In the Throws of a City

So many days. So many miles. So much to say.

San Francisco has been more or less good to me. It's given me a good chance to calm down and catch up on sleep. I've been getting a solid amount, although not once have I slept straight through the night. That's one thing about being away from home that I'll never be able to accept; I don't think I've gotten a complete night of sleep since I left home. Perhaps it's the fact that I've been sleeping in strange spaces: beds that don't belong to me, couches that seem oh so unfamiliar, camping after such a long time. Not to worry, however, I often feel rested when I wake up, so there has been no loss in that department. Although I haven't had work to go to in the mornings, I still find myself waking up at odd hours, very rarely after 8:30.

My time in San Francisco has gone well, though. I've done a lot of bike riding, which is very relieving since I haven't had much of a chance to before now, both because of the very hot temperatures and inability to find comfortable roads. It is riding pretty well, aside from the brakes, which could really use some work. The front ones are completely bad, so I just tightened them and they are unusable except in extreme stopping emergencies. The back ones sort of work, but they require using the dropdown brake lever instead of the horizontal one. No big deal really, except that I normally use the horizontal ones because they are more accessible and reachable.

I rode the trolley, and a bus or two, just to get a couple places faster and for that signature San Francisco experience.

Other than that, I've just been doing a lot of exploring, including riding across the Golden Gate Bridge on my bike. It was such a great experience, and I took some pretty neat pictures with my 35mm.

I also visited the beach, Fisherman's Wharf, and rode downtown into the city. It was great to see how much could change from the bay to the downtown area, just a couple miles apart. Even the people were different.

I've just been doing a lot of wandering in general, getting lost, and then, eventually, finding my way. The buildings are beautiful to just walk next to, and between.

Probably the highlight of my stay here in San Francisco was my participation in the monthly Critical Mass bike ride. It is an event where hundreds, and perhaps thousands of bicyclists get together and take over the roads as a statement that says something along the lines of, "we deserve the right to use the road just as any other vehicle, and we are here to show that we are taking back that right." Something like that. Basically, it's just an event to remind everyone how many people do ride bicycles and that they are people too and should be taken seriously. As much as I agree with this, I don't agree with the way that they go about doing it. They take over the roads, ignore all the traffic laws, and pretty much just do whatever they want for a couple hours. They block side traffic by making barriers of riders, and they interrupt traffic from around 6:15 until they slowly disband into the night. I rode along for the experience, and it was extremely exhilarating. I left the group at around 9:30 and headed home, after riding for about three hours, unsure of how far we had gone. My odometer wasn't working.

Along with that, I also stopped and visited the Fine Arts Exploratorium that is a couple minutes down the street from where I am staying. It was really interesting and it had sections devoted to the exploration of sight, sound, biology, and physical properties. It was actually really enjoyable and I ended up spending a little over two hours just walking through and enjoying the different setups. My favorite was probably the section that had all of the optical illusions and mirrors.

I also made a stop at the Buena Vista Cafe to have lunch and their signature Irish Coffee, which tasted more like drinking straight whiskey than anything else. It was good though, and I'm glad I took the time to go.

I haven't done too much more than that. Just relaxed, took a break, and enjoyed my time here. Tomorrow it all begins again when I leave for Seattle. I'll be arriving Monday, and I can't wait. There will be so much to do there!

Walking past your house,
I looked and stared and stopped.
I saw you walk past the window,
too busy to meet my eye.

Friday Night I Crashed Your Party, Saturday I Said "I'm Sorry"

Well, here I am again. Another day, another long drive, another beautiful city.

I arrived in San Francisco today; it's been pretty chill so far. All I've done is driven to the laundromat, ATM, and then to the place I'm staying. First time being in a laundromat, I was going to take a picture but I didn't have my camera with me, so that didn't happen. Oh well. Who hasn't seen the inside of a laundromat? Really. I drove over the Bay Bridge to get here. It was pretty good, except for the scrambling through a pile of change to dig out $4 since I had spent my last $7 at the Big Trees State Park (more to come later). I'm sitting there while the man at the booth pretends to look busy and the people behind me are probably wondering what the heck the crazy guy in front of them is taking so long for. But alas, I eventually found sixteen sad quarters sitting there and I handed them over and made my way towards freedom. The city looked amazing just driving in, and so far I've only really been on one steep hill, and that was going down, so it's been good. The girl I'm staying with, Ann, the sister of a friend from high school, Michael, told me of a great place that I can park during the day so I can just ride my bike around town, as planned. It'll give me a chance to actually get some use out of it since I haven't had much opportunity before now. I just have to finish cleaning the chain and deraileur, since the two offroading trips really did a number on them. The dirt was just caked on. I stopped and bought some crazy degreaser/lubricant that I sprayed on today. It looks like it's clearing up well; nothing a wipe of a paper towel and another application might solve.

