Left Aspen. Slept in South Canyon [near Glenwood Springs] hoping to do some work here in the morning with the Juniper trees.
9.10
Too windy for So. Canyon. Shot Indian drawings/figure work near Thompson Springs, UT. Also shot some work with an old stone house, just up the canyon from the drawings. We had to dodge a few tourists, but not too bad. The nice thing about working in a canyon is that you can hear cars or people a long time before they get to where you are. Got to use my new 75mm lens for the first time, and also came close to my camera eating rock, but was able to prevent it with quick reflexes.
Stayed the night at a Motel in Green River, which was nice as I was in need of a shower, having spent the past few days in a whirlwind of labor trying to get the van set for the trip, building a new box for it allowing more headroom to sleep, and had more easily accessible storage underneath (thanks largely to my brother James who did most of the work actually building the box). Suffice to say, a bed and a shower was a welcome thing. I was also able to shoot a sunset here--with the interesting backdrop of the Utah Landscape.
9.11
Spent the entire day driving from Green River, UT, up Hwy 6, past Salt Lake, through Idaho and half of Oregon to my destination--my Uncle's ranch in Lyle, Washington, on the Columbia River. Saw some gorgeous fall colors in some Northern UT canyons along 84. Arrived in Lyle around sunset, and saw Cameron and Carri--my cousin and his wife--and their three beautiful children--who live on the same ranch with my Uncle Rex (Cameron is Rex's Grandson). Drove later in the evening 10 miles to a tackle shop to get a 2-day fishing license and some tackle, as salmon were in record numbers at Bonneville dam, which meant that the Klickitat River (a Washington-side tributary of the Columbia) was full of fish--and is a favorite place of mine to fish when I am in the area--and is probably a mile from the ranch.
9.12
Got up early to go fishing with Cameron. We fished the steep rock cliffs of the Klickitat, just down river from the sanctioned-off fishing grounds of the Native Americans. There were probably 6 salmon caught in the morning in the 12-20 lb. Range--chrome bright Silvers and Chinook. I managed to catch an 18lb. Silver, which we had half of for dinner--courtesy of Cameron's cooking. My uncle Rex, 84, and Casey, 24, get along really well, as he is very hip and real--unlike most people his age. He has been pursuing the dating game through the Internet, and currently has a hip girlfriend, just a bit younger, up in Seattle, AND he still has an active sex life. Yes he is 84. I hope I manage that well when I am up there. Rex is so funny, though. We are similar in that we both are no-nonsense people, and are good, rational thinkers. We spent much time giving though to my Dad--his brother, a year younger, as they get on funny terms these days from my dad's household circumstances. We spent time conspiring on how me might kidnap him (from CA) and hold him hostage at the WA ranch (my idea--which Rex got a kick out of). I think it would be funny if a relative of mine offered to help me kidnap my brother--just for fun of course.
9.13
Took a look around the 1000-acre ranch--parts on the upper portion that I have not seen before, but had interested me for a place to shoot. Cameron gave me a lift up on his souped-up racing dirt bike, at speeds I'm glad we didn’t crash at--but I suppose he knew what he was doing, since he has spent his whole life on those trails. I did find some interesting places to work, and planned to come back tomorrow. Have been fishing each morning and evening, but have yet to catch another Salmon.
9.14
Casey and I made our way up to the spots I had scouted out yesterday, by means of mountain bikes, then by foot. Was able to do some interesting work with the oak trees.
I also went up to take a look at the section of river where the Native Americans fish. It was amazing to see how many fish were in the river, and how many they would catch with their sometimes simple (dip) nets, or their more elaborate nets that are suspended by wire across the canyon, and slide back and forth in front of the falls that the fish attempt to jump up. One Native I talked to had probably 30 Salmon, and expressed that the fishing was slow. It is an interesting situation there, as the Natives determine when the fishing season will begin and end on the Klickitat. It was a beautiful sight--to see the Natives fishing in the way they have been for centuries. It almost warranted a photograph, with them perched on cliffs with long nets, but I, as I often do, thought it too cliché, or having been photographed too many times--unoriginal. You can buy fresh Salmon from them for $2 a pound.
