Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
What photo gear? Or what other gear?
We're planning on camping as much as possible. In addition, much of what I own is getting packed into that car. At least, much of what I own that I'm not keeping in storage.
Regarding photo gear, I'm taking my Mamiya 6 and my Nikon D3 with all my AiS lenses.
Phil Forrest
We're planning on camping as much as possible. In addition, much of what I own is getting packed into that car. At least, much of what I own that I'm not keeping in storage.
Regarding photo gear, I'm taking my Mamiya 6 and my Nikon D3 with all my AiS lenses.
Phil Forrest
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
FrankS
Registered User
I bookmarked your link Phil, and got caught up on the car preparations. I like your style!
Once you start your trip, where will you be posting about it?
Once you start your trip, where will you be posting about it?
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
I'll probably be posting in my main "repository" blog here.
Straight URL: http://philforrest.wordpress.com/
After I get all the threads together, I'll put everything copied and linked at philipforrestphoto.wordpress.com but that will be after the 2nd week of October, so look for updates on the first blog link.
Thanks!
Phil Forrest
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
We arrived in Edgewood, New Mexico on the evening of the 4th of October then just a few hours later were at the Balloon Fiesta. Tooled around the greater Albuquerque/Santa Fe area and shot a bunch of photos while doing so.
Since then I've been busy with family stuff, fixing cars and over the last few days, my image host was down so I wasn't able to do any updates once I got the time to do so.
I haven't written up the big blog post about the trip from Philly to Edgewood, but will soon.
Until then feel free to peruse the images I've made since the day we set out from Philadelphia here.
See some of my Balloon Fiesta images.
The big blog post and the actual route we took will be posted soon.
Phil Forrest
Since then I've been busy with family stuff, fixing cars and over the last few days, my image host was down so I wasn't able to do any updates once I got the time to do so.
I haven't written up the big blog post about the trip from Philly to Edgewood, but will soon.
Until then feel free to peruse the images I've made since the day we set out from Philadelphia here.
See some of my Balloon Fiesta images.
The big blog post and the actual route we took will be posted soon.
Phil Forrest
robert blu
quiet photographer
Thanks Phil for this update.
robert
robert
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Day 1 (recap)
Day 1 (recap)
My 220D outside Brad's house in South Philadelphia. The car is fully loaded and it shows.
So, we started on the 29th of September in Philadelphia and used I-95 to get out of the Philly area. We hit Route 40 down near Delaware to avoid tolls and then turned west and drove south on Route 1 until we hit the Baltimore Beltway. We drove west on the outer Beltway to I-70 until we got to Fredrick, Maryland where we really began the "no interstates" journey. Drove southwest on US Rt 340 to Berryville, then west on 7 until it intersected US 50 and there we let the road take us for quite some time.
Looking east from the crest of one of the last higher of the Appalachian passes on our trip west.
The weather started to turn cloudy and we thought we'd get rain but only got a few sprinkles from a system that drenched and tore up the midwest.
We stopped for the night at Tygart Lake State Park just outside of Grafton, West Virginia.
Phil Forrest
Day 1 (recap)
My 220D outside Brad's house in South Philadelphia. The car is fully loaded and it shows.
So, we started on the 29th of September in Philadelphia and used I-95 to get out of the Philly area. We hit Route 40 down near Delaware to avoid tolls and then turned west and drove south on Route 1 until we hit the Baltimore Beltway. We drove west on the outer Beltway to I-70 until we got to Fredrick, Maryland where we really began the "no interstates" journey. Drove southwest on US Rt 340 to Berryville, then west on 7 until it intersected US 50 and there we let the road take us for quite some time.
Looking east from the crest of one of the last higher of the Appalachian passes on our trip west.
The weather started to turn cloudy and we thought we'd get rain but only got a few sprinkles from a system that drenched and tore up the midwest.
We stopped for the night at Tygart Lake State Park just outside of Grafton, West Virginia.
