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10.17.'10
Well, I've been wanting to shoot Texas for some time now. Looking forward
to seeing and photographing this great state. Bass fishing, my hobby, is
said to be outstanding, so I'm bring my poles.
10.19.'10 6 p.m.
Got going on my three and a half week Texas photo adventure/fishing trip
thanks to Paul Owens, a pastor who lives in Ramona, and a fishing buddy.
He helped me get my old '97 Dodge Grand Caravan ready. It has 261,000
miles now. He also inspired me to keep going after a call for travel
mercies prayer just minutes earlier, as my 'check engine light' came on
just after departing last night at 9 pm on the night of the 18th. He said
it's usually a smog deal, not to worry, so I did (Paul, light went off,
thanks).
"...The winds were so
fierce I though a dozen folks were trying to bounce it off the road, and I
was not even driving, just parked. I thought a tornado was going to toss
me over any second..."
As I'm combining this trip with some fishing adventures, hopefully, I
planned to hit Mittry Lake and did about 12.30 this morning, only
got one hit, but air was nice and moon was only half hidden by rain
clouds. Mosquitoes out full force, thank God I brought repellent.
Sprinkled on and off, special time solo fishing.
Up at 6.50 AM after sleeping in the van there and started where I left
off, frogs and swimbaits. Now I could see a bit better. Was at Betty's
Kitchen crossing- B-U-T-FULL sunrise, clouds and all reflecting in the
lake, air temp perfect (65, high of 82).
Left at 9 am, stopped in Gila Bend a couple of hours ago (was there for
three years as a kid, saw our old home- funny how they shrink) and am now
4 hours from El Paso, where the aliens were last night!!! Heard on
the news, same lights over New York the night before (triangle, hovering,
etc.).
Onward, luckily McDonald's has free WiFi, can check on messages. Stayed at
a Motel 6 in Las Cruces, very tired.
10.20.'10 - 6 p.m.
Up late, and crossed into Texas
this afternoon and El Paso welcomed me with a spectacular lightning storm
the likes I've never seen. Got great shots with ocotillo and barbed wire
fence foreground, black clouds on one side, lightening striking across the
whole scene during my 20 second exp., and red sunset on right side! Killed
it, not bad for 1st day shooting.
The storm hit me (the van) so
hard after getting in it as the rain hit, deluge is the word! The winds
were so fierce I though a dozen folks were trying to bounce it off the
road, and I was not even driving, just parked. I thought a tornado was
going to toss me over any second. I eventually drove east, but the
storm got so bad I pulled off the road for a bit, the car hydroplaning
every 100 yards. Got some great video on the iPhone, I'll post it later.
Drove to a town called Van Horn
and camped in the van along 20 truckers all parked in a row at about 12.30
a.m.. The dog barking from a truck and horse trailer rig nearby
stopped with the owner calming it down, that would have been bad,
non-stop. Was good for 15 minutes, then the first of many trains seemed to
go right through my van, oh well, I'll live.
10.21.'10 - 9:45 p.m.
Up at 8.45 after a so-so sleep. Grabbed a breakfast at the Sands
Restaurant, close to where I 'camped', got the pancake special, w/ egg and
3 bacons, $6.50. Three cups of coffee and check messages thru my new
iPhone and headed east.
I noticed a section of the
restaurant would make a nice shot, with the wide angle, and the waitress
gave me permission to set up, so I did. The wall had a faux painting
of a western scene, with the local poster of the high school football
team, and a table with dollar bills left on it from each patron that had
just left, a TV played in the background. Figured the setting and took a
single neg. Later realized I did not use the polarizer, but had figured
the setting to do so, that's where a digital back would have come in
handy, the shot was two stops off, bulletproof as we say. Printable, but
not perfect. I'd like to re-shoot it on the way back. The restaurant
boasted some shots of Tommy Lee Jones in a 2005 move he produced and acted
in, "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada".
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419294/
The waitress said San Antonio is
not to be missed, so I went 'right' a few miles down the road, had been
debating Dallas/Fort Worth or lower Texas first. San Antonio is
lower, so I took the 10.
Made it to 'Junction', just about
100 miles west of San Antonio and noticed a river, so I stopped and got an
out of state license and tried my luck at bass fishing, landing my first
Texas bass on a frog.
Kerrville, where I'm now at, has
a McDonald's w/ free WiFi, so I'm updating from here. Made plans to
fish Lake Amistad on Saturday with a pro/guide named JC Gwynne (www.theamistadman.com)
an hour ago, cool. I'll shoot there tomorrow afternoon, and after we
finish fishing on Saturday too. He'll show me some places he thinks would
be good. After that I'll most likely work over to San Antonio, I've been
doing some research, looks like a great place to shoot, indeed.
To be con't...
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