Riding the Rockies north

Sunday, July 21,  first day on the road, riding from New Mexico to northern Idaho to attend the United Sidecar Association National Rally in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho starting on Thursday, the 25th.

Left Angel Fire at 7:30 am, riding US-64 across northern New Mexico to Chama, NM. Stopped at the Brazos Bluff turn out for a quick snap shot. In the dark timber behind the rig is where I experienced my first elk hunt. The guide called in a young rag horn bull elk so close all I could see was fur in the rifle scope. Didn't know what part of the animal I was looking at, so I didn't pull the trigger. What a thrilling experience though. That got me hooked on elk hunting and elk conservation. Have returned to New Mexico to hunt elk several times more.

From Durango, Co, I rode north on US-550, the Million Dollar Highway. This route has been on my bucket list for many years. Why I picked a Sunday to ride it though... a big mistake. Too many tourists, too many Sunday riding motorcyclists, too many jeeps, too many tourists with the camper trailers... yet beautiful country.

Had to wait a bit before I could take this photo without all the traffic clogging the highway.

The hills are alive with the sound of...

eighteen wheelers, motorcycles, jeeps, RV's, crotchrockets, minivans pulling camper trailers, 

did find a quiet spot to take a photo of Big EZY in the mountains of Colorado.

Monday July 22nd, Day Two on the road to Idaho.

As Granddad said, "We're burning daylight. Lets get going." Was 100 degrees when we arrived in Grand junction last night. Awoke to a cooler dry 60 degrees to start to the day.

US-139 north out of Fruita, CO. Nice quiet road. No tourists or eighteen wheelers clogging it today. Still seeking out the two lane roads, avoiding the Interstate highways if at all possible.

Looking back, rode up from that valley below. 

Stepped to close to the edge, accidentally kick a loose rock and started a small avalanche... was going to yell SORRY to those below but then realized the echo might cause a rock slide behind and above me! 

Now who did that???  Nobody here but that masked stranger... with a volleyball on his head.

Crossed the Flaming Gorge Dam, stopped to look back and snap a photo. Noticed that the people working there had sidearms. Many roads across dams in the US are now closed or diverted when possible for security reasons. Things changed after 9-11.

The rain clouds are gathering... better decide when to put the rain gear on. 

Stopped to eat lunch with a Walmart ham and cheese sandwich at a turnout in Wyoming.

Overhead dark rain clouds rolled in from the west. The smell of rain filled the air.

But the rain gods took pity on me.  After passing overhead, they dumped their rain to my east and not far from where I was standing.

What I took for pity was just their toying around. An hour later the rains and pea gravel hail found me in the wide open road with no shelter in sight.

One does not see a log church very often. Here is St Hubert the Hunter Church in Bondurant, Wy. which is in the Bridger-Teton Wilderness Area.

This big critter stopped our travels for a minute or two. 

Me?  I laid still on the ground hoping it was not a meat eater (I didn't want to get mauled) or an amorous lover of sidecars.

Big EZY felt small for a change. Where is St Hubert when you need him?

Low point for the day was not the cold, or the rain, or the hail stones, but snail crawling pace of traffic into and out of Jackson, Wyoming, the doorway to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. Bumper to bumper tourist traffic had the only road tied up with vehicles moving slower than a two legged turtle.

Finally made Victor, Idaho for the night.

Day Three, Tuesday July 23rd: Cross lower Idaho from east to west.

On the road by 7 am, rode down to Idaho Falls then across the sagebrush lands toward Boise. Could have taken the faster route, but that would be the boring interstate highway which I try to avoid.

Abandoned little house on the prairie...

the windows and doors are gone, hopefully were recycled into a new home.

I've stayed in worst places, though I can't remember where or when. 

Hmmm, sounds like a country song. Rain clouds not far behind. 

Route 55 follows the Payette River north from Boise. 

The locals say this is some of the best whitewater rafting in the state.

A young man told me this particular spot is called Ball Buster because those two large boulders have caused more pain, even killed a few kayakers here. Is a recipe for a disaster trying to go between the two rocks. The fast changing current directions, eddy and deep hole have flipped many a kayaker. 

Said stick to the near bank and you'll get thru okay. He is young, I'll take his word for it. 

Day Four: Wednesday, July 24 

Stopped in Riggins, ID to recreate this photo, same as one I took a year ago when passing thru with the sidecamper rig.

Riggins is the whitewater rafting center for the Salmon River.  Stopped at an overlook to watch as a group of rafters try their luck with the rapids.

