Wandering America & Canada - Part 4
Jun 13, 2019 13:53:21 #
This is the 4th in a series of posts using photos from a recent 6+ week trip around the Western US & Canada with a college buddy Chuck & my Australian Shepherd Gem, aka "the Mutt." I want to thank all who have looked at the first 3 parts & commented.
This post is intended to be a bit "tongue in cheek", e.g., fun & a departure from the prior posts, the shots were all taken "in town" … when my strong preferences are for scenic & wildlife shots. In fact Chuck, who is a good, well rounded photographer & pushes me hard to improve, has suggested (quite correctly I think) that I'm too narrow. I tend to try to avoid houses, roads, bridges, people, etc. in my shots, so these were all clearly taken outside my comfort zone.
After we left Sedona (last stop in Part 3), Chuck thought we should follow a suggestion I got in response to a post on UHH asking for recommended sights to shoot. A couple of fellow hoggers made strong cases for visiting Jerome, AZ, so that became our next "unplanned" (unscheduled) stop.
Jerome is built in the Black Hills on Cleopatra Hill & sits +/- 5,000 ft above sea level. It is a town that enjoyed much success during the days when copper mining & to a lesser degree gold, silver & other metals, were a big thing. According to Wikipedia, it was home to 10,000 people in the 1920's. Production at the mines fluctuated between booming during World War I, then falling & rising & falling again during and after the Great Depression. As ore deposits ran out, the mines closed & the population dwindled to fewer than 100 by the mid-1950s.
After the demise of mining, Jerome became something of a hard scrabble town as evidenced by abandoned cars & old mine shafts. Subsequently, the residents & new comers (population 444 per the 2010 census, although I believe it has grown substantially beyond that since then), have worked hard to reinvent Jerome & their efforts have created a new, vibrant & interesting town. I personally enjoyed visiting Jerome because much that I saw, tickled me.
So it was with a little bit of regret that we left Jerome for our next scheduled stop, which was Williams, AZ, where we planned to operate out of for a few days exploring the Grand Canyon. Williams was a surprise to me. It is located on Rt 66 & is another town that has overcome adversity (when the Interstate was routed around it). I thought it rivaled many of the sites we'd visited in OK & was a fitting last Rt 66 stop for our trip.
Our stay in Williams came near the end of our 2nd week on the road (can't believe we covered so much ground in 2 weeks) & as such makes for a nice breaking point. In order to give folks a break, after I submit this post, I'm going to hold off on further posts for a bit. However, I will start up again in a few days.
PS: Before I get to the photos, I want to again thank all who have commented on the past posts. Having retired from business 3 years ago, I'm a relatively new "returnee" to photography. In fact, I've never thought of myself as having an artsy bone in my body … & I'm often challenged just finding socks that match!!! So it is encouraging to get positive feedback from people as talented as those here on UHH.
Frank
This post is intended to be a bit "tongue in cheek", e.g., fun & a departure from the prior posts, the shots were all taken "in town" … when my strong preferences are for scenic & wildlife shots. In fact Chuck, who is a good, well rounded photographer & pushes me hard to improve, has suggested (quite correctly I think) that I'm too narrow. I tend to try to avoid houses, roads, bridges, people, etc. in my shots, so these were all clearly taken outside my comfort zone.
After we left Sedona (last stop in Part 3), Chuck thought we should follow a suggestion I got in response to a post on UHH asking for recommended sights to shoot. A couple of fellow hoggers made strong cases for visiting Jerome, AZ, so that became our next "unplanned" (unscheduled) stop.
Jerome is built in the Black Hills on Cleopatra Hill & sits +/- 5,000 ft above sea level. It is a town that enjoyed much success during the days when copper mining & to a lesser degree gold, silver & other metals, were a big thing. According to Wikipedia, it was home to 10,000 people in the 1920's. Production at the mines fluctuated between booming during World War I, then falling & rising & falling again during and after the Great Depression. As ore deposits ran out, the mines closed & the population dwindled to fewer than 100 by the mid-1950s.