The traveling Lego Cowboy made another stop, quite a while ago now, at the edge of Zion National Park. I forgot to put that up last post, so he's here now. The Salt Flats were great. Lots of salt and white and endlessness. Nothing too special though.
I went to Yosemite yesterday and that was pretty cool. To see where Ansel Adams really got his start was great also. I could imagine him standing next to me as I ducked under that dark cloth and focused on the ground glass. But, the other ten thousand people (literally) that were there sort of ruined the day for me. I assumed there would be people, but not that many. At one point I just gave up and left because I was tired of trying to get around people and cars. I spent a couple miles hiking through the woods, setting up shots, just so I could get away from the annoyance. It was good, though. Today I went to the Big Trees State Park just outside of Murphys, California. It was a nice little place that had some very big trees. The giant sequioas that filled the land were tremendous to look at and explore. Some had fallen over and were either burned through the center or burrowed through by animals, and you could literally walk right through them. I did another few mile hike through there, lugging around the unforgiving Toyo 4x5 that I've fallen in love with. It's heavy, but worth it. I received more compliments on it today than any other place I've went. One woman asked if I would trade cameras with her, but then she changed her mind, saying that she'd probably have to trade her car with me to get the right value. It's not that great a camera, but I like to think so. I got some great shots of the fallen trees and some really cool root formations. Pretty unconventional shots, I would say, but that's what I want.

I'm not a tourist. I'm an artist.

Unfortunately I left my camera locked up in the car so I don't have any pictures to upload today. Perhaps tomorrow night. We'll see. For the rest of the week it will probably just be text in my entries because I'll be shooting mainly 35mm and Polaroids. Just a little change from the ordinary.

The city demands it.

A word to follow: I uploaded the pictures, finally, and I can definitely see a trend in my work. I stray pretty far from the general tourist photographs that everyone else has. Rather, I focus on the way that light plays with an object and the way that perspective can influence both the understanding and acceptance of the object. I think I may have stumbled upon a new direction to head down for the remainder of the trip. I may have to rethink my final destinations, digging deep to understand just why I feel like they deserve to be captured on film for eternity. Good thing I have five days here and another five or so in Seattle to contemplate. Bon Voyage.


I toss a rock into the air,
and wait for it to come back down.
When it doesn't, I realize,
I'm hanging upside down.

More Mountains in the Distance (and up close)

Well, where does this bring me to?

Hmm. It's a Thursday night (or perhaps Friday morning), and it's about time to get to bed. Yeah. Maybe a couple of hours late. Whatevs. I'll live.

So I was able to make it back to the Grand Canyon for another visit. The other side this time. It was definitely a lot less crowded, quite a bit more colorful, and definitely a better drive. The trees that lined the road went from pure green to black and white (most likely from forest fires). It was a great site though, the blackened tree trunks rising up towards the cloudy sky in vain. It was almost better than actually seeing the canyon itself.Then I was able to make a trip over towards the Zion National Park, which was another $25. I think it's pretty ridiculous that each park decides to charge something around that, even though the pass is good for seven days. But. really, who goes back after they leave? Well, I guess I did for the Grand Canyon, but that's a whole different story because there are two different sides. Whatever. I ended up driving through twice anyway because the road is only 13 miles long and I felt like driving only one way would rob me of the view that I was missing behind me. And let me say, driving back west through the park was definitely a better view. While I was there, I met a couple who originally came from New York. As I was waiting in line to go through the tunnel (it's very narrow and traffic can only go through one way at a time), He yelled from the car behind me and asked what part of New York. I told him Buffalo area, and he said they were from Long Island. Traffic started moving again, so after we got out of the tunnel and to the first stop after it, I pulled in to get out and take pictures, and they did too. I talked to them for a couple minutes about why I was there and what I was doing, and they told me they had moved to Oregon and lived there now, and they each worked some job or another.It was nice to see someone who came from generally the same area.

