Road Trip '08

Index and final frame count…

Chris Austin — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:18:30 +0000

First, thank you all for checking the blog and keeping in touch while I was away. It was wonderful receiving comments, calls, and emails to break up one massive chunk of alone time! Oh… I’m back!

Miles Driven- Approximately 12,600

Highest Price Seen For Gas- $5.17 in Death Valley

MPG the Honda averaged- 37

Number of necessary car repairs- 2 (3 if you count when the well for the oil dipstick came out when I checked the oil)

Funniest Political Slogan(ever)- Greg Soward, “Short, Bald, and Honest,” conservative Republican for Congress–(in Arizona I think)

Number of Ron Paul billboards and banners seen- Too many to Count

Minimum number of times I was scared of the dark on a night shoot- 15

Minimum number of Photographs taken at dusk- 600

Maximum taken at dawn- 0

Percentage of film purchased for the trip I used- 25%

Cleanest Place Visited- Salt Lake City (although I’m not religious, the LDS sure does keep the city clean)

Dirtiest Place- The Salton Sea

Friendliest Folk- South Dakotans
I stopped in a gas station to inquire about local places to stay. The clerk pulled out a map and started circling locations and describing the pros and cons of the different establishments. Three customers stopped shopping and came to join in the discussion. South Dakota is also the only state in which strangers bought me drinks at bars. People were talkative and accessible as a general rule.

Best saying I learned to excuse yourself to use the restroom- “Excuse me, I gotta get rid of somethin’”

Favorite Place I stayed- Lost River Motel, Arco ID(the owners are wonderful people and gave great ideas about where to go)

Best Burger- Dubois Wyoming(at the local bar down the street- you’ll know the one)

Most Alienating Place- Fallon, NV (Can’t really explain why but it didn’t help that a fellow traveler staying at the Motel I was residing at tried to start something with me. The reason for his beef is still uncertain but I think he thought I was not a guest and confused as to why I was in the parking lot past midnight. Maybe he thought I was a would be burglar. He also asked me why I was “calling him.” The jury is still out!)

Best Purchase- Cowboy hat(besides being an excellent sheild from the sun it lent me some much needed street cred)

Purchase I should have made in addition- Pair of Wrangler jeans

Best Meal- tie between PF Changs Chinese Bistro in Salt Lake City and Crazy Bob’s BBQ in Louisiana off of 20

Worst Meal- Grandma’s Kitchen, Gillette, WY (I didn’t finish my food which as most of you know is a bad sign to say the least)

Thing I said causing the most laughter- When asked if I needed anything else at PF Chang’s Chinese bistro I said “I just wish I could do it all over again”

Worst Coffee- most places!

Minimum Number of times I listened to Bel Biv Devoe’s “Poison”- 29

Number of Grandmother’s who wished I was local so they could introduce me to there Grandaughters- 2

Terrifying driving moments listed in order of most to least terryifying- 18 wheeler blows stop sign going 50(need I say more), Grand Teton Pass, Dust Storm in South Dakota

Number of Passable dust storms driven through- 3

Wildlife witnessed- Bobcat(for less than a second), White Tail Deer, Mule Deer, Elk, Antelope, Prairie Dogs, Crane, Bald Eagle(this was dead by the side of the road with a tracking tag on it, Turkey Vultures, California Condors, Armadillos, Coyotes(heard but not seen), Snake(not sure what kind), Lizards(again not sure about species).