Phil Forrest
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Day 2 (recap)
Day 2 (recap)
Second day, we got up and ate at a cafe in Grafton which seemed to be THE place to go. After breakfast, we continued west on US-50 through West Virgina and into Ohio. We stopped in Parkersburg, WV for coffee and an attempt at getting internet access.
We walked around town a bit and even though we wanted to see the Ohio River, the view was blocked by very large levees.
Once we crossed into Ohio, I took a short detour north to fill up the car with biodiesel and we got groceries for the next few days. Back-tracked to US-50 and continued west to Athens, Ohio where we had lunch.
In Athens, we got to walk around the Ohio U. campus and surrounding town quite a bit. Athens is a cool little college town and Ohio U. is known for its outstanding photography and journalism programs. (My old professor at Temple U. has strongly suggested Ohio U. for graduate studies.)
Gorgeous old Willys Wagon in Athens.
After lunch in Athens, we continued west and tried to figure out where we'd camp for the night. The Federal Government shutdown took out a large number of camping options so we were limited to State Parks and private campgrounds.
When we hit I-275 just east of Cincinnati, we cheated the route and took that south to bypass downtown traffic which US-50 would have put us right into.
About that time we decided to detour the route south through Kentucky in order to stop by a few bourbon distilleries. The extra few miles and tour on the whiskey trail was well worth it.
That night we stopped at Big Bone Lick State Park just south of Cincinnati. Yes, it's actually called that. I heard of Big Bone Lick, Kentucky ten years ago when I got my duty station with the Navy Seabees. Myself and my journalist coworker were interviewing and photographing every Seabee in the Battalion and one of them said he was from Big Bone Lick. We didn't believe him so he insisted he show us on a map.
Phil Forrest
Day 2 (recap)
Second day, we got up and ate at a cafe in Grafton which seemed to be THE place to go. After breakfast, we continued west on US-50 through West Virgina and into Ohio. We stopped in Parkersburg, WV for coffee and an attempt at getting internet access.
We walked around town a bit and even though we wanted to see the Ohio River, the view was blocked by very large levees.
Once we crossed into Ohio, I took a short detour north to fill up the car with biodiesel and we got groceries for the next few days. Back-tracked to US-50 and continued west to Athens, Ohio where we had lunch.
In Athens, we got to walk around the Ohio U. campus and surrounding town quite a bit. Athens is a cool little college town and Ohio U. is known for its outstanding photography and journalism programs. (My old professor at Temple U. has strongly suggested Ohio U. for graduate studies.)
Gorgeous old Willys Wagon in Athens.
After lunch in Athens, we continued west and tried to figure out where we'd camp for the night. The Federal Government shutdown took out a large number of camping options so we were limited to State Parks and private campgrounds.
When we hit I-275 just east of Cincinnati, we cheated the route and took that south to bypass downtown traffic which US-50 would have put us right into.
About that time we decided to detour the route south through Kentucky in order to stop by a few bourbon distilleries. The extra few miles and tour on the whiskey trail was well worth it.
That night we stopped at Big Bone Lick State Park just south of Cincinnati. Yes, it's actually called that. I heard of Big Bone Lick, Kentucky ten years ago when I got my duty station with the Navy Seabees. Myself and my journalist coworker were interviewing and photographing every Seabee in the Battalion and one of them said he was from Big Bone Lick. We didn't believe him so he insisted he show us on a map.
Phil Forrest
Range-rover
Veteran
Nice shots Phil, glad everything is going good for you
Range
Range
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Day 3 (recap)
Day 3 (recap)
The morning of the third day, we decided which distillery to visit. Woodford Reserve distillery was first on the list and it was very close in Frankfort, Kentucky. We didn't know that Buffalo Trace (makers of Blanton's, Pappy Van Winkle, George T. Stagg and a few others) was just a few miles down the road.
The distillery was fantastic but not as neat (pun intended) as the one we went to later in the day. It was like a candy store of booze and schwag for a bourbon aficionado. I bought a bottle of WR Double Oak bourbon which is actually smoother than their standard Distiller's Reserve by some crazy distiller's magic.