After the demise of mining, Jerome became something of a hard scrabble town as evidenced by abandoned cars & old mine shafts. Subsequently, the residents & new comers (population 444 per the 2010 census, although I believe it has grown substantially beyond that since then), have worked hard to reinvent Jerome & their efforts have created a new, vibrant & interesting town. I personally enjoyed visiting Jerome because much that I saw, tickled me.
So it was with a little bit of regret that we left Jerome for our next scheduled stop, which was Williams, AZ, where we planned to operate out of for a few days exploring the Grand Canyon. Williams was a surprise to me. It is located on Rt 66 & is another town that has overcome adversity (when the Interstate was routed around it). I thought it rivaled many of the sites we'd visited in OK & was a fitting last Rt 66 stop for our trip.
Our stay in Williams came near the end of our 2nd week on the road (can't believe we covered so much ground in 2 weeks) & as such makes for a nice breaking point. In order to give folks a break, after I submit this post, I'm going to hold off on further posts for a bit. However, I will start up again in a few days.
PS: Before I get to the photos, I want to again thank all who have commented on the past posts. Having retired from business 3 years ago, I'm a relatively new "returnee" to photography. In fact, I've never thought of myself as having an artsy bone in my body … & I'm often challenged just finding socks that match!!! So it is encouraging to get positive feedback from people as talented as those here on UHH.
Frank
Old abandoned car, which along with the now closed mining operations & the destruction they left behind, are all signs of a tough period for those who remained in Jerome after the collape of mining.
(Download)
An old Dodge Panel Truck garaged next to the road going up the hill into Jerome ... obviously owned by someone with a sense of humor (if you didn't notice, look carefully at the driver of the truck).
(Download)
Some Flamingos sitting on a rail at the end of a driveway of another person with a sense of humor ... they're all dressed up for the Prom ... & they make the 2 dozen Flamingos that recently flew in from Amazon to my front yard look petty boring!! ;)
(Download)
A local entrepreur on a custom Trike that he built (I believe he said it has an Olds V-8 engine, which makes quite a bit of noise) ... I didn't ask him, but I believe he hires out as a taxi!!!! Gotta love it!!!!
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Old house that is part of a "Ghost Town" & old mining operation ... the signage made it appear as a bit of an "over the top" tourist trap, so we took a few shots & left.
(Download)
A customized "RV" that was one of a bunch of old vehicles on display at the "Ghost Town" ... now that would be a hoot to travel in ... if it made it out of the yard!!!!!
(Download)
Williams, AZ ... back to Rt 66 ... a mural of Marlon & "The King" at a local restaurant.
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An example of why you keep your camera handy on Rt 66 ... you never know what's around the corner. This is the 1st of 2 Brides we saw during our trip in unusual places. I just the Kicks you get on Rt 66!!!!
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Local restaurant serving the finest in Rt 66 cuisine ... & what self-respecting restaurant doesn't dream of having an old classic car on the roof?!?!?!?
(Download)
And a fitting final shot of Rt 66 ... a mural of the challenge that Williams has obviously overcome & preserved the culture of "the Mother Road" for those of us lucky enough to get there. Many thanks to them for doing that.
(Download)
Jun 13, 2019 14:00:24 #
Jun 13, 2019 14:15:25 #
Jun 13, 2019 14:21:09 #
Jun 13, 2019 14:24:51 #
Wasn't Williams, AZ a wonderful place to visit? I thoroughly enjoyed that place. And staying there was better for us since we didn't have to deal with the prices and difficulties of booking at the Grand Canyon. Some might not like the drive up and back, but it was peaceful in Williams and a lot of fun.
Jun 13, 2019 14:33:58 #
Jun 13, 2019 14:41:43 #
Thank you RichardTaylor, Longshadow, NMGal for your positive comments. As noted in my post, it is great to get encouragement from people who are accomplished photographers. So I appreciate it.