 They make it through. Would be bad for their tourist business if they didn't. Look like fun though.

This raft got caught going in sideways, created quite a splash of water that came into the raft, 

but they made it through without flipping over. 

Is that two legs sticking up in the front of the raft?

Aaaah, memories being made.

Approaching Lewiston, ID decided to try a road less traveled.  Route 3 angles up northeast east, coming out near Coeur d'Alene. 

Big EZY and I rode long undulating straight aways among field after field of wheat and barley. Broad fields separated by the deep green spruce canyons coming down from the north. 

Small towns with grain elevators await the fall harvest activity.

On this trip we encountered a few critters, mule deer, elk, whitetail deer, antelope, coyote, skunk,  only one bear...

After riding 1,592 miles, Big EZY and I arrived in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Will be here for the next three days, volunteering at the gathering of sidecarists from around the country.

Ride safe and far, y'all.

CCjon

Studio Lighting

My friend/neighbor Harry and I joined a Houston area photography club earlier this year. The group meets twice a month, for technical training and for print photo competition. This months technical session was on studio lighting. Most amateurs cannot afford nor justify the large outlay for quality studio lighting. Especially since we take most of our photos outdoors.

The club begged and borrowed a half dozen professional lights, invited a few models to come sit, then turned us loose to practice and learn how the various lights affect the final image.

Here's Harry sitting for another club member. Handsome guy, he's Italian.

Some joked and prodded the models, others asked the model to look up, look down, left, 

right, smile, don't smile, do this, do that... 

I watched, listened, clicked the shutter button a few times.

A few club members posed in front of the lights while the models were busy elsewhere.

Me... am not model material... ,

nor do I enjoy taking portraits. 

So I did what I do best, took street photos of other people doing what they do.

In this case, snap photos of photographers taking photos of models 

who pose for photos by photographers.  (say that five times without stuttering). 

I found the interaction between the photographer and the model to be an interesting dynamic.

Had a total of four or five models. Some children, some grandchildren of club members.

This shot was difficult for me to achieve the desired relationship in editing. Faith, the model on the far right would look to her mother on the far left for support. When two or three people are pointing big camera lens at you, telling you to do this, do that, etc, it can be unnerving to a young person.  

. 

The two would look at each other, mother calming her daughter while ignoring the noise 

and activity going on in between them.  

I wanted to show that link, the connection between them in spite 

of being on opposite sides of the photo.

Had to fiddle awhile in editing to gain something. It's all a learning process. 

Learned something new to apply in future situations. 

Between shots, Faith would quietly wait as the shutterbugs tried to figure out their light meters, set apertures, fiddle with ISO, swap lenses, adjust lighting, etc. etc. She is very poised, learning to model, a volunteer too. 

Waiting for the next body hidden behind a camera to ask for a smile... ,  ... ,   ... ,

click, click, hold, hold, hold... Click!

In the end I did snap a few shots that could be considered portraits.  

Took them home and played with some portrait settings with photo editing software.

Here is Faith... with a glamour filter.

But what I consider my best shot of the night is of a club member who was waiting 

while they were setting up the lights. All natural, no makeup, no forced smile,  100% real... 

with a hundred things on his mind.

The Real McCoy...  Billy.

Next week I get back on the road. 

Riding up to northern Idaho for the National Sidecar rally. 

Am looking forward to get some good photos from the road and at the rally.

Ride safe ya'll

CCjon

Northern New Mexico in June

Being in New Mexico for the last two weeks has been a challenge, moving from a multi-level condo to a one level unit. Stairs are the bane of those getting older.

Nevertheless, did get out with the sidecar rig and camera to visit a few of my favorite old Spanish missions. Not too early though as temperatures were down into the thirties in the mornings.

Just south of Taos lies Rancho de Taos where the San Fransico de Asis Mission is found.

These old stucco missions are in constant state of repair. The mud and straw bricks don't last long if they get much rain.  The walls are as much as six feet thick.

In Las Trampas, is the San Jose de Garcia Mission..

The setting sun turned the adobe walls a rich golden color showing the cracks in the mud walls.

Found a new old building to photograph in Truchas, NM. 

Looks like an old school house, the sign now says Art Gallery.

This weekend is Balloons over Angel Fire, so looking up this is what one sees...

Picking out a few of the more colorful ones

Mount Wheeler makes a great backdrop for the colorful hot air balloons

Rising higher...

Here comes another drifting by...

Not sure how many personas are in the basket. Maybe two....