This is also horse country, with large ranches that train, board and breed racing horses.
At Versailles, KY we hung a right onto the Bluegrass Parkway and continued west.
I wanted to hit more distilleries but we just didn't have the time. One day I'll have to make it a point to take two weeks in Kentucky just to tour more distilleries.
We made it Bardstown, an hour and change west of Versailles and not too far south of Louisville. Bardstown is just about the capital of bourbon distilling. There are enough distilleries there to fill up a week of tours, tasting and food.
We stopped at the Willett distillery which happens to be the creator of my favorite rye whiskey. I had a chance to have a few fingers of their ultra-rare 25 year old single barrel rye back in Philly in 2012. Holy cow, that is an amazing spirit. I didn't have the money for a $250 bottle of booze though so I got a very fine bottle of 4yr single barrel rye.
Concrete bases for water tanks.
Barrel-aging warehouse.
We got dinner at a tavern in Bardstown that has been a restaurant since the American Revolution.
From there, we still had a few hours of sunlight left and decided to push further west to Paducah. We stayed the night in Metropolis, Illinois at a state park just across the Ohio River from Paducah.
Giant Superman statue in Metropolis.
Phil Forrest
Day 3 (recap)
The morning of the third day, we decided which distillery to visit. Woodford Reserve distillery was first on the list and it was very close in Frankfort, Kentucky. We didn't know that Buffalo Trace (makers of Blanton's, Pappy Van Winkle, George T. Stagg and a few others) was just a few miles down the road.
The distillery was fantastic but not as neat (pun intended) as the one we went to later in the day. It was like a candy store of booze and schwag for a bourbon aficionado. I bought a bottle of WR Double Oak bourbon which is actually smoother than their standard Distiller's Reserve by some crazy distiller's magic.
This is also horse country, with large ranches that train, board and breed racing horses.
At Versailles, KY we hung a right onto the Bluegrass Parkway and continued west.
I wanted to hit more distilleries but we just didn't have the time. One day I'll have to make it a point to take two weeks in Kentucky just to tour more distilleries.
We made it Bardstown, an hour and change west of Versailles and not too far south of Louisville. Bardstown is just about the capital of bourbon distilling. There are enough distilleries there to fill up a week of tours, tasting and food.
We stopped at the Willett distillery which happens to be the creator of my favorite rye whiskey. I had a chance to have a few fingers of their ultra-rare 25 year old single barrel rye back in Philly in 2012. Holy cow, that is an amazing spirit. I didn't have the money for a $250 bottle of booze though so I got a very fine bottle of 4yr single barrel rye.
Concrete bases for water tanks.
Barrel-aging warehouse.
We got dinner at a tavern in Bardstown that has been a restaurant since the American Revolution.
From there, we still had a few hours of sunlight left and decided to push further west to Paducah. We stayed the night in Metropolis, Illinois at a state park just across the Ohio River from Paducah.
Giant Superman statue in Metropolis.
Phil Forrest
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Day 4 (recap)
Day 4 (recap)
The fourth morning we decided to make it all the way to Kansas so we could slow down a bit and make a few more stops for photos in the Great Plains.
We got breakfast at a Waffle House in Paducah and sat two tables away from one of the most paranoid racists i have ever heard. No self-censorship of his language or behavior and I was really disappointed but knew that the attitudes he holds are still rampant across the country.
Continuing west we took US-60 all the way out to just south of Springfield, Missouri. Rt. 60 passes in a winding way through the Ozarks and much of the land is National Forest, wildlife preserve or State Park.
Just west of Springfield we got on US-160 and took that to Rt-400. We hit US-66 for a few miles near Springfield while we jumped north to intersect US-160. Once we got on 400 we were in Kansas and stopped in Parsons for dinner. After that we needed to find a place to camp for the night and stayed at Fall River State Park, west of Fredonia and a good ways east of Wichita.
The night sky was amazing and I wish I had a geosynchronous tripod to allow long exposures of the stars without streaks.
Polaris and the rotation of the earth.
The Pleiades galactic cluster.