Yesterday I also drove through Fishlake National Forest, which was a bit of a disappointment, but that has to be expected once in a while. I camped out in some little campground, and then in the morning I got out on the road pretty early.

I had planned on seeing the salt flats at the Great Salt Lake today so I would have all day tomorrow just to explore the city or just take it easy, but instead I ended up driving to Spiral Jetty, which is a man made sculpture that sits somewhere on the lake, about a 20 mile off road trip from the one state road (If you google it, you'lll be able to find directions). I was a little worried after the first fifteen miles when the gravel road disappeared and all I was driving on was dirt and rocks. Not little rocks, mind you, large ones. They were pretty crazy, and I was nervous about getting a flat tire or popping an axle or something, and I almost stopped to turn around a couple times, but I trudged on and finally arrived at the site. It was marvelous.
This picture doesn't even do it justice. The best part was that because there was nobody around, and because you had to pass through a couple miles of private property (which is why there was probably nobody there) I was able to walk right up to it. It was amazing. Definitely a return trip there. Perhaps with some rock crawling tires next time.

And then tonight I went out with my CouchSurfing host, her roommate, and a couple friends, and it was a fun time. We went dancing at this weird bar/club, Green Street; it was pretty cool though. It was the first time I've really done anything with anyone since I've been gone so it was a bit refreshing.

Until next time.

Waves crash upon the shore,
throwing rocks and shells and foam.
I watch it pull you away
as I just stand there, motionless.

Ouch!

(This was written last night. And the images won't load so I'll put them up another day).

Is that sunburn or are you just happy to see me?
Umm, haha. Actually it's just a nasty looking rash, but whatever; it keeps getting worse, though. I only have one more day in the monstrous sun and then it shouldn't be quite so bad anymore.

The only thing keeping me alive right now is the thought of getting to San Fran in a couple of days. That's the biggest goal right now. I guess it's not keeping me alive, but it sure does help. Iced tea, water, peach rings, and Sunchips are keeping me alive right now...

Oh boy, where to begin. I guess we can start with the Grand Canyon since it was the first major thing that I did since I last wrote. It was pretty cool; perhaps a bit touristy and annoying to have people randomly looking at me and stare just because my camera is forty-five and a half times better than their cameras. They act like I'm trying to bring back some dead art or long forgotten practice, which I suppose I am. Who uses 4x5 nowadays anyway? Well, actually, a lot of people still do (okay, so maybe not a lot, but anyone who wants the most control over size reproduction or ultimate detail). Whatever. So I'm at the Grand Canyon and I take a couple 4x5s and I hike around a little, and I realize that those two actions shouldn't be happening at the same time. The camera itself weighs more than a small horse, and coupled with the tripod it requires the use of a flatbed truck to drag around. Perhaps I jest. But really, whoever invented the 4x5 field camera was a genius. Those are light and easy to carry, although they still need a tripod for the slower shutter speeds. I'll stick to my clunky view camera though; it sure gets the job done.
I guess I'd go back again, and I am. Tomorrow. I want to see the other side of the Canyon. It's supposed to be a lot less of a tourist thing and more of a die-hard nature lover experience. I'm excited.

And then there was today. I would have never thought that 82 degree weather would have been so cool and satisfying, but after spending three hours in a pounding, burning, threatening 113 degree valley, my mind was made up. Don't get me wrong, the experience was great, and I met a man who talked about cameras with me for forty minutes. That was wonderful to find someone just as interested in the pure mechanics of it as I am. I think he was from California, although his accent sounded a little more southwestern...
Anyway, I'm pretty sure I got some great shots today, and I bet they'll look great in black and white. I'm sort of drifting from my original idea of the "overwhelming flat landscape" and leaning more towards the overall, monstrous being captured on film. Sure, flat can be overwhelming, but so can sharp falls and high rises. I guess I'll just have to see where it takes me. My mind seems to be focused more on the idea of the personal experience taken out of the perspective presented, so I'll just follow that for now and if that ship sails, I guess I'll just move on to the next idea.

It's been a long, hot day again. I'm tired. Exhausted perhaps. Just a little more iced tea and then off to bed.

I held the fire in my hand,
and I passed it to you.
You let it burn away,
taking your hand with it.

Another Day, Another Bucket of Sweat...