And woodworkerman, you nailed it. BTW … the drive to & from the Canyon was pretty interesting … a restaurant with metal Western scuptures & old cars … we also stopped to shoot some photos of an Osprey nest. But most importantly, were the other reasons you mentioned … price, availability & lack of hassle vs. trying to find something close to the canyon. Plus we were traveling with "the Mutt" which often complicated reservations. Oh, & yes, it was fun … hugely so. But we'd disagree on 1 item … didn't think that Williams was all that quiet … with trains … the zip line slide (or what ever it's called) & the # of people downtown made for a lot of excitement & noise … in a good way. Thanks for stopping by & commenting.
And woodworkerman, you nailed it. BTW … the drive to & from the Canyon was pretty interesting … a restaurant with metal Western scuptures & old cars … we also stopped to shoot some photos of an Osprey nest. But most importantly, were the other reasons you mentioned … price, availability & lack of hassle vs. trying to find something close to the canyon. Plus we were traveling with "the Mutt" which often complicated reservations. Oh, & yes, it was fun … hugely so. But we'd disagree on 1 item … didn't think that Williams was all that quiet … with trains … the zip line slide (or what ever it's called) & the # of people downtown made for a lot of excitement & noise … in a good way. Thanks for stopping by & commenting.
Jun 13, 2019 14:45:07 #
UTMike wrote:
You are capturing a fun part of our country, Frank, thanks.
Thank you UTMike … I really appreciate your comments for each of my posts. Thank you … & our country is both incredibly beautiful … & the variety of things to see & the people in it, make for some hilarious entertainment. Since I retired, I've become a much less serious person than I used to be. Now I find humor in much that I see (as seen in this post). So glad to find someone who also appreciates the humor in life. It's too damned short otherwise.
Jun 13, 2019 15:12:28 #
Cany143
Loc: SE Utah
If these were taken 'outside your comfort zone,' then --to mix your metaphors-- you seem to have found a matching pair of socks.
I might quibble over a technicality here or there, but what you've included here are honest and really, really enjoyable. Not as common a matching pair of socks as generally get to see. Thanks!
I might quibble over a technicality here or there, but what you've included here are honest and really, really enjoyable. Not as common a matching pair of socks as generally get to see. Thanks!
Jun 13, 2019 15:21:05 #
Cany143 wrote:
If these were taken 'outside your comfort zone,' then --to mix your metaphors-- you seem to have found a matching pair of socks.
I might quibble over a technicality here or there, but what you've included here are honest and really, really enjoyable. Not as common a matching pair of socks as generally get to see. Thanks!
I might quibble over a technicality here or there, but what you've included here are honest and really, really enjoyable. Not as common a matching pair of socks as generally get to see. Thanks!
That was one of the more creative & funny comments I've seen ... thank you for that. And my mother, were she alive, would be both surprised & amused at your response ... surprised that I was able to match something ... & amused because she too teased me. On a serious note, I've seen some of your feedback on UHH & am very pleased with your comments above. I'm of the impression, that while you are always mannerly about it, you are also direct & constructive. So thank you.
PS: As for quibbling over technicalities ... please feel free to do so ... sometimes critical comments sting a bit, but it's the only way to learn.
Jun 14, 2019 05:43:01 #
Jun 14, 2019 07:51:10 #
steve49 wrote:
Sounds like a great trip!
Keep them coming.
Keep them coming.
Thank you steve49. Much appreciated. As noted, I'm going to give people a break for a bit, but I will post some from later in the trip. Best to you.
Jun 14, 2019 08:36:35 #
Been following your enjoyable "PBS" like "On the Road Series With Charles Kurwalt" (spelling) series. Been looking forward to each episode and think you should send some of these knockout photos to Arizona Highways. You are gonna grow a large audience with this series and I thank you for the informative intros and sharing your trip with us!! 
Jun 14, 2019 09:20:10 #
Jun 14, 2019 09:33:44 #
jederick wrote:
Been following your enjoyable "PBS" like... (show quote)
jederick ... that was a wonderful thing for you to say ... not sure I'm in the PBS league ... but I've had some fun with this. To be honest, I also don't want to over do it either ... like the person who says "want to see the 15,000 photos of my grandkids?" So I am going to give people a break for a bit ... but will do some more in a few days. Have also thought about cutting down the # I share, so I can cover the ground faster. However, that said, I've been encouraged by responses like yours, so thank you for that. Best to you.
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