Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles

Just a quick note for the evening….

In other words, I don’t have much to blog on……

My dreamstime submissions are moving forward once again. About time, right? The truth is I hadn’t shot anything in weeks, as I was distracted and exhausted. It happens. That’s also why this is a short post. Tired!

So, do I have any reader requests for specific macro photos? I’ve started playing around a lot with macros in the past few days…..and I’m trying to dream up new material. If you’ve got a requested item (maybe tech I’ve written about) let me know.

Ah, he’s so tired he’s asking you to be creative!

One more note….the end of February should see some new photo from Anza-Borrego again. Another trip in the works (finally).

Another long ride into Phoenix this morning.  I had a 10 a.m. appointment, and actually made it in early…..

No, I wasn’t speeding.  That will not happen again. 

After spending my time in Phoenix (don’t you want to know what I was doing) I began the ride home.  But instead of the usual way I decided to detour through Wickensburg, just to take a look.  From Wickensburg I could take 89 once again, and without a trailer in tow the road is fine, scenic, and enjoyable.

Plus it gave me an opportunity to check out the Joshua Trees some more!  :)  And it allowed me to completely avoid Prescott Valley, the happy little speed trap, and my embarassment over the whole deal. 

Driving into Wickensburg was pleasant.  A two lane highway led right into the town.  The treat along the ride was seeing giant saguaro cactus everywhere.  It was a lonely road, with only a few cars passing me here and there (let them get the tickets….).

Here and there I would stop, but I didn’t find the right moment for photos.  Heavy clouds were moving in to the north, and the blaring sun was to my south.  Photo opportunities today were slim heading into the town.

Along the way I spoke to several friends regarding this morning’s events, and what I might do.  Ah, I’m dropping so many teasers it’s not funny.  You’ll just have to keep reading over the coming weeks.  With each call I gained insight, looked at the situation from every angle, and found that calls dropped a lot heading into Wickensburg along the lonely Route 74.  Looks like there’s one place that needs a few cell sites!

Upon hitting town I realized I was a little too tired to play tourist.  So, I enjoyed passing through, and noted a few places that might be worth a second visit.  I continued on to 89, and toward familiar ground.

As I approached the mountain range that seems to divide the Arizona High Country and the Low Country I saw the joshua tree I photographed the other day.  I decided to take a pass on that one, and continue to the base of the mountains.  There was another joshua tree I passed up last time, and this time it got to be the focus of my attention.

I pulled off right next to the tree and cactus, broke out the camera, and only spent a few minutes at the spot.  Extreme winds were blowing, cutting right through my jacket, shirt, and Smart Wool top.  Yes, the higher you go the cooler you get.  Phoenix was much warmer for the morning.

While shooting I made a few calls back to Prescott.  The word for the day in town was “snow”.  I could tell too, the dark clouds hanging in the distance told me a real storm was occurring.  Just didn’t think it would be snow again.  Fortunately, it wasn’t accumulating.

After the photo session I loaded back into the Nissan and made my way up the curvy road.  It is a fun drive if you’re not hooked up.  So, if you’re ever in the area, give it a whirl.

Instead of following the final curves into town I opted to roll through Skull Valley once more.  With each trip through I seem to like the area more.  Few homes, open spaces, and little going on.  Honestly, that’s not such a bad thing.

Well, that’s the wrap for today.  Little else going on.

I will note, I’m including a copyright notice on all of my photos going forward.  Haven’t heard a word back from Airstream regarding their last newsletter (I dropped a note and asked about it).  So, the stamp goes on the shots from now on.  I forgot to stamp photos yesterday, but it’s becoming a habit.  Like I said before, nice compliment, but credits and a link would not have hurt one bit. 

Ok, the second post of today……  This one is for Tom (links are included). 

Recently I placed a very small order to BHPhotovideo.com.  If you’re not familiar with the site you probably don’t own a digital camera.  I’d gotten a cool gift certificate to BH (from points unknown), and I didn’t know what to do with it.