Frames:

Guesses (the names have been changed to protect the innocent)

1,045
3,554
3,800
4,321
4,974
5,000
5,450
5,700
6,400
7,000
7,155
7,333
7,456
8,000
8,800
13,894
15,000
28,000
33,333
60,000

Actual frames broken down by medium:
3467 Digital
82 Polaroid
36 8×10
360 4×5
1690 120/220

5,635 Total

The winner does not get there name protected… and the winner is Jerome Corpuz

Homeward Bound… unless the world ends tomorrow

Chris Austin — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:19:11 +0000

I had been taking my sweet time in almost every place I stopped up until a few days ago. Upon leaving LA I realized I was still in the West with thousands of miles to go and just a couple weeks to do it in! So since I hit Texas I have been driving about 400 miles day and taking as many pictures as I have time for. Leaving out the south was not my intention… I sense a shorter road trip 09(or 10) to take in what I’m missing! I’m also tired and ready to be in a familiar place… I look forward to seeing you all back in the city soon! Check back in a couple days for an index(filled with outtakes and road stats) as well as the highly anticipated final frame count!

My friend Chuck alerted me that a particle accelerator in Cern is going to be tested tomorrow… while infinitesimal it seems there is a chance it could create a small black-hole that will swallow up the universe. Link to article in the times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/science/29collider.html

Some pictures to think about while were being enveloped by a black hole…

white sands…

Chris Austin — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:41:10 +0000

For the past three nights I have been in Alamogordo NM and visited White Sands National Monument. It is absolutely beautiful, especially at dusk. Surrounded by restricted areas used for missile testing I can only wonder what the rest of it looks like. The monument itself is just a fraction of the total area. Two nights ago I shot at night on the monument and just barely made it out in time. A ranger was hurrying me along and I had to throw all the gear in the car without breaking it down to make it out in time… daylight savings time is really hurting me. Because of the rush to clear out I will have to keep my fingers crossed that in my haste I made no photographic blunders.

Today I’m headed into Texas and from this point forward I have no planned places to go, only a rough outline of my route towards New York.

Some pictures of White Sands just before a storm…

sand hazards

Chris Austin — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:28:20 +0000

For the past two days I explored the area around Holbrook, AZ including the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. Yesterday I lost some time when the car got stuck in deep soft sand on a dirt road. The surface of the road changed so quickly I was unable to compensate in time(I hit the spot where the sand is deepest). After trying to free the car by putting cardboard under the front wheels and throwing it in reverse with no luck(but I did make some excellent confetti) I decided to call triple a. They estimated an hour and half to get someone out and stated that it might not be covered because it was not on pavement. On a tip I began digging out around all the wheels until I hit a harder surface… I made a runway of sorts. Flooring it in reverse, wobbling from side to side, the car begrudgingly backed out of the sand. It was almost time for triple a to arrive on the scene and when I called to cancel the tow was just a few minutes away. When he arrived we chatted about my method of extrication(I felt triumphant) and he inspected the car to look for damage. I had concerns about a new noise the car makes when turning over… diagnosis… starter is starting to go.

I’m hoping to shoot at night in the Painted Desert this evening and am waiting for the final verdict from the Federal Bureau of Land Management. We’ll see

large meteor impact crater where they did much of the apollo mission traning…

petrified forest…

painted desert…

Death Valley to the Salton Sea

Chris Austin — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:16:53 +0000

Death Valley and the Salton Sea are the lowest points in the continental U.S and I have never(and may never again) spend as many consecutive nights below sea level. Unlike Death Valley the area around the Salton Sea is used primarily for agricultural purposes. Much of what is accessible there is a maze of unmarked roads that take you through seemingly endless fields of grapes, date trees, etc… The Sea was formed in 1905 during an enormous flood originating from the Colorado River. Because the area receives just a few inches of rain annually the body of water is not naturally replenishing but replenished by all the agricultural run-off. It is highly polluted and prone to flash-flooding. While the area enjoyed several decades of economic growth due to tourism it seems as if that industry has steadily declined since sometime in the 60′s. Seashore areas are filled with electric poles that are no longer connected and residential roads with nothing on either side from real estate speculation that went south. From my understanding there are efforts to clean up the Sea and bring back the tourism industry. Despite its pollution it is still home to an unbelievable number of bird species, a major migratory bird stop-off, and home to the majority of white pelicans in California.

