie got a good Lube/Oil/Filter and a 4 new shoes for the trip. The folks at the mechanic's shop reminded me that she is due for a timing belt. I didn't want to continue to fork out money ahead of the trip and not working for 3 weeks, but the alternative (busted belt in Death Valley or Zion National Park and a $1000 towing bill) is less attractive.

Life is like a box of...

2007-12-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

...miscellaneous crap; you never know what you'll throw out.

There isn't much thinking or planning going on regarding the trip right now, seeing as I am spending every waking moment stressing about the work transition and getting the house packed.

I did get a radical head light from Karl, so it turns out he isn't all bad after all.

Tick Tock

2007-12-16T20:34:00.001-08:00

Well, I've got most everything I need including 0 Degree Sleeping Bag, tent, new knife, new flashlight, shoes, thermals, propane stove, messkit, sweet German silverware set, hatchet, shovel, mini-compass (I don't know!), first aid and much much more.

Tires, folding chair, and a solution to power is all that remains.

Oh, and food.

But I don't have much more worked out in terms of schedule.

I have a baaad feeling about this...

2007-12-12T09:28:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago I was shooting a concert (Science Heros of Terra Obscura, link coming) when the usually reliable 20D threw the infamous Err99 (link coming).

I was hoping to have a backup camera body by the time I left for the trip, but the finances did not work out. While the prospect of leaving on the trip of a lifetime with one quasi-functional camera body is, to say the least, discouraging, that is the boat we're in.

We're in for Some Chop

2007-12-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

To plan and prepare for the conditions I will be facing while camping across the country in the middle of winter I set up weather and daylight hour widgets to correspond with each stop.

click for bigger version

So it looks chilly. Little bit of snow in Utah and Arizona right now, but not cold enough to stay on the ground.

If you are curious, in the widgets on the bottom row, light blue is daylight, dark blue is night, and the medium blue is nautical twilight, when I hope to be doing quite a bit of shooting.

Map Posted

2007-12-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

I have placed some links in the left column, including an evolving Google Map of the trip. The current plan:

Death Valley, CA
Valley of Fire, NV
Zion National Park, UT
Petrified Forest, AZ
??
Nashville, TN

The problem still remains that between Petrified Forest and Nashville, there isn't a lot of prime camping and photography territory. So I'm thinking that I will spend more time at the first four stops and take the last legs in two long driving days.

Gear: Stuff I'll need, the current list

2007-12-07T07:28:00.000-08:00

Storage and Transport for Camera Gear
Sleeping Bag & Tent
Thermals & Cold Weather Clothing
Trail Shoes
Sunglasses
Power Inverter
First Aid Kit
Cooking/Eating Tools
Food and Water Storage
Folding Chair
New Tires for the Subaru

I am sure I will find more things that I need, but that's the short list.

It's pricey, I just placed orders for some of this stuff, so if you are interested in helping out in exchange for a print of one of the (hopefully amazing) pictures from the trip, shoot me an email. It will be the first time I have been to any of these places so I can't promise the pic will be beautiful; however as an object, it will be meaningful.

The Plan

2007-12-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

Even though the trip is only 3 weeks away (crap!) I don't have any solid plans other than this:

Leave on the 28th
???
Arrive in Nashville on the 8th in time to get keys.

Places I would like to photograph along the way include Death Valley, Manzanar, King's Canyon/Sequoia, Devil's Postpile, Valley of Fire (Nevada State Park), The Grand Canyon, The Petrified Forest, Petroglyph National Monument, El Malpais, Carlsbad Caverns, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Zion National Park, Rainbow Bridge, Arches, The Golden Spike, Washita Battlefield (Custer's massacre of Black Kettle), Fort Donelson (in 1862, the first real victory by the Union), and Shiloh (Civil War Battlefield where in the first 20 minutes more Americans died than in all previous American wars combined).

I could spend a week or more at each of these sites, and I only have 10 Days to get across the country. Fortunately, some of these decisions are made for me: Devil's Postpile is closed for the season, The Golden Spike, Carlsbad, Gila and most Utah sites are too far out the way to make a go, and Sequoia will be covered in snow (beautiful, but impractical). On the flip side, Shiloh and Donelson are close enough to Nashville to go another time.

It's overwhelming to try and plan something like this, with only a handful of hours to photograph some of the most beautiful and important places in North America. My defense mechanism, of course, is to chuck the whole thing and just drive; it's too painful to be in these places and not take advantage of the opportunity.

But these 10 short days will be more than some people see in a lifetime.

Inaugural Post: Crap on a Stick, Look at the Gas Prices!

2007-12-04T22:45:00.001-08:00

More about the trip to follow, but as I was filling up the Subaru today (the car that, if mechanically able, will be my Chariot across the country) I realized I am about to embark on the longest road trip of my life at a time when gasoline costs $3.50/Gallon here in Cali.

Dear Diary, I am an idiot...