The last couple days have gone very well, aside from the excessive amounts of sweat I've had to dealt with because of the ridiculously warm weather. But all gross thoughts aside, it's been a good couple of days. I took a set of 4x5s at the Monahan Sand Hills just outside of Odessa Texas, before returning for one final night in Midland, Texas. There was another game of Scrabble (which I lost again, but not by as many points this time). There was also another dinner, this time at a bar that Kristen used to work at. We sat outside and enjoyed the comfortable Midland nighttime air. I didn't take any awesome digital images of the sand hills except for the next entry of the traveling Lego Cowboy.
When I woke up I headed out onto the road, on my way towards Maricopa, Arizona, my next stop along the way. It took about eleven hours in total so I arrived at about six-thirty after the two hour drop behind. The scenery along the way was probably the single greatest that I had ever experienced up until that time. There were the plains, the valleys, and the beautiful, never ending mountains that stretched far, far across the New Mexico and Arizona landscape. The colors would change, but the mountains just continued to spread.

Today I woke up and headed on out towards the Sonoran Desert National Monument, which is a tremendous area of land that is protected by some government agency of another; I don't really remember, except that it is a small area that is set apart from the rest of the desert, which spreads across most of southern Arizona and part of Texas and Mexico, but if you really want to know more, then you can look into it here: http://www.desertusa.com/du_sonoran.html
It was actually the most beautiful place I have ever been in my entire life. I had never had the urge to cry just from looking at a landscape before, but there it was, just staring me in the face. It's not even the beautiful cacti, or the colorful flowers growing everywhere. The best part was being there all by myself, staring at this great immensity in front of me, taking it all in. It was perfect. Had it been just a little bit cooler, it would definitely have been perfect. My sun spots decided to return today because of how hot it was, so now it looks like I have some sort of crazy rash or leprosy or something... It's my last night here and then off to bigger and better things tomorrow. It's been hot, but fun.

Peaks rise towards the sun,
and the plants follow right behind.
Soon the smoke will rise
from my signal fire to you.

Can You Feel the Heat?

Oh boy, where to start...

Yesterday I got on the road pretty early, and I made my way out on 84 to the wind Pyrons (I guess that's what they are officially called). They look big from far away, but when you drive right up next to one and stand next to it, they are monstrous. And the air they blow is absolutely unbelievable. It's like standing in the middle of a wind tunnel (Now just imagine me standing there with my 4x5 camera under the dark cloth trying to keep it steady. All it tried to do was blow away). But I managed to take a couple pictures with that and a couple with my other two cameras also so I should be all set.

I had some time before my CouchSurfing host would be home from work so I did some shopping that I forgot to do before I left (I ended up buying a couple pairs of shorts too...). After that I went to Starbucks, got a Strawberries and Cream Frappucino and just read a little, wrote a little, and basically just chilled out and tried to be calm. The temperature outside was a hefty 103 at that point so I figured I'd spend as much time inside as possible, but I never thought I would end up reading an entire book. I wonder what the people at Starbucks thought about me just sitting there and reading. Now I know all about "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", a novel I've been wanting to read for a very long time but never got around to until Nicole bought it for me before I left. It was the best gift that someone has ever given me for a going away.

Right as I was about to finish the book, my host, Kristen, called and said that she was home and that I could stop over whenever I was ready. I read the last couple pages in the book and then drove over. She has this great apartment all to herself, and it's actually a really good size. The decorations inside of it are great too. And, she has plants everywhere. She was very welcoming and hospitable, and we went to grab dinner at this little Thai place called The King and I. Since it was pretty late by then, there wasn't anyone else in the place and we just ate our food and talked.
Then we came back to her place and she kicked my ass at Scrabble twice before we decided it was time to go to bed.

Let me just say that she has one of the longest couches I've seen, and my feet didn't even hit the end. And it was comfortable too.

I'm just getting ready to head out to a State Park full of sand dunes so that should be exciting.
Oh, and I forgot, I took another picture of the Lego Cowboy on his travels. It's off the side of I20 West, somewhere between Roscoe and Midland, Texas. I hope it's not always this hard to find something to hang him on...

More later.

The sun burns holes
right through my skin.
I walked for miles,
and there was no place to go.

The Beginning

Well, first post since actually being on the road. It's been long, it's been warm, and it's been exhausting. And I basically still don't have the rest of the trip planned at all. I suppose I'll do that before I fall asleep tonight. That would be a good idea...

I saw a ton of really great things so far. The beautiful drive through Kentucky was one of the best. The hills were absolutely magnificent. I didn't get any great pictures though so I won't have one of those.

