Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
How did they know my mom drinks instant??
Well, I made it through Chicago without hitting anything or anyone, so that is good news. It was stressful and I kept missing exits because the Jeep with the trailer on it is just too long in busy traffic to be able to get across a few lanes and exit on time – but the GPS (“Sasha” as its owner Ken calls her) helped immeasurably when those wrong turns happened. I left the Flying J at 6am but didn’t get to the start of the Route in downtown Chicago until 8:30am – a half-hour drive in no traffic, btw. So far the drive has been a bit uninspiring, but as I move further from the big city, it’s getting sweeter. I’ve driven through some adorable little towns! And unlike in the desert areas of the Route I’ve photographed before, there are a fair amount of iconic Route 66 establishments that still do a brisk business up here, and a lot of restored places as well.
I could use this price on this trip...
I haven’t shot any frames of infrared film yet because the stuff I want to document with that is empty, obsolete places – not the fun, nostalgic roadside attractions that I have passed today. That’s OK because the time-lapse sequence is keeping me busy enough. Too busy in fact. I am concerned that I won’t stop enough to take IR shots for fear of screwing up the sequence. There is SO MUCH you can stop to look at along the Route – I need to pass a lot of attractions and really focus on the two main goals for this trip (completing the time-lapse piece, and getting a good portfolio of infrared shots for the book). If not, I’ll never make it to Santa Monica, and the two main projects will be compromised by the lack of focus.
(For those of you who haven’t seen any of my infrared Route 66 work, it’s quite different from the snaps I’m posting here. This is what it looks like:)
Ludlow Cafe, CA
It’s going to take me a couple of days to get my routines and groove down. Something as simple as heating up food is a big production at this point (not helped by the fact that my fridge stopped working because the pilot light keeps going out! If I am doubled over tomorrow when I write, you can remind me not to eat leftover Hungarian goulash that has been sitting in a tepid fridge for many hours – no matter how delicious it might be. God, that is a good recipe.)
I also need to spend more time planning online. I spent too much time today following signs that advertised conservations areas and parks – where I thought I might be able to pop the trailer up and make some food – only to NOT find said area, or an appropriate place to park. Again, just need to get into the routine of planning stops and overnight possibilities online during the day. … but as I say that, the “nomadic serendipity” (thanks, Technomadia) is something one can’t plan for. Take tonight for example. I located a cheap campground online at the local 4-H club here in Pontiac, IL. The listing said it had water and electricity, but I wasn’t sure about the shower that I desperately needed (it’s hair-washing day). I hit a Walgreen’s for supplies and asked the clerk how far away the Interstate was, and whether any stop there had showers. She pointed me in the direction of the BP station where I am now. It’s not a big truck stop so it’s more peaceful than the Flying J last night, and the nice lady behind the counter let me use the shower in the employee bathroom – no charge! So I have access to an all-night store, a free place to park, and a free shower and bathroom to use. Campgrounds are nice, but free and clean is also nice. And I never would have found this place if I hadn’t randomly asked.
Does anyone know why there are MILLIONS of flying gnats everywhere around here today? The sun finally came out after the lovely lunch I had on an island park in Wilmington, so I took the top off the Jeep. At my first photo stop, I was accosted by all of these little flying insects. At the next stop, it was really bad – a police officer passing by rolled down his window and asked me if I had a special camera that knew how to deal with the gnats. At the next stop it was unbearable. I put the top back on the Jeep as fast as I could, but the little bastards had already taken up residence inside so I was a swatting, driving maniac for awhile. Just getting from the car into Walgreen’s was literally like walking through a snowstorm of bugs. Bugs that stick on you. Like in a horror film. Apparently one year it was moths… people couldn’t even see out of their windshields that year from all the splattered moths. This year it’s these gnat things. For some reason out here near the interstate it’s much better, though… less corn, more concrete?
nice place for first lunch in the new digs
On a technical note, my digital camera’s AC adaptor decided to stop working now that we are stateside (it worked fine in Windsor). That means batteries, for hundreds and hundreds of shutter releases. Batteries are expensive and wasteful. Also I only have 2GB SD cards, so I am trying to figure out how to fit the most images on the smaller cards, using the fewest shutter releases. I filled two cards today, and still need to download all of those images (couple of thousand) onto the backup drive. Think I’ll do that in the morning, my eyes are not staying open right now.
Damn, I keep forgetting to unplug the trailer from the Jeep. One of these times I’m going to drain the battery…
Nite nite.
