Highway love

[gnwatts]

Driving east on I-70 going home to Carbondale (with a side trip to Telluride) near the San Rafael Swell I decided to stop at all of the rest stops & points of interest (State & federal highways only), and to take a photo not more than 20 feet from my car. It was a random thing to do but ended up being kind of fun, but sporadic, as I wasn't getting anywhere. The twenty feet was to get a little excercise, but not too much, kind of like a super short day hike every 20 minutes or so.

My first rest stop, via a nice short switchback road. The wind was blowing about 60 mph:



The second stop was just before I-70 drops down through the reef:



Then on the other side of the reef was this rest stop, with a memorial to a state trooper:









Then the rest stops stopped, as did the points of interest with the handy camera signs (very helpful). Then on the road to Telluride on the top of Dallas Divide is this large turnout, with this view of Last Dollar Mountain (I think) and Ralph Lauren's ranch in the foreground:



Telluride's Main Street.



This turnout/view area (no camera sign) is past Telluride on the road to Cortez. This was a bonus stop as I was able to photograph three mountains with out moving. Sheep Mountain:





Sunshine Peak on the left, Wilson Peak (it used to be in all of the Coors light commercials featuring giant bikini babes playing football across the mesa, very creative) on the right:




Just a little further down the road and up a side canyon is Ophir. It is the 2nd highest (I think) incorporated town in the continental US, elev. 9650. An old mining town about 20 miles from Telluride. My wife and I moved here from San Diego in 1990. It was much smaller, about 70 people. It still had a party line for the telephone. No heat, just a wood burning stove, burned 10 chords every year. We lived here for 3 years. It's not officially on a state highway but close to one.




Another old mining town on the way to McClure pass (and Carbondale on the other side), Somerset, on the north fork of the Gunnison River. It has a great bar,




So, in closing, don't be in such a hurry! Stop at those rest stops and points of historical interest!

[JP]

Great pics on the way home

[Sombeech]

Cool idea

[gnwatts]

Another nice pull off south of Moab:



The drag was I just got a ticket.

[JP]

Whoops Not for holding an electronic handheld device or speeding

[gnwatts]

Thanks for posting that. I think I remember this from when we lived in Telluride.

[gnwatts]

It is friggin snowing and raining outside and I have too much free time right now so I am going to post more shots.
Somewhere on Hwy 141 heading towards Gateway, Co.





Paonia reservoir on Hwy. 133 on my way to or from Carbondale, heading to Telluride or Dominguez Canyon usually. What is left of the North Fork of the Gunnison River, under a hundred feet of sand:




















Boulder Dam on Nevada state Hwy. 93. Mis-judged my time (and forgot my tripod in San Diego) so I arrived late, with a big wind. I often admire and am repulsed by dams, but this strtucture is a beautiful thing. Cameras do not do it justice:











Another shot on Hwy. 141 near Egnar, I think. Weird high winds and a fire nearby created this post apocalyptic feeling @ 11am.





I-70, another post apocalyptic scene.





On Hwy. 164 heading towards Searchlight, Nevada. That was a red road.





Lifeguard tower next to Hwy. 101 @ Seaside reef, near Encintas, Ca.






Another Telluride shot, San Miguel County Courthouse. (Hwy 145)





Heading south on Hwy. 95 from Needles, Ca, heading towards Vidal Junction. Incredible rock formations and a perfect road for a 1972 Citroen SM.


:

[JP]

They should make your idea (this thread) a sticky

[canyonphile]

Great series of photos!

I started having my camera with me on long road trips last summer when we moved from coastal CT to Durango, and as a passenger, I shot over 1200+ photos as we drove across the country through PA, OH, IN, IL, IA, NB and the plains/piedmont section of eastern CO.

Last fall, I did a series of 49 oil paintings based on photos taken last summer during our drive from Durango to North Timp Pt. in the Grand Canyon over Labor Day. Almost all were shot while we were driving. I've done several others since then based on photos taken during regional road trips around AZ, NM and UT. So, I'm all about anything and everything highway and road trip travel as well!

So, I agree with JP that this thread/your idea should be stickied! I'd love to post some of my photos, and see more of yours and anyone else's that has some to share .

[Iceaxe]

OOPS!!!! I expected this thread to be about something else....

***backs slowly out of room and closes door quietly behind***

[gnwatts]

Thanks Sonya and JP. Feel free to ad your images and paintings to this thread. The more the merrier.
I inherited a bunch of ektachrome slides from my Grandparents, shot I am guessing in the early fifties, and most of the shots are from the road, of the road, of the car in front of the road or in front of a sign describing the scene. They traveled cross country a lot, so there is great variety and little snapshots of life. Parades, gas stations, national park service signs, portraits in front of the car. The car is almost always in the photo, which is kind of weird I guess. My grandfather was a mechanic, so I guess that explains it. I guess I got hooked.

A scene off of Hwy 92 near Crawford, Co, driving to Crested Butte above the Black Canyon.





Motel signs. Now that could be a sticky all by itself. Near Gunnison, Co.





Old man off Pacific Hwy, San Diego





Another dam (Damn!), Del Dios Hwy., northern San Diego county.





Rocks @ turnout on Hwy. 1, Big Sur country.





Me. when I was a lot skinnier, Big Sur.

[JP]

So, I agree with JP that this thread/your idea should be stickied! I'd love to post some of my photos, and see more of yours and anyone else's that has some to share .

They just get prefixed now. Dan set me straight due to my own ignorance not reading the no more stickie threads RIF me So, since Dan is a mod in here, he prefixed it. Beech gave me the direct link to the prefix vault http://www.bogley.com/forum/forumdis...prefixid=Album So, the more highway shots that hit this thread, it will keep it on top.

OOPS!!!! I expected this thread to be about something else....

***backs slowly out of room and closes door quietly behind***

No hood sex here.....yet

Thanks Sonya and JP.

Anytime

[gnwatts]

I haven't had good hood sex in a while.
How about a love rocket?

Hwy 93, Nevada:

[JP]

This first one is for Ice Up north we call these things speed bumps, here in Florida



This friendly guy got whacked by a car, I guess he bit himself to end it all



Yes, the sun is out all the time here in Florida, even in the rain










Bulls Bridge...Kent, CT



Falls Village, CT



Drakesville, CT



Oreo Cookie Cows (Belted Halfway)



Newtown's Flag Pole...Newtown, CT



New Hampshire Moose





Crash and burn Durango





The rebuilding of the World Trade Center...This is where the Towers stood. One big hole.

[canyonphile]

Alrighty, then - the thread has been "album-ed"! That's good enough

Thanks for letting it be a free-fer-all, Greg!

That "love rocket" shot is great .

I'll gear up with some, all following Greg's rules: from the road or no more than about 20' off the highway. Most of mine will be shots from the car, with lots of highway shots.

[canyonphile]

I'll start out with our 2200 mile road trip from CT to CO.

First up, PA:

#1 - one of my favorite barn shots from this state. I did a painting of it, in fact.

#2 - some marshy swamp

#3 - view of I-80 somewhere in western PA

[bowjunkie]

I'll play here's one from the swell , Eagle Canyon overlook

[gnwatts]

The crash and burn pics are intense. Were they watching for the moose? The WTC site pics are equally intense, given the context. Covered bridges are very cool, post more if you have them and Include the Road #'s!
My barn obsession is right up there with motel signs. The last one is cool too, I thought it was one of your paintings.

[gnwatts]

Very nice bowjunkie.
I have never been able to get that close with a camera to a bighorn. He looks surprised and a little pissed.

[bowjunkie]

Very nice bowjunkie.
I have never been able to get that close with a camera to a bighorn. He looks surprised and a little pissed.

Thanks Greg,
He was 10 ft off the sidewalk when we parked and didn't want to give up his grass ... lol
Ed