9.15
Left Lyle today. Stopped by my good friend Jamey (James) Tracy's place in Estacada, OR, on the way to Salem to visit my grandmother. Jamey was surprised to see me, as I have this great habit of showing up on people's doorsteps after not seeing them for several years. It can be a problem in terms of plans, but I love the reaction I get from people. Stayed the night in Salem after visiting my Grandma. Parked and slept in the Church parking lot, as I was attending the service in the morning.
9.16
Went to Church, which was interesting. I actually lived here in Salem for several years, and attended this church, but many of the people did not remember me--which is not that strange, since I had not been there in probably eight years. A nice service nonetheless, in a bigger church than I am used to in Aspen. Drove South from Salem to Lebanon to surprise some more good friends--Dave and Julie Nordman, who I have known for years, and their two beautiful kids--Payton, who is now 6, and cute as ever, and Walter, who is four, I believe, and seems to have stopped destroying furniture (Dave thought he would grow up to be a good WWF candidate:) and is the cutest, sweetest and smartest boy I know for his age. Of course I know that it is different having kids as a year-round responsibility, as opposed to seeing them once in a great while. As I arrived in their driveway, Payton was in the process of riding her bike without training wheels for the first time, with a righteously overjoyed Dave running behind her down the gravel road in front of their house.
Two surprises for Dave at the same time. Dave is actually the one (well Julie too) who got me started playing guitar. He used to play "Cat's in the Cradle" for her, and I just thought that was the coolest thing ever--and thus my musical career was started. I was able to get some shots of Payton riding her bike with the 35mm.
9.17
While Dave was at work today, Julie took Casey and I to a place in the hillside where there were cool trails meandering through old-growth forests and small waterfalls. Casey and I worked for about an hour there, producing some decent work, while Julie kept herself busy with her dawggie--Buster. Almost had another spill with the camera (as I am usually crossing small rivers with camera over-shoulder, on top of tricky negotiating) but luckily my head broke its fall when I slipped. My head doesn't cost me anything to fix, so I'd rather it be that than my camera. Casey managed to only complain most of the time. Granted, she often must be in the buff in cool temperatures on often-uncomfortable terrain, but I never understood how complaining makes it any better. It slows down my sometimes-slow process, if anything, which is not to her benefit. She calls it communication, which is valid to a point.
I spent much time in the afternoon picking blackberries in their yard, in hopes that Julie would make me a pie (and I must mention that she is one of the best cooks I have ever experienced) but to no avail. Got some great hugs from Payton and Walter before their bedtime--they really are amazing kids. Payton remembers me (was 4 last time I saw her) but Walter didn't, thought he was intrigued as if he sort of did. I hope to have kids this sweet someday.
9.18
Left Lebanon in the morning and made my way up to Tillamook, after a goodbye to my grandma in Salem. Drove through one of my favorite places--the coastal mountains known as the Cascades along the Oregon Coast. Even though Tillamook (where they make Tillamook Cheese) was backtracking a bit north, I wanted to work on a beach there that I had been to before, where there was a lot of interesting driftwood and dramatic shoreline. Arrived at the beach, after stopping to get some groceries, at about an hour after dusk. Casey threw together a good combination of Kippered herring, tomatoes, green onions, olive oil, spices and hot sauce. It was really good--she grew up in Spain and learned to 'cook' well. I spent a fair amount of time that evening just watching and listening to the ocean--there was a fog coming in off the ocean, and the waves had a spectacular rumble to them. The stars were also quite spectacular, despite the fog.
9.19
We did much work this morning in a beautiful light--early morning sunlight diffused by the clearing fog, dodging the occasional beach wanderers. Worked with the many beautiful pieces of driftwood--works of art in and of themselves.
After the light had degraded and I was running low on film, we went into Tillamook, and did laundry, while I changed out my film holders in the Laundromat, thanks to a Harrison Film changing tent (looks like a cross between a tent for a cat, and a means to deal with radioactive material--suffice to say I usually get strange looks with my hands in the thing, doing things that people can't see, for a half-hour to an hour). Surprisingly, only one lady came up and asked about it in bewilderment as to what it was. "Portable darkroom" is my usual reply, in explaining what I am doing. I had considered that a Laundromat might not be a good place to change the film, with so much lint from the dryers (on thing that large-format photographers are always trying to avoid is dust in their film holder, which can lead to unwanted spots on negatives), but it seemed pretty dust-free, with good ventilation, and the dryers outlets are outside anyway.
