American Road Trip 1979 on Kodachrome

#USA04-36 Approaching Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, 06 May 1979

U27021.1699948774.0.jpg
 
These really are remarkable. How did you get so organized at such a young age? What did your companions make of the diary notes? Those Vegas shots: exposed according to a table? The Hoover Dam is magic.
 
Thanks Alex, Nick and Xabier. My pleasure.

Richard: it was my first trip away from Australia and for some reason I thought to buy a Collins World Travel Diary. Having bought it I had to fill it up... some of the girls travelling with me also kept travel diaries but none of the guys did - however they weren't taking photos all the time, a habit which became a topic of conversation more than once 🙂

I realised the Las Vegas signs were bright enough for a hand held exposure. I may have pointed the camera's light meter at a sign close up to get an exposure reading and then overexposed by 2 stops so as not to render it middle grey. Then I figured the sky and any unlit areas would be rendered either black or close to black, so that gave me the idea of exposing different signs on different parts of the frame, so there'd be minimal if any overexposure of the lights that had already been recorded. All very seat-of-the-pants. Luckily it worked.

There's a documentary on the construction of the Hoover Dam. Fascinating. They had to put cold water pipes through the concrete pours to avoid overheating as it set, while they poured more block sections on top.
 
#USA05-13 Mojave desert between Hoover Dam and Kingman, AZ. 06 May 1979.
I call pictures like this "pictures of nothing", those empty in-between places as we travel through a landscape. But to other eyes they are far from empty. A friend mentioned "we see a desert. Native Americans see a kitchen".

U27021.1700020852.0.jpg
 
The stepped building is
lynnb said:
#USA05-14 Entering Kingman, Arizona on US93. 06 May 1979.
The white-painted stepped cement facade building on the left is still there when I looked in Google street view, November 2023. Everything else looks different. We stopped here briefly to refuel, on our way to the Supai Reservation.

U27021.1700021006.0.jpg
Click to expand...
For a contrasting look at today’s version, the stepped building is 1140 US 93 Google Maps
 
From my travel diary, 06 May 1979. I've fleshed out the comments with more detail.

(after departing Kingman): "...Arrived at Supai Reservation jail, police car outside with shotgun bolted to dash, cage behind driver for prisoners. Unloaded van into (jail) cell storage*. Drove into Reservation, parked on edge of canyon (i.e. at Hilltop). Departed immediately (now on foot) for bottom of gorge (the initial descent into the Grand Canyon) - steep 1200' descent in first half mile. Camped in cave (under a rock overhang next to the trail). Saw Indian horses during the night. Campfire in the cave. I carried tuna and drinks."

*secure storage necessary as unattended cars at Hilltop are sometimes broken into.

#USA05-20 Hilltop, Havasupai*, Grand Canyon. 06 May 1979.
This is the departure point for the approx. 8 mile hiking trail to the Havasupai Reservation inside the Grand Canyon. Taken late afternoon. Today, nearly 45 years later I noticed the building on the cliff edge on the right! At the time we were concentrating on getting down the first descent and finding a suitable place to camp before it got dark. We weren't carrying tents or even tarps, just food and drink plus cameras. It was very warm to hot during the day.

*Havasupai means "People of the Blue Green Water"

U27021.1700026660.0.jpg
 
Last edited:
@lynnb You had a Collins World Travel Diary! Would you be able to post a photo of the cover of this diary? I'm really curious as to what they looked like in the late 70s. Does it have all the cool tables like measurement conversions, ship navigation, a world map, things like that? Is it for a specific year, or a general travel diary?
 
Archiver said:
@lynnb You had a Collins World Travel Diary! Would you be able to post a photo of the cover of this diary? I'm really curious as to what they looked like in the late 70s. Does it have all the cool tables like measurement conversions, ship navigation, a world map, things like that? Is it for a specific year, or a general travel diary?
Click to expand...
It's leather bound, A5 size with these sections in the front: world map, world time, itinerary, gifts to buy, shopping, letters & postcards sent, overseas general public holidays, approximate sector distances by jet aircraft, international temperature charts, ladies only - a sample minimum weight wardrobe (!), men only - what to pack (a much shorter list than for women), a guide to menus (translation table), overseas currencies, list of permanent Australian missions overseas, cash account, and addresses. The ladies only packing list is really funny... it lists seven different types of dresses (Cocktail/Dinner Dress, Terrace Dress..) plus almost as many suits. The underwear/undergarments part is hilarious - what on earth is a Banion Vest? Girdles, I do know..

I'll try to upload a picture of it for you later.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom