Arthritis as The Soul of Wit

I've always been more concise on the page than in the air; just ask my mother or wife. The real task has been to say something worthwhile bofore I tired of writing. Now that arthritis has taken hold of my hands I'm more inclined to brevity.

Into the Empty Quarter

One of the places my wife and I disagree is tourism. The biggest conflict comes over the population of where we happen to be.

Somrak is from Thailand; a place sufficiently packed with humanity to make some parts of California's urban interstices seem like wilderness. She grew up in the "country", but had lived most of her life, by the time I met her, in Bangkok; as tightly populated a town as seems possible. As a result, I think, she has a very different take on crowds.

A few years ago we drove to San Diego County by way of the back side of the Sierras. We went through Panamint Valley, where we saw only one other vehicle. She turned to me and said, "there are no trees and no people; are you crazy?" She is nervous when there are no other people around. This could be a problem exploring the American Southwest.

I, however, find the press of humanity sometimes disturbing. I'm the one who revels in empty country. I hope to return from our trip to Grand Canyon by way of Utah and US Hwy 50. I suppose I may have to relent and expect to return by way of Las Vegas on the freeway.

Love, and perigrination,
Stephen

When Will Vacation Get Here?

I may be acting like a short-timer. Our departure for Grand Canyon is only four days away and I'm having trouble concentrating on work.

Let us consider this the beginning of the travelogue.

The big concern is how much to take. I've answered the personaly most important version of the question: how much photographic equipment? The DSLR is going, along with all the compatable lenses; the medium-format film camera with mostly color film; and the 4x5 view camera with B&W film.

We will be staying at one of the lodges at the Village but will carry camping gear for drives to and from. The tent will likely stay home because it's large, and slow to erect and strike - we'l sleep in the cab of the truck.

Clothing and bedding is always an interesting matter for us. Madam believes in packing big. On my own I might bring a few changes of underwear and wash them out in the tub and drip dry. On my own, of course, I might only bring cameras and food.

Tomorrow: the issue with unpopulated country.

Round-about to the Grand Canyon

I have been obsessing, discreetly, about the pending trip to Grand Canyon. I'm planning all kinds of back-road meanders - I hope Madam has the patience for it.

A preliminary itinerary for the three days towards GC:
San Francisco to LA via Hwy 1, especially Big Sur (I have never been there).
Thai-Town, North Hollywood and a Buddhist temple, or two.
Get our kicks on route 66 - Cajon Pass and National Trails Highway to about Needles.
More 66, in fragments, to Flagstaff then north to the big gully.

I hope to avoid freeways as much as possible. A slow three days with lots of photo opportunities.

Loading for Bear

Madam and I will be heading to Grand Canyon in less than two weeks, in celebration of out 15th anniversary. I, of course, am probably grossly over-packed with cameras. The D200 is going, certainly, but I was in a quandry about how much of my analog equipment would also be along. I seem to have decided - I've ordered 4x5 and 120 film for the Crown Graphic and the Mamiya C220. This all begs the question why I would be going in so many directions at once. The answer may be next year in coming.

A Metaphor for Politics

Some people are afraid to take the car out of tha garage.

Some people want to drive it off the cliff.

Some people think we should push the other cars off the road.

Those folks are a few percent of us. Most of us want to use the car to get the kids to school, take care of the neccessities of life and an occasional vacation. We want to keep it well-tuned and running efficiently, making sure the tires and brakes are in good order. Where we differ is in which version of the owner's manual is correct.

Cleaning out the Stuff with eBay

I have a mess in my office (actually, my livingroom). The bookshelf is overflowing onto the second computer desk and onto the floor. Quite a lot of what I have is railroad related and I've decided to trim a lot of it down. At the same time I'm drooling over some lovely cameras and lenses on eBay. I've got to support the old camera habit somehow, so I'm selling a lot of the railroad stuff.

Go here for a look.

So far, it's no big bucks, but looks like I'll be covering expenses. It's also rather suspenseful watching the process; better than buying lottery tickets.

Love,
and shameless commerce,
Stephen