Phil Forrest
Day 4 (recap)
The fourth morning we decided to make it all the way to Kansas so we could slow down a bit and make a few more stops for photos in the Great Plains.
We got breakfast at a Waffle House in Paducah and sat two tables away from one of the most paranoid racists i have ever heard. No self-censorship of his language or behavior and I was really disappointed but knew that the attitudes he holds are still rampant across the country.
Continuing west we took US-60 all the way out to just south of Springfield, Missouri. Rt. 60 passes in a winding way through the Ozarks and much of the land is National Forest, wildlife preserve or State Park.
Just west of Springfield we got on US-160 and took that to Rt-400. We hit US-66 for a few miles near Springfield while we jumped north to intersect US-160. Once we got on 400 we were in Kansas and stopped in Parsons for dinner. After that we needed to find a place to camp for the night and stayed at Fall River State Park, west of Fredonia and a good ways east of Wichita.
The night sky was amazing and I wish I had a geosynchronous tripod to allow long exposures of the stars without streaks.
Polaris and the rotation of the earth.
The Pleiades galactic cluster.
Phil Forrest
ornate_wrasse
Moderator
Speaking of visiting distilleries while driving cross country, one of my favorite memories was visiting the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, TN.
The free tour was very interesting.
Thanks for sharing your images of the trip.
Ellen
The free tour was very interesting.
Thanks for sharing your images of the trip.
Ellen
Crazy Fedya
Well-known
Phil,
Great images!!! Glad to see you made it to NM, after visiting distillery area of Kentucky. Woodford Reserve is my favorite bourbon between the ones I have tried so far, so I am very jealous.
Great images!!! Glad to see you made it to NM, after visiting distillery area of Kentucky. Woodford Reserve is my favorite bourbon between the ones I have tried so far, so I am very jealous.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Day 5 (recap)
Day 5 (recap)
Day 5 was our day to take our time in Kansas.
We got up, packed up the tent and car then were in a search for coffee.
Just down US-400 from the State Park was the town of Piedmont. Well, former town of Piedmont. Once a decent size Kansas town with a big farm community, Piedmont slowly has been dying since the US Interstate system pulled traffic away from the old Federal Highways and then corporate farms took over much of the arable land.
We had breakfast at a tiny cafe in Piedmont where Brad and I heard the owner, server and cook (one woman) say to her friend who was eating as well, "I hate my life." The lady appeared to be in her late 60's and was chain-smoking the whole time we were there. I wish, wish, wish that I had my camera on me and asked to take her photo. Her cafe looked to be one of the few remaining buildings in Piedmont that was habitable and not tornado damaged.
The rest of the town was all but a ghost town.
After walking around Piedmont, we got back on the road again towards Wichita.
Driving down through Wichita, we managed to find a neighborhood with a good size Vietnamese population and a few decent Vietnamese restaurants. I almost panick stopped and turned very sharply into the parking lot of a place called Banh Mi.
The sandwiches were great! Better than the cold cuts I had eaten for a day and the PB&J I was supplementing them with. Cheap too. I bought one sandwich for lunch and one for dinner to-go.
At this point, we were on US-54, the last leg of the trip before we reached New Mexico.
Aiming the car west, that day we wanted to make it all the way to Liberal, Kansas in the very southwestern part of the state, just a few miles north of Oklahoma.
We passed through Towanda, a town south of Wichita where a friend of mine from the Navy grew up and after she was discharged, moved back to. I didn't get to see my friend, having not given enough notice but we did get to stop for a good cup of strong coffee and a nice chat about what to see in Kansas at a local book store. The owner told us to check out Greensburg which was completely destroyed by a massive EF-5 tornado in May, 2007.
Water tower in Greensburg.
What remains of a building after the 2007 tornado.
In Greensburg, all the trees which were still standing and old enough to have survived the 2007 storm were raggedly broken about 12ft above the ground. There simply was nothing left there above a few feet.
After Greensburg, we continued west and stopped in Bloom for some photos of another former town that was slowly strangled by both the Interstates and big farming.