Fortunately BH included their latest catalog with the gift card.  I always get their catalogs as I’ve spent way too much with them, but I hadn’t seen the newest in months.  So, I went through page by page to see what I’d like.

In the end, when I totaled what I liked I’d reached well over $18,000.  Clearly the gift card wouldn’t cover it!

It’s at this point I’d like to send a plea to the universe and all the readers….. You now know the exact gift card amount I require….let’s get cracking! 

Anyhow, I started parsing it down.  What one item would “work” for the moment.  That’s when I took a second look at “portable studios”.  The first, which I really got into, was a little too much.  Beyond that, it was too big and bulky to be a portable table studio in an Airstream.   Ah, two strikes……didn’t even wait for the third.

So, I was left with one option.  I’d already purchased a white background from BH.  I used it for a few shots of computers and such for the new edition of my book (The Digital RV….there’s a link at the top of the site….I suggest you buy at least 5 copies….it’s rather informative…..wait til you see the next book….it’s in process for publishing).  Well, the same manufacturer offered a new package….and it caught my attention.

The new portable desktop studio came in at under $100.  Background board, two lights, and that’s about it.  But here’s the deal…..I already had the white board.  Now I have a black background too!  And it’s pretty slick for upclose shots.  It also packs away neatly in the space of less than one Airstream cabinet…..so slick!  And it works.  Take a look at today’s “photo of the day”, and you might think it works too….

Oh, and the shot of the setup was taken with my SD 550, not an SLR.  I did it at an angle to be cool….and to hide the messy couch area that’s going on today…Apologies for my messy couch!

And yes, both shots were taken by me.  The first, SD550.  The second with my 30D. 

October of 1994 I received a speeding ticket.  42 in a 35 zone.

It was during a rough patch in grad school.  I was feeling low, coming around a corner, and I hadn’t seen the speed limit sign change down from 45 to 35.  I did see the police cruiser shortly after the bend in the road, and was surprised to see the car with lights on behind me moments later.

Since that point in time I’ve never had a ticket, accident, or anything else for the matter.  The biggest deal that occurred with one of my vehicles was in 2000 when a pair of low lifes broke into my Jeep and stole my stereo and a ham radio.  Yeah, I’m sure they were licensed to use it…….hmmmm…..

Why am I recounting all of this?  What has spurred on “memory lane?”  Simple, today after returning from Sedona (hooray Rollies Camera shop) I picked up my mail and had a thick envelope from Prescott Valley, Arizona.  What could it be?

What was in the envelope was my first speeding ticket in 14 years.  The notice told me I was doing 66 in a 55 zone.  It even included a cute little picture of me in the driver’s seat, and a photo of my new Arizona license plate.  And the ticket is accurate.  I can believe I was doing 66.

See, route 69 from I-17 is mostly a 65mph road.  Wide open, few houses, only a few stop lights, and some tiny towns where speed limit signs are clearly posted.  Coming into Prescott Valley the limit is 65 mph as well.  Unfortunately well outside of town there’s a sneaky little 55 mph sign (I noticed it today near a “photo enforcement sign”).

I also noticed the camera apperatus today as well, and thought to myself, “Hey, it’s one of those automatic ticket systems.”  Go figure 45 minutes later I’d see what the results of the system looked like first hand.

Now, I’m not complaining.  Last week returning from Phoenix I know I was doing 66 (1 mile per hour more than 65) in that area.  The truck in front of me was too, and the little Honda riding up my tail pipe was as well.  Not to mention the rest of the traffic along with me.  I even asked Sadira along that stretch of highway, “it’s still 65, right?”

Nope, it isn’t.

It’s funny.  I’ve been referred to as a “Grandma driver”, pokey, safe, and I’ve been told that I stick to the rules too much.  I’ve got two friends in Colorado who will laugh at the thought of me getting a ticket…..they rode to Durango with me once and they were teasing me about obeying all the signs and having my hands at 10 & 2 on the steering wheel…..