When out taking pics, is important to look down once in a while too....  

spotted colonies of dozens and dozens of Gunnison's Prairie Dogs, also called marmots. Though wikipedia shows marmots as having long tails like ground squirrels. These critters have very short tails.

This one was keeping watch on me... 

Twin sentinels, mama teaching her young to look both ways before crossing.

Kissing' Cuzins

Tomorrow I head back to Texas, but will return again in July for more exploring and photos.

Ride safe, ya'll

CCjon

Anderson's Ohio River Ferry

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I suggest you use CHROME or any other browser to post comments here. I apologize if you wondered why I never responded to your comments. I did but they disappeared. 

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After being stuck in non-moving traffic on I-75 in downtown Cincinnati, frustration finally overcame and I dove onto the nearest off ramp into a local neighborhood. Looking for a sign, I see "US-50 East - West". Hmmm, west is the direction I want to go. West and south back home to Texas.

US-50 follows along the north bank of the Ohio River in Southwest Ohio and Southeast Indiana, meandering thru old economically depressed river towns with rusting structures of former industries. Several years back Rudy, David and I rode Russian Ural sidecars from the Atlantic Ocean terminal of old US-50 all the way to the Pacific end in California, but for some reason we skipped over the Cincinnati section of the road.

A small sign on the side of the road points toward the river, saying only "Ferry". Hmm, wonder if one is still operating here. Pulling in behind several other cars waiting, I spot the tariff sign, but no ferry in sight. Looks more like a boat launch than a ferry crossing. Anderson Ferry sign looks recent though.... ?

Looking beyond the sign, there appears to be, maybe... a small ferry on the far bank? 

Prices are affordable, motorcycles - $2.

Not seeing any movement in the distance, start to wonder if a ferry is even running today. Maybe the cars are just picnickers on the riverbank....  though the sign has hours of operation posted.

From the west comes a large empty barge into view, plowing its way up river. A small recreational speed boat zips past the barge.

With the passing of the barge, I spot movement as a small vessel works its way over to the north side of the Ohio where I stand. Its' noisy engine struggling to keep from being swept downstream.

Expertly the Pilot sticks the off load ramp almost on the roadway.

No ropes, no anchors, just the ferry's engine and an experienced riverboat pilot hold the ferry in place so vehicles can quickly offload and reload.

First roll off the $2 motorcycles...

Deborah A will carry us safely across the wide river. The ferry only holds a dozen cars and trucks. The temperature is a warm 80 degrees, sunny, not windy. Can not imagine what it would be like to use this ferry in the middle of a winter blizzard.

There is a story about the deckhand falling overboard several years ago in the middle of winter. He was not discovered missing until the Capitan had reached the other side. There are only two workers on the ferry at any time, the Capitan/Pilot and the deckhand. Riders were bundled up in their cars, staying warm. No one saw the man fall into the frigid waters or know how it happened. His body was found two miles downriver.

As we near the south shoreline, can see there are two older smaller ferries docked.  

One, Boone No.7 is a side wheel paddle boat. 

The Anderson Ferry has been in operation since at least 1817, but they say a ferry operated at this location many years before that. Is now in the historical record books.

I have crossed the Ohio River many times on two, three and four wheels over bridges, but this is the first for crossing on a ferry that I did not know even existed.

On the south shore is the historic Anderson homestead and the main terminal for the ferry operation. Behind the house is an old barn where they housed the horses that were used to power the early ferries across the river. Yes, the early ferries were powered by two blind horses walking on a treadmill, each powering the paddle wheel on their side of the ferry.

The south side landing is more remote and off the beaten path. Historic car collectors favor this old crossing as do motorcyclists. This type of slow leisurely travel I can enjoy.

Slow moving Interstates try my patience. 

Enjoy a small piece of Americana for only two bucks. I never would have found this historic treasure if it had not been for the modern traffic snarl in Cincinnati,... and my impatience with snail traffic.

For more information on the Anderson Ferry, go to: https://www.andersonferry.com/our-story/

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Handmade tamales

A recent sidecar gathering for Texas and Louisiana sidecar riders, Art and Rosa fed the group homemade tamales.

The rally gathered at the KOA Campgrounds in Rusk, then rode to Alto, Texas for breakfast.

More than twenty-five sidecar rigs line the small Texas town street, in spite of the rainy weather forecast.

Different colors, brands, models and ages, enjoying life on three wheels.

Only in Texas...  

a bit too late to post that, me thinks.

Ride safe and long ya'll

CCjon

roving96535@mypacks.net