I also had to change out the ice (now water) from the cooler that kept the perishables cool. I have a electric fridge that runs off the car when its running, and off a second battery I installed when the car is off (the second battery charges when the car is running). This, the most reliable of the coolers, is where I kept my $1400 worth of film--which needs to be kept cool. I had another cooler for dry food, and the ice cooler, which required changing every few days. This, and much more fit nicely under the box we slept upon (in separate sleeping bags).
After that, we started down Hwy 101, which would go from here (Northern Oregon, all the way to Los Angeles). We only made it 80 miles down (as coastal driving, at least in Oregon, is a lot slower, with constant curves and inclines). At one point where we stopped (one of the state parks that you come across every four miles along the Oregon Coast--I must have passed 60 or 70) I spotted a pod of whales, and watched for a while--these magnificent animals in their graceful movements. Afterwards, I made my way down the steep shoreline to collect some Mussels for dinner (collected about 40 of them).
Slept just past Newport at Seal Rock State Park. I cooked the Mussels in a pot of water over my cook-stove. Casey wasn't hungry, but tried a few. We had to zip the sleeping bags together to conserve body warmth, as the nightly temperatures dropped much more along the coastline, to where you could see your breath in the morning (temperatures in the 40's). I am grateful that we can both handle the situation professionally and platonically.
9.20
In the morning I shot some photographs of a row of cypress trees along one side of the parking lot, which were wonderfully back-lit, with a bit of fog to produce a dynamic composition with the already interesting shapes of the trees. I managed to get Casey to do a few handstands at the appropriate place in the composition, dodging again occasional cars that would briefly pull in, and going quickly from blanket into the brisk air, and back again.
Other than that, high coastal winds, sporadic fog and menstruation provided no more photographic opportunities along the Southern Oregon coastline. Found Internet access for the second time on the trip, courtesy of Radio Shack. As dusk was approaching, we were driving through Redwood national Park in Northern CA. An absolutely breathtaking highway through the some of the largest trees you will ever see. A rich fog required slower speeds (even though I wasn't driving THAT slowly, despite yet another barrage of Casey's remarks about my driving--which, while mostly valid, didn't help the situation, and I wasn't driving recklessly or too fast for the conditions--just closer to it than she would have liked.
We slept at a pullout along the highway in thick fog. It always gave me a chuckle when she would go behind the van to pee, and with impeccable timing a car would come around the corner--sending her scurrying with TP in hand. I suppose it's really not THAT funny--but you have to be able to laugh at those kinds of situations.
9.21
Very chilly morning. Slept almost 12 hours last night--too long, but I don't think either of us would complain about it. Stopped at a beach with interesting potential, but it didn’t work out to shoot there. Cheapest gasoline in Northern CA was $1.97 a gallon.
Shot in the early afternoon near Redcrest, CA, in a giant redwood grove.
After the shoot, around noon, took a refreshing nude dip in the Eel River. The water was probably 68-70 degrees, and made a nice combination with the warm, mid-day sun. Air-dried in the warm breeze of the late-summer days of California. Casey, as most people outside America, is comfortable with nudity as natural, whereas here most people look at it as taboo, at least out in the open. Most beaches in Spain are at least topless. Casey kept herself amused finding interesting rocks--which seemed to be plentiful everywhere we went.
Redwood groves always keep me in awe, and are so very peaceful. I grew up near Big Sur, CA, where there are many groves.
86 degrees in Willits, CA at 4:45 p.m. 58 degrees in San Fran at 8:14 p.m. Thick fog throughout the city and over the Golden Gate Bridge. First time I have been over the bridge that I remember (did when I was very young--but don't remember it). Absolutely astounding--even in thick fog.
Arrived in Monterey (where my dad and brother Jon live) around 11p.m. I didn't want to wake anyone, but as I expected I found Jon awake at his computer--so I had fun sneaking up to his window in the dark and giving him a good startle. We talked for a good while, and as it turns out my dad was up anyway. Slept in the van, which we were both more accustomed to at this point.