As an aside…..the photo of me from the automated system was so good you can clearly see my hands were in fact at 10 & 2.  Also, the photo showed off my spiffy sunglasses……I was looking really great that day!

So, Mr. Safe Driver has his first ticket in a decade and a half.  Had I seen the sneaky speed sign (blocked by the big truck near me leaving the light before Prescott Valley) you can be assured I would have been doing about 56mph maximum.  I follow the rules.

What’s this little disaster going to cost me?  How about $190?  You have to love speed traps.  I’ll give it to Prescott Valley, it’s a great way to get additional revenue as a tax base begins to contract thanks to the super weak housing market.  But they’ll never get me again….now I know where the speed limit changes…..and I won’t go with the flow of traffic.  I’ll not be used to make up city revenue.

And yes, I’m paying the fine.  I can’t contest the speed I was going.  It’s dead on.  And I can’t contest the existence of a speed limit sign, I saw it today…..miles away from the speed trap, near a stop light…..with no other signs posted until after the trap.  Cute, effective, and sly guys!

But wait, there’s more……

In addition to my little moving violation paperwork I had one more envelope.  Ah, but this one would be different and positive.  A letter from the organization I’ve been trying to join for more than one year.  My last round of resumes was submitted months ago, and the only response I ever got was an e-mail containing other people’s resumes for a different job (uh…..WHOOPS).

So, what was in the envelope?  An offer?  An interview?  A turn down letter????

It’s really hard to build suspense on a blog…..What do I do, create 5 inches of white space or something?  I’ll work on that. 

How about none of the above?

The letter let me know that my skills were impressive, as were the skills of many other candidates.  Uh oh, going the wrong way…….but that’s when it got funny!

While we were impressed by the qualifications of our candidates, we have had some positive organizational changes in that area.  We have added another related position and redistributed duties.  As a result we are canceling the position and are opening 2 new positions.

At the end of the letter I’m encouraged to reapply to one or both of the positions.  Given the fact they have four paper copies of my resume, multiple e-mailed copies, and more than 4 applications from me, I’m surprised they want additional paperwork from me.  Further, the last time they were in contact they e-mailed me the personal details of several candidates, including their social security numbers!

Now, I have to ask you……do you think I should reapply? 

Tomorrow I’m staying away from my mailbox!

Well, with the super rough weather of the past few days I haven’t gotten to take any fun outdoor shots. However, I’ve recently gotten an order in from BHPhotoVideo.com that I’ve been patiently waiting on.

See, for my birthday (months ago….I’m 29 you know) I got a gift card for BH, and I hadn’t used it yet. Finally I went through their giant catalog and found something that caught my attention. Unfortunately it was too big, so I had to find a smaller studio setup. I’ve always wanted to experiment more with macro photography.

In order to setup little product shots I needed better lighting (the Airstream’s lights make everything yellow) and a better backdrop. I actually found a cool little portable setup that won’t take much space in the Airstream.

So, today’s photo of the day uses my new backdrop and lighting. A little “artsy” here at the chronicles….

Yesterday I’d mentioned we’d be having some weather here.  Well, the weather came.

My Mac’s dashboard weather widgets told me a lot in the morning.  Flood warnings.  Flash flood warnings.  Basically, a lot of water.  Here, in AZ!  Wow!

The entire day  was wet.  I’m not complaining.  We need all the water we can get here, but it was funny to watch pools forming everywhere.

In addition to the rain, heavy winds moved in tonight.  Driving home was a little unnerving coming down a huge hill with the winds knocking me sideways.  The wind is reminding me of when I first arrived here.  Trailer was a rocking, and nobody came a knocking!  No other way to put it.

Well, little else to post.  Today’s photo is from last year’s travel to Colorado.  Nothing fun to shoot today, unless you want to see gray skies and puddles. 