It has been damaged by tornadoes as well and the wreckage simply left where it stands.
This was the Bloom School.
West of Bloom was Liberal, home of International Pancake Day and the town that has claimed to be the home of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
Dorothy's house.
That night we camped at a campground just east of Liberal, on the Cimmaron River.
Our campsite had to be shared with its more permanent residents.
Phil Forrest
Day 5 (recap)
Day 5 was our day to take our time in Kansas.
We got up, packed up the tent and car then were in a search for coffee.
Just down US-400 from the State Park was the town of Piedmont. Well, former town of Piedmont. Once a decent size Kansas town with a big farm community, Piedmont slowly has been dying since the US Interstate system pulled traffic away from the old Federal Highways and then corporate farms took over much of the arable land.
We had breakfast at a tiny cafe in Piedmont where Brad and I heard the owner, server and cook (one woman) say to her friend who was eating as well, "I hate my life." The lady appeared to be in her late 60's and was chain-smoking the whole time we were there. I wish, wish, wish that I had my camera on me and asked to take her photo. Her cafe looked to be one of the few remaining buildings in Piedmont that was habitable and not tornado damaged.
The rest of the town was all but a ghost town.
After walking around Piedmont, we got back on the road again towards Wichita.
Driving down through Wichita, we managed to find a neighborhood with a good size Vietnamese population and a few decent Vietnamese restaurants. I almost panick stopped and turned very sharply into the parking lot of a place called Banh Mi.
The sandwiches were great! Better than the cold cuts I had eaten for a day and the PB&J I was supplementing them with. Cheap too. I bought one sandwich for lunch and one for dinner to-go.
At this point, we were on US-54, the last leg of the trip before we reached New Mexico.
Aiming the car west, that day we wanted to make it all the way to Liberal, Kansas in the very southwestern part of the state, just a few miles north of Oklahoma.
We passed through Towanda, a town south of Wichita where a friend of mine from the Navy grew up and after she was discharged, moved back to. I didn't get to see my friend, having not given enough notice but we did get to stop for a good cup of strong coffee and a nice chat about what to see in Kansas at a local book store. The owner told us to check out Greensburg which was completely destroyed by a massive EF-5 tornado in May, 2007.
Water tower in Greensburg.
What remains of a building after the 2007 tornado.
In Greensburg, all the trees which were still standing and old enough to have survived the 2007 storm were raggedly broken about 12ft above the ground. There simply was nothing left there above a few feet.
After Greensburg, we continued west and stopped in Bloom for some photos of another former town that was slowly strangled by both the Interstates and big farming.
It has been damaged by tornadoes as well and the wreckage simply left where it stands.
This was the Bloom School.
West of Bloom was Liberal, home of International Pancake Day and the town that has claimed to be the home of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
Dorothy's house.
That night we camped at a campground just east of Liberal, on the Cimmaron River.
Our campsite had to be shared with its more permanent residents.
Phil Forrest
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Day 6 (recap)
Day 6 (recap)
Day 6 was the last day on the road before we reached my old hometown of Edgewood, New Mexico.
We got breakfast at a Pancake House restaurant (not IHOP but the Liberal, KS Pancake House) and had a ton of good coffee and a great breakfast.
After Liberal, there isn't much of US-54 left in Kansas but the cooperative grain silos along the highway are spaced every few miles apart.
The farther west on US-54 you drive, the deeper into serious cattle country you get.
The smell gets worse as well.
We passed Guymon, Oklahoma and were in Texas only a few minutes later.
Near Dalhart, Texas, we stopped to shoot photos of miles of stock pens.
This is a Cargill facility we photographed. We pulled off onto a county road and drove about a mile around the stock pen. Within maybe three minutes a Cargill employee drove out and asked what we were doing there. We were stopped on a public road so there wasn't anything we were doing wrong and we just made small talk. He was pleasant enough and not aggressive but while we were talking with him, the car filled with flies. There must have been a few hundred flies in there when we got back in the car. On the way back to US-54 we saw that the Cargill guy we spoke to had called another vehicle in case they needed to stop us from shooting. We weren't harassed in so much as on the edge of intimidated to get out.
