Home ·· News Room ·· Prints ·· Licensing ·· Gallery ·· About Us ·· Contact Us ·· Articles ·· Services Fall Road Trip, September 26 to October 11, 2007 Updated November 6, 2007 Page 4 of 5 Previous page   Next page
	Road trip continued... I spent the day hunting wildlife and doing some high definition time lapse video work. The work was not groundbreaking or original, but it was satisfying to be out shooting. Watching people tempt a stomping by the hooves of bison was an entertaining way to spend a few hours, too. Jodi Cobb and Dave Black proved to be excellent speakers, the former covering emotional and deeply cutting issues while the latter provided drama and carefully planned artistic photography. Jodi Cobb is famous for her articles in National Geographic about love, slavery and the human experience. Dave Black is a renowned sports photographer and has transitioned handily into large scale light painting efforts. Since I had missed the Galen Rowell lectures a few years ago, after seeing the quality of the presentations, I now regretted missing the now passed photographer's lectures. Now I was behooved to remain for tomorrow night's lectures. Though I don't receive National Geographic magazine any more, I was nevertheless familiar with Jodi Cobb's lecture material. The articles were that pervasive and famous. Her talk was difficult to listen to at times, as people around the audience quietly expressed reactions that exposed their naiveté to the harsh living conditions in much of the world outside of the West. The images were striking enough to hit home to many the experience of the third world. In contrast to Jodi Cobb's lecture, Dave Black provided the audience with comedic relief, sharing funny stories as he moved through the world of sports to photography more suited to Strobist.com material. He has really done some impressive, large pieces. His lecture was more technically oriented and funny, a welcome levity after the seriousness of Jodi's heart wrenching talk. Tuesday, October 2, 2007 As the talks last night were just that good, I decided to stay another night past my planned departure. Tonight's lectures were by National Geographic's former editor in chief and James Balog, an environmentally active photographer. If they were half as good as last evening's material, the change of plans was well worth the interruption. As today's weather was worse than yesterday, I didn't spend as much time wandering outside of my truck. Plus, searing pain my foot motivated me to change my approach. I did a 4x4 tour up Shadow Mountain, taking off the dirt road and off-piste, justifying the expense of purchasing a 4 wheel vehicle. The pure satisfaction of bounding through sage and rough terrain on Goodyear Silent Armor tires made me smile. It was fun to wander around the countryside with hunters and discover things. There was a grove of trees planted on the north side of Shadow Mountain as experiment of different seeding and planting conditions. One never knows what is hidden deep inside the forest. My Aunt treated me to supper at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. A tasty plate of New York strip was the night's fare, along with a smooth cabernet balanced with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. A well prepared crème Brule topped off the evening meal. Aunt Nancy and I went to the evening lectures and were happy with the talks. Both talks were not as dramatic as the opening night, but stood well enough on their own. It was educational to gain a sliver of insight into the business operation and motivations of the Geographic through the eyes of a chief editor. Balog's imagery of the collapse of glaciers around the world was engaging as well. He did a fair job of avoiding the political implications and strove to take an objective look at the world while still striking an eye for the artistry. Wednesday, October 3, 2007 Idaho Today was the final day in Jackson and a long traverse to Lewiston, Idaho. After dawdling around town, I hit the road at noon. I ended up with an hour advantage crossing the time zone. It took 11 hours total, with an hour spent in Butte and Missoula, Montana, looking around. Even with exploration, I made good time and arrived at Grandpa's just after 10pm. We stayed up and talked for a while, eating a tasty sandwich after general road food for the day. Thursday, October 4, 2007 Grandpa had wanted to tour Moscow, Idaho for some time, so we hopped in his Solara and made the short half hour drive up to the town. We did the old-person drive around town cruise for an hour to get the basic layout. We had lunch at the Convention Center café, a decent mix of Mexican backed by what equated to Albertsons bagged corn chips. The main dish was good enough, though it disagreed with the gastrointestinal machine well after the meal was over. We stopped in at old town Moscow where I spent time reading about Liz, a woman who sailed around the world on the Spray in search of the perfect wave. This was the surfer-sailor's perfect endless summer. The proprietor of the climbing store gave me some good ideas for adventure in the San Juan Islands. His information ran in stark contrast to the suggestions of great shopping and cute towns described by the early 20's blonde at the Moscow Visitor's Center. This reaffirmed my rule of being careful of whom you ask information from. Returning to Lewiston, we cleaned up and went out to Macaulin's, a surf and turf, midrange priced establishment. Both the season halibut and my slab of salmon came out well. The meal ended up being cheaper than I'd anticipated, a welcome surprise. Friday, October 5, 2007 Today was guy work assault day. We spent hours discussing grills, lawn mowers, irrigation systems, hanging wall hardware and overpowered shredders. It was a great day for a grandson and I hope for a grandfather, too. Tools, machines, water and fire. What more could a 33 year old bachelor ask for? Funny you should ask that question. How about a great blackened catfish and locally brewed porter at Rooster's Landing, my favorite restaurant in the state. Situated on the Clearwater River with its own marina, Rooster's Landing is a noisy place but the food can't be beaten. A visit to Lewiston is not complete without stopping here. What a way to end the day. Saturday, October 6, 2007 Washington The drive from Lewiston to Anacortes took 7 hours with an hour stop at Washington's Ginko State Park, a massive petrified forest based on an extremely rare species of petrified Ginko tree, a species nearly lost to the Ice Age cold and only surviving in China today. The park was fascinating, sitting on bluffs above the skin-chafing wind channeling Columbia River gorge. Had it been a nicer day and had I had a looser schedule, I might have explored more. Bill, the owner of the park rock and trinket store, imparted his wisdom of how it used to take 30 days using grit to cut a three foot thick petrified log outside 28 years ago. Now, he said, one can use a modern diamond saw and cut the stone in a matter of hours. He was a fun, no nonsense character. My amateurish questions amused him and I learned a bit more about the area. I reached Anacortes well after dark. After a healthy Jack in the Box meal, I found the ferry parking lot. The last ferry had departed at 8pm and it was 10:30pm. Not wanting to drive anywhere, I stealth slept in the temporary parking lot beside the ferry booths. It wasn't a bad night, all things considered. Sunday, October 7, 2007 Good thing I set my alarm for 4:45am. The parking gates activated and closed at 5am and several cars were already in line. My group boarded the ferry at 5:25am and we were under way right on schedule at 5:35am. The passage through the inky dark sky, surrounded by white caps moving through the San Juan Straits, was uneventful. I arrived on Orcas Island just prior to sunrise. After bumbling around a bit, I settled on the Orcas Hotel and café for breakfast. I ended up sitting with a group of the back-of-the-bus types from the yacht club. They were a brash group, entertaining me with their daily banter of island activities and pointing out how the ferries were crashing into the wind blockades. Bad weather blew those huge boats around with ease. The waitress told me later that the group came to that place every morning. I spent several hours with the salty group and didn't get on until well into the morning. I was told by my Japanese information guide to come to the San Juan Islands for the people and so I did. Again, the information was spot on. As I sit here hurriedly writing the week's events out, the yacht character club shot a few comments toward me. I made sure to share them back, with a smile. Previous page   Next page
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