From the dictionary I find the following:

Nostalgia |näˈstaljə; nə-|
noun
-a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations : I was overcome with acute nostalgia for my days in college.
-the evocation of these feelings or tendencies, esp. in commercialized form : an evening of TV nostalgia.

That’s what today was all about. Nostalgia.

See, almost a year ago I drove up a truly FRIGHTENING road on my way to Sedona. Route 89. Sure, folks with low profile cars and crotch rockets (aka slick motorcycles) probably love coming up 89 from Wickenburg to Prescott. But when I came up from the south the color went right out of my face.

A steep road with sharp curves. That’s 89 heading to Prescott from the south. At some points I’d call the turns “hairpin”. Warnings coming up 89 clearly state “Nothing over 40 ft” in so many miles. Well, I thought I’d have a turn off……and I didn’t. Glad to have made it through back then.

My reward that day was Prescott. The cutest town I’d seen in a long time. Just the right feel. Who knew two days later I’d return from Sedona and end up staying so long? I sure didn’t.

Today I thought a lot about that first ride UP into Prescott. I was thinking about it because I drove south today along 89…..all the way down beneath the mountains and into the desert. The change in scenery and temperature happens quickly.

By the time we reached the base of the mountains jackets were no longer necessary. Saguaro cactus were around everywhere. And the random Joshua Tree could be found as well.

And yes, we took a ride. Sadira was hanging out at her shop this morning when I was getting ready to ride out. So she rounded up her camera and we did the big drive. Always nice to have company along!

The drive took us through Peeples Valley, Yarnell, and a few other spots. For me, every curve was fresh in my mind. Wow, I still remember stuff perfectly. And as I drove down I reminded myself, “Never again with the trailer in tow…..NEVER!”

The views were stunning, even if the day turned out to be a little overcast. “Weather” will be coming in tomorrow. Don’t you love that expression? “Looks like we’ll be having some weather tomorrow…..” Uh, we’re having weather right now.

As we bottomed out several thousand feet below where we started the landscape changed so dramatically. Suddenly there were saguaros everywhere. Just so cool. And there was more of a desert feel you’d expect in Arizona. I see it every time I go into Phoenix, but along 89 it’s much more interesting and less populated.

Along the way I found several interesting photo subjects. I kept the shots under 200 for the afternoon (197 instead). And sorting through them tonight I’ve had a tough time selecting out “bad” ones.

On the way back I noticed a burned down home off to my left with several large cactus and a really great joshua tree. So, we pulled a U-Turn and headed back. I’m glad I did. So many interesting subjects in a small amount of space. A javelina skull with half the hair still on it (must have recently met with bad fortune….and the rest of the bones were nowhere to be found), the remains of home plumbing from the burned down home, more tires than you could shake a stick at, and some other interesting plant life. Some interesting photos from that stop, and more than 45 minutes spent looking at the wreckage.

After completing the inspection of the site we headed back up 89. A steep climb, even steeper drop offs, and too many views that I wanted to see. I kept my eyes on the road though. If I hadn’t you wouldn’t be reading this!

A few more stops were made along the way. Also a detour through Skull Valley was taken, just to mix up the ride a bit. Overall, a great afternoon once again. And some new shots to toss on the fire over at Dreamstime!

Finally, in other news……

There’s a new tech podcast about IPods up at the Digital RV Podcast. I’ll work toward getting one new tech podcast up per week. Cross your fingers, and help keep me trucking along with the endeavor. All questions are welcome, and will help fuel future podcasts.

Now, with all that wrapped up, and a few photos sprinkled throughout, I bet your asking yourself………

“What about some more photos from such an epic trip? Who is this guy anyways? He says he brings a camera, but only offers a few measly shots of strange windows, curving roads, and odd outdoor plumbing……. Is this guy man or mouse?”

Well, to satisfy your need for a few more photos, I’ll offer you the following shots…..

[Show as slideshow]

Oh, and having these shots up means that I must not fall into the mouse category!

Going forward we’re going to see if daily posts will be re-instituted here at the Chronicles.  I’ve let the postings slide here and there.  And I’ve let photography slide as well.