Right now, I’m Cottonwood, AZ…

Devil’s Golf course in Death Valley…

Couch in pool of a defunct hotel near the Salton Sea…

lots of birds…

it’s getting hot, hot, hot

Chris Austin — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:46:31 +0000

After leaving Sequoia National Park we traveled to Death Valley. On arrival it was a blistering 105 degrees with gusty 22mph winds. I have always felt that the desert would have still air but much to my surprise it is incredibly windy. I’m in a rush to get out the door so on to some photographs…

General Sherman tree, largest living thing in the world by volume, roughly 2.7 million pounds… some people in red are in front to give a sense of scale…

view from Morro Rock in Sequoia…

dusty desert…

Death Valley…

desert photography hat in full effect(and much needed)

coast to coast and then some…

Chris Austin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:23:00 +0000

I arrived in San Francisco last Tuesday and was delighted to see and stay with familiar faces. During my stay I took just a handful of photographs. I left feeling restored. From there Sarah and I(a welcome hitchhiker) traveled down the coast through Big Sur and saw hundreds of Elephant Seals. From there we traveled to Sequoia National Park… the trees are so big they don’t even look real. The largest in the park weighs 2.7 million pounds and is 40 feet in diameter at the base. Later today we plan on doing some night photography in a fallen sequoia.

Pacific…

sending some drift wood back…

elephant seals…

green rolling hills of northern California…

dusk in the mountains…

never leave home without a good pair of tweezers…

Chris Austin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:09:38 +0000

I made it to Fallon, NV Saturday after traveling on what has been dubbed the “loneliest road in America.” It is a two lane highway that stretches through several mountain passes with towns(Ely,Eureka, Austin, and Fallon) about 80-100 miles apart. While traveling the route I stopped off at a fault-line among other things.

When I reached Fallon in the evening I decided to shower before venturing out to grab dinner. Low and behold I discovered that I had picked up another unwelcome eight legged traveler. This tick was feasting on my leg which somehow felt much more comfortable than my arm. After a string of obscenities I toweled off and set out in search of excellent tweezers. Carefully imitating the technique of the emergency room staff I was able to remove the tick. I lacked the hospital staff’s sure-handedness and removal confidence so I got it on the second try. Now that I can see a pattern developing, I plan on purchasing all white hiking apparel in the hopes of spotting the little buggers before it’s too late!

Some pictures from the past few days

a large scale strip mine…

the loneliest road…

fault line…

the honda in context(I’ve been shooting bunch of these, it’s been fun).

Ely Nevada(pronounced eel-ee)

Chris Austin — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:51:43 +0000

Sorry for my delay in posting… it’s been busy shooting, orchestrating, traveling, and yes I was really tired a few days this week. Nevada is wonderful! I’ve been exploring mining country and got great information from the Chamber of Commerce today. I’ve also met a lot of people given that I’m staying at the Historic Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall, a 24 hour hotel/casino. The Hotel, constructed in 1929, was once the tallest building in Nevada. One older gentleman I spoke to was recalling back when real silver dollars circa the 1800′s were still being used in circulation in Nevada and Wyoming.

I also could not stay away from more cave photography. I photographed the Lehman Caves located in the Great Basin National Park two days ago. It is a unique limestone cave with complex formations taking millions of years to form. The park staff is wonderful and very knowledgeable. I would suggest taking a tour of the caves if you are ever in the area.

view from my room…

abandoned core sample storage facility…

caved in mine entrance…

rudimentary polaroid copy photographs of Lehman cave…

Tomorrow I’m headed west on route 50(what has been dubbed the “loneliest road)…

salty…

Chris Austin — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 05:03:13 +0000

Over the past two days I explored the Bonneville Salt Flats and the Great Salt Lake. Both places are beautiful but I did not expect so much industry close to the Great Salt Lake. I was able to shoot at night in the Salt Flats… I am keeping my fingers crossed that the film looks good!

camera in context on the Salt Flats…

Salt Lake…

hmmm…