The Texas panhandle flew by and then we were in New Mexico. Before we knew it, we were in Tucumcari and only a couple hours away from my family's house in Edgewood. Here, we cheated as well and took I-40 west since it was afternoon and taking the southern route would have put us in Edgewood about six hours later instead of two. We needed to get sleep as well since we wanted to be on the field at the Balloon Fiesta by 4:30 the next morning.
Phil Forrest
Day 6 (recap)
Day 6 was the last day on the road before we reached my old hometown of Edgewood, New Mexico.
We got breakfast at a Pancake House restaurant (not IHOP but the Liberal, KS Pancake House) and had a ton of good coffee and a great breakfast.
After Liberal, there isn't much of US-54 left in Kansas but the cooperative grain silos along the highway are spaced every few miles apart.
The farther west on US-54 you drive, the deeper into serious cattle country you get.
The smell gets worse as well.
We passed Guymon, Oklahoma and were in Texas only a few minutes later.
Near Dalhart, Texas, we stopped to shoot photos of miles of stock pens.
This is a Cargill facility we photographed. We pulled off onto a county road and drove about a mile around the stock pen. Within maybe three minutes a Cargill employee drove out and asked what we were doing there. We were stopped on a public road so there wasn't anything we were doing wrong and we just made small talk. He was pleasant enough and not aggressive but while we were talking with him, the car filled with flies. There must have been a few hundred flies in there when we got back in the car. On the way back to US-54 we saw that the Cargill guy we spoke to had called another vehicle in case they needed to stop us from shooting. We weren't harassed in so much as on the edge of intimidated to get out.
The Texas panhandle flew by and then we were in New Mexico. Before we knew it, we were in Tucumcari and only a couple hours away from my family's house in Edgewood. Here, we cheated as well and took I-40 west since it was afternoon and taking the southern route would have put us in Edgewood about six hours later instead of two. We needed to get sleep as well since we wanted to be on the field at the Balloon Fiesta by 4:30 the next morning.
Phil Forrest
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Thanks all for the praise!
Now that I have the road trip portion updated, should i start a new thread about the 2013 Balloon Fiesta or should I continue this one?
Phil Forrest
Now that I have the road trip portion updated, should i start a new thread about the 2013 Balloon Fiesta or should I continue this one?
Phil Forrest
Al Patterson
Ferroequinologist
Great work! The funny thing is I was talking about food with a guy I work with who grew up in Cedar Crest...
So, did you go green, red or Christmas?
So, did you go green, red or Christmas?
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
I love both red and green but some dishes lend themselves better to one over the other, so I'm selective sometimes.
If it's just a big wet burrito or enchiladas on a plate, I'll go Christmas.
Thanks for the praise!
Phil Forrest
If it's just a big wet burrito or enchiladas on a plate, I'll go Christmas.
Thanks for the praise!
Phil Forrest
Al Patterson
Ferroequinologist
Oh, and looking forward to the ballon festival shots.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Later in the day after the Balloon Fiesta, Brad and I went out to the dry salt lakes about 75 miles southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Due to a lot of recent heavy rain, there was a very small amount of standing water in the lakes but probably only about an inch or two at the deepest.
I took a few rolls with the Mamiya 6 but haven't had a chance to get them developed yet.
We spent a few hours out on one of the lakes and stayed through sunset. Magic hour in this part of New Mexico is amazing. It's pure shadow study time.
This is one of my favorite places to go in the state.
Phil Forrest
Due to a lot of recent heavy rain, there was a very small amount of standing water in the lakes but probably only about an inch or two at the deepest.
I took a few rolls with the Mamiya 6 but haven't had a chance to get them developed yet.
We spent a few hours out on one of the lakes and stayed through sunset. Magic hour in this part of New Mexico is amazing. It's pure shadow study time.
This is one of my favorite places to go in the state.
Phil Forrest