So, I’m starting up a new category.  Photo of the Day.  Yup, so many blogs and photo sites do it.  Not original in this endeavor at all.  But so what, it could be fun!

Photos might be from the day’s activities, or they might be favorites I pull out of my catalog of more than 25,000 photos I have (that’s a lot of drive space).  Wherever they come from, photos will be popped up each day.  And when I fail to get one onto the site, I’m sure the comments here will remind me I’ve missed one!

For today’s photo I took one of my favorite shots from Sedona and played the color game again.  I’ll tell you, the red rocks in black and white are still really amazing.  Even better is a black and white photo with blue skies.

So, there ya go.  Our first official photo of the day……

Last night my dad gave a quick call to check in.  He also teased a good bit about temperatures out here.

“I thought you were in Arizona…..isn’t it supposed to be warm out there?”  Of course, the temperatures back in New England are lower than what’s been prevailing here.  But still, it has been chilly again.

Yesterday morning I drove the Titan into a white out.   Sideways blowing snow, low clouds, and a cold breeze that could cut right through you.  Yeah, Arizona has winter gang!  If you’re looking to warm up just take a ride down to Phoenix…..that’ll cover you well.

So, for my dad’s benefit today’s first photo is of the frost on my truck.  It’s been a few days since my truck was “frost free” in the morning.  While there’s a chill here, I haven’t had to shovel or snowblow anything.  So, I’ll take our cool snow free atmosphere (even when it snows here, it doesn’t stick around).

So, beyond the weather, what’s going on?  Actually plenty of stuff.  Most I can’t blog about yet, but in time you’ll hear more.  Ah, the cliff hanger……you’ll have to keep coming back.

There’s been one interesting development here at Point of Rocks.  A cute little bobcat has been spending time close into the park.  Monday morning I took a walk up into the rocks, looked up ahead of me, and there was the bobcat.  Did I have a camera on me?????  Noooooooooo……..

My neighbors have been sighting the bobcat as well.  One neighbor’s dog is having a real hard time not going after the cat.  Hope they keep the leash tight, that cat is big (and cute).  Hopefully I’ll have a photo for the site soon….the cameras are always close now!

And finally…….

The Podcasts will return soon……

That’s right.  I’m starting to assemble new tech podasts for the Digital RV site.  Given the number of questions I’ve received recently I decided to start getting the podcasts back up again.  And that includes new fun ones as well (and they won’t all be climbing).

Just remember, these things take a little time to assemble.  And time isn’t something I’ve had a lot of lately.  But I’m working to free up moments here and there in order to get the Digital RV site moving along again.  It’s been too quiet there! 

In the meantime, if you haven’t checked out all of the tech podcasts I’d suggest you give a look.  You never know what useful sliver of information might be there.  And check out all the prior travel podcasts as well.  Fun to make, and fun to watch.

Have a question or podcast request?  You can leave a request in the comments at the Digital RV Podcast, here too, or you can phone in your question to:   928-792-4230

Finally, for you regulars out there….don’t forget to pass along the site’s information to RV’ing friends.  The second edition of the Digital RV is out there you know, and travel season is coming up.  I promise, the book will be useful to all RV’ers (and even non-RV’ers) that you know. 

A few days ago my friend Brett forwarded the latest Airstream Newsletter from Airstream.com.  He suggested I look through the photos in the newsletter, as a shot familiar to me might be in it.

Sure enough, the photo to your left was part of the newsletter, along with a poem from the road.  Nice combination really.

I took a look through the newsletter, followed other links to stories and sites included.  Sorry to say the Chronicles didn’t get a link back or credit for the shot.  The poetry site did get a link (ah, those poets get all the breaks). 

But, the shot was there.

Definitely a compliment.  Too bad readers of the newsletter couldn’t link back in here….they might just want a copy of the Digital RV. 

Ah well, looks like I have to keep working on my marketing alone!