American Road Trip 1979 on Kodachrome

#USA06-35 Havasupai, Grand Canyon, 07 May 1979

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#USA06-36 departing Havasupai, Grand Canyon, 08 May 1979
It had been hot in the canyon, but on the last night the weather changed to cold and windy with rain showers so we sought shelter, leaving early next morning for the hike out. By the time we arrived at the last ascent it had started to sleet, and we arrived on the South Rim to snow. It had been a memorable hike and experience.

From my diary: "That's a walk I won't forget in a hurry - dead tired, heart 19 to the dozen, frozen, no (feeling in) fingers, so cold! Got to the van with heater, passed around the Jim Beam, which put us all to sleep."

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#USA07-04 Red Feather Lodge, Tusayan, Grand Canyon, 08 May 1979
We were not equipped to camp in snow so it was a relief to stay in a heated budget motel a mile south of the South Rim for the next few nights. I was constantly amazed at the size of American cars. The motel is still there, but much larger.

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#USA07-15 Snow in the Kaibab forest, Tusayan, Grand Canyon, 08 May 1979
Living in Sydney I rarely get to see snow - the nearest snowfields are a 6 hour drive from my place. I've always loved it.. the graphic simplicity it brings to the landscape, and the accentuation of colour. However there was very little colour in this landscape next to our lodge and what colour there was wasn't well recorded on Kodachrome, so I've desaturated by 90% in Lightroom and increased contrast. I exposed +2EV to ensure the snow was recorded near white, and to get detail in the tree trunks.

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In '79 when you were going thru there Lynn, Kingman had some spectacular motor lodges on Route 66. Many were still there last time I stopped in 2015, but in great dis-repair. It was a very "happening town" in its heyday.

Best,
-Tim
Check out an Instagram account called Dead Motels USA. It has loads of posts about motels in their heyday, and what they are like now.
 
#USA07-01 Driving on AZ64 through the Kaibab State Forest on the way to Grand Canyon Village, 08 May 1979.
Very cold with occasional rain, sleet and then snow as we arrived at Grand Canyon Village.

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I love these shots from inside the car. You know that Dennis Hopper took similar photos?
 
#USA07-30 Bright Angel Trail from the South Rim, Grand Canyon, 09 May 1979.
Nothing can prepare you for the first view of the Grand Canyon... the scale of it it takes your breath away. The north Rim can be seen covered in snow, under the cloud. This is the first picture I took after arriving at the South Rim.

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#USA07-33. View from the South Rim, Grand Canyon, 09 May 1979.
The play of light and shadows on the landscape was endlessly fascinating. I could have spent hours watching it. And with a bag of Kodachrome, why not. Taken with the Nikkor 105mm f/2.5, one of Nikon's best lenses.

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#USA07-04 Red Feather Lodge, Tusayan, Grand Canyon, 08 May 1979
We were not equipped to camp in snow so it was a relief to stay in a heated budget motel a mile south of the South Rim for the next few nights. I was constantly amazed at the size of American cars. The motel is still there, but much larger.

U27021.1700205078.0.jpg
If anything our cars are even bigger now! (Mainly because people tend to drive SUVs and pickups, it seems.) But for sure the late '70s were not a golden age of American car design, as this picture illustrates. Other than a Volvo (?), all of the cars here are American. I think the littlest one is a Chevrolet Chevette -- not stellar.
 
If anything our cars are even bigger now! (Mainly because people tend to drive SUVs and pickups, it seems.) But for sure the late '70s were not a golden age of American car design, as this picture illustrates. Other than a Volvo (?), all of the cars here are American. I think the littlest one is a Chevrolet Chevette -- not stellar.
I rented a Chevette in San Diego - it felt like driving a tractor!
 
#USA08-02. View from the South Rim, Grand Canyon, 09 May 1979.
One of my travel companions, Vicki, feeling a bit anxious at this point. The colours of the canyon were ever changing, and beautiful.
Focus was on infinity. The Colorado River is at the bottom of the inner canyon, just to the right of Vicki. The snow covered North Rim is in the background.

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These are fabulous! I shot Kodachrome almost exclusively back during this time, and my first road trip with buddies was a couple of years after yours, also to the American west, including a visit to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

This thread is inspiring me to go through my collection from 1981. I was shooting an F2 with a few Nikkors as well.
 
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