The sunset in Tennessee was amazing also. Because I was driving west, it set basically right ahead of me so I saw it go all the way down. Plus, on my entrance into Tennessee, I stopped and took this:
It's the first one in the series of the traveling cowboy. Sorry about the folds in the fabric; I'm going to have to fix that before I take the next one (I just forgot about it, but I have all the tools to get it done). I don't know exactly where he'll show up next, but I think I'm going to have to work on making him freestanding if I want to take him everywhere. Perhaps a trip to Home Depot or Lowes tomorrow..

Today was a long drive through Texas. I mean, I know it looks big on a map, but you really have no idea how big until you drive through it for the better part of a day. I got on the road this morning at 9, and I'm in Snyder now, and I just stopped about an hour ago. Although I did stop along the highway to take a couple of pictures. That took some maneuvering...

Driving along 84 today, I was going to head all the way up to some other city so I could be more north in Texas so I could find some awesome plains, but I decided to stop in Snyder because I found the perfect shot. The sun was already going down and it was raining a little so I didn't have a chance to get it today, but I'm ready for tomorrow. It's going to be of the windmills:


I know that this isn't the best picture, but it was just a quick snapshot to put on here and show you what I'll be doing. The fields were amazing; there are thousands of these wind turbines just standing everywhere. And when they all stopped spinning, they looked even more amazing.

The weather today was hot. Perhaps I should have brought a pair of shorts. (go ahead mom, you can say "I told you so"). It made it all the way up to 95 while driving through Dallas, and it was still in the mid seventies when I stopped driving.

Nothing too special happened today or yesterday. Just a lot of driving and a lot of time to think. But now it's time to plan. Until next time...

Four wheels along the pavement;
they spin and turn and stop.
But it's not until they return to you
that they will be satisfied.

A Weekend Away

I'm leaving in a mere three days.

That's exciting. Not too scary, though. Let's hit the road; I'm ready.

All I have left to do is get some laundry done and then get everything packed. My bicycle is amazing. The ride is so smooth, and aside from the front brakes sucking hardcore, everything is perfect. I'll just take the brake off though. I really only need one anyway, right? It's never given me anything but trouble so who cares? That settles it.

I don't really have much else to say, other than I'm going to be using Couchsurfing.org for most of my sleeping arrangements, so if you know anyone one there along my route or if you know anyone in general that would be willing to house a traveler, I would very much appreciate it. I really can't wait to get going, though.

It really can't come soon enough. Enjoy your summer.

The hawks fly overhead,
circling the barren ground.
And the cars drive past with quite a sound,
as their tires dust the sky.

Dwindling

Another week gone is another week closer.
And that leaves me with less than a week left until I leave.

I finished getting together all the bicycle parts I'm going to need to finally make this thing road worthy and comfortable. It's been a lot more work and money than I wanted to put into such an old bike, but I'll be able to paint it when I come back so it's going to look amazing. I decided on the colors and design, but that's all too far away, so why talk about it now? It looks great, it will ride great, and best of all, it's all mine.

I still have a lot to do before I leave. My route is still very general and I haven't researched any places to stay yet, although I did look at the Couch Surfing website the other day so I'll keep that in mind as an option. What could be better than meeting interesting people and not paying for lodging at night.I'll really have to zero in on my nightly stops and traveling distance for each day so I can start to get messages out to people and see if they'll be home those days and willing to house me for the night. I found a few that seemed really interesting, in places where I know I'll stop, so maybe I'll just continue along with that. It's better than sleeping alone in the Jeep or paying some ridiculous amount to stay somewhere. Plus it offers the chance for a shower. It'll be a test though because I don't really go out of my way to interact with people that I don't know. It's worth a try. At the very least, I'll find out that I need better communication skills, and at best I could find a whole new side of myself.

I started making a pile of all the things I'll be bringing, and it's still pretty manageable at the time being. Hopefully it doesn't get too ridiculously out of hand. I want to travel light and just live without the world. My 4x5 case will come in handy as a second locking box to keep in the Jeep, and i can keep the actual camera in the bigger box in the back to it's safer. It's amazing to think that this is actually happening. Six short days until I leave. Six long days of waiting and trying to smush everything in that I want to get done and people I want to see.

Gone, gone to the wind,
Gone to the wind in an instant.
I'll never come back,
but if I do, I'll be a different me.