January 31, 2005 – 11:34 AM
January 31, 2005
Rest Stop west of San Antonio Texas
The best laid plans……
Becky called to say Uncle Phil (Chief Crazy Bull) had a mild stroke and was going to have surgery in a few days and wanted me to come be there so we’ve been making a beeline to Albuquerque. Should arrive sometime tomorrow. Had planned on going down to the Big Bend area for a few weeks before going to Omaha but I guess Big Bend will have to wait. Just straight interstate driving for a while. Will head back to Omaha from Albuquerque and get the Poland Show done.
Was able to stop and visit VR and attend his Church on the was through East Texas. Always good to see him and pray with him. Thank you VR! Unfortunately Jean was sick so we only got to say hi to her through the screen door. Sure have made some good friends out there.
VR Hilton at Church
Can someone tell me where to find this????
January 28, 2005 – 3:21 PM
January 28, 2005
Ochlocknee River
Sopchoppy Florida
After leaving Arcadia we started to make a beeline towards Austin Pennsylvania to look at and hopefully buy what we hope will be out new bus. A little history…. Since we’ve decided to make the trip at least another year we have to get larger quarters to live and work. After a bit of research we fell in love with the old flex buses from the 1950’s and low and behold we found what looks like the perfect one. The rock group Raging Slab now owns it. Great music and you can learn all about them at:
www.ragingslab.com
The bus was built by Bud Hoover. Bud and his wife Judy lived in it for 17 years! If you look through the Internet you’ll find Bud all over as a very knowledgeable Flx bus person. Even built and ran a very fine Flx bus site, which is still up but no longer run by Bud:
http://www.flxible.net
Bud and Judy now run The Lookout up in Northern Pennsylvania. Check out their site at:
www.thelookout.biz
Needless to say we are super excited and can’t wait till the snow thaws out and we can go see her.
Anyway to make a long story short after seeing photos and lots of phone calls we headed north but by the time we hit Georgia, the weather had worsened in Northern Pa and it was decided we should put off the trip north until about mid-March to see/buy our new home. Seems the bus is under a bit of snow and lots more is expected with temperatures in the –3 degree range. Greg, from the band assured us that a small deposit would hold the bus until we arrived so we headed back down south… And here we are in Sopchoppy Florida and Heather wants to go to the Sopchoppy Opery after our anniversary dinner tonight, two years today! Aho
But back to the road. Last night we spent in The Okefenokee Swamp at the Stephen C. Foster State Park. Very cool good camps and they rent motorboats and canoes to go out in the Lakes (swamps) lots of turtles and alligators and rather inexpensive. Met up with Steve Donohue of Adirondack Guideboat Inc. They make some very cool wooden and glass boats. Look more like canoes but with oars that work like a rowboats’. Not too technical but you get the idea. Steve is from New Mexico but now lives in Vermont and builds boats during the summer and travels the highways seeking warmer weather and good fishing and boating during the cold months. He cooked us a great southwestern dinner. You can learn all about the boats at:
www.adirondack-guide-boat.com
This afternoon, just south of Tallassee we had hoped to stop and visit Missionary Mary Proctor. Joan and Jerry, from Houston, turned us on to her and her art. She is a very fine Folk Artist and runs the American Folk Art Museum and Gallery at 3919 The Woodville Highway. It runs south out of Tallassee. As we got close we gave her a call only to find out she was having an opening at The Smithsonian and she won’t be back until early February but by then we need to be heading toward Omaha. Oh well, perhaps the first trip in the Bus will be back down south to work with her I truly look forward to meeting her after seeing her art in Huston and her amazing space her in Florida. There are many sites that show her work on the internet, I recommend you look her up. The best site I’ve found on her is:
www.whohadada.com/maryproctor/maryproctor.html
Also met Randy J. Orton at the camp last night. Randy is on a pilgrimage to Caristas of Birmingham Alabama. Had a good time sitting around his camp getting to know him and made a great portrait of him.
The Bus….
The American Folk Art Museum and Gallery
The American Folk Art Museum and Gallery 2
Watch Dog The American Folk Art Museum and Gallery
steve and dmk at okefenokee swamp
3 cypress okefenokee swamp
3 trees okefenokee
trees okefenokee swamp
Aligator
Driving the boat Okefenokee Swamp
Heather on the boat
okefenokee swamp 1
trees okefenokee swamp
Randy J. Orton at the Ochlockenee River
Henry and Dmk at the Ochlockonee River
January 27, 2005 – 3:02 PM
January 27, 2005
Jacksonville, Florida
Left Arcadia this morning and are still amazed by the folks we met there and how much of the Hurricane damage is still apparent. As we were heading north we ran into Sandy’s Big Tree Produce at 906 S. 6th. Avenue, Wauchula, Fl 863-767-0868. Great fruits, vegetables and swamp cabbage (or heart of palm). Also did a portrait of the guys staying next to us at Peace River. The three of them are down from Ohio working here to help the folks recover from the last hurricane.
Sandy and Ron Bryant from Sandy’s Big Tree Troduce
Brian, Carlos and Rob Peace River Camp Hurricane Workers
Hurricane Damage 1
Hurrican Damage 2
Hurricane Damage 3
January 25, 2005 – 5:19 PM
January 25, 2005
Arcadia, Florida
Howdy all- we have decided that for the second year out we need a bigger rig and so we are looking for an old Flxbus, GM etc about a 30-35 foot bus with the conversation done. If you know of any or anyone who would be interested in buying the Airstream or Truck please let me know. We have run out of space and as much as we hate to part with the Airstream we need to enlarge the work area.
January 25, 2005 – 2:41 PM
January 25, 2005
Peace River Campground
Arcadia, Florida
Been quite a few days here in Cattle country. Didn’t know that cattle is Florida’s largest export. Not beef but cattle, seems they birth them here and then ship out the young calves to places like Wyoming and Colorado to fatten then up and killem. So that beef on your plate was most likely born in Florida.
Spent some time on the Blue Head Ranch with the cowboys and Mr. Wayne Collier, the Ranch Manager and quite a cowboy himself. It’s a big spread something like 72,000 acres. Photographed Mr. Collier along with some of his top ranch hands. Was quite amazing being out on prairies that look akin to New Mexico or Colorado but with Palm trees among the scrub oaks. The first morning we met at sunup and photographed as they turned one herd out into the Rye pasture. As we were working with the cowboys Mr. Henry Darrell Grace, one of the guys who keeps all the machines worken on the ranch drove up and I got to make his photograph as well..
Also photographed Mr. George P. Pratt who when he isn’t working out on the range as a cowboy runs Equine Transportation out of Altamont NY and Arcadia Florida.
If you need your horses moved I recommend him highly. A very enjoyable human being.
One might ask how we met these cowboys. My friend Victor Milt the famous TV commercial director from the old New York City days found out I was up in Arcadia, which happens to be the town his wife Kim Milt grew up in, so he called me and told me about all the great people here. Then he got excited and called me back saying he was going to drive up to visit, so we had some time together as well. Seems he has been working on a documentary about the cowboy life up in these parts. My good friend Michael Kravit’s has been working with Victor on the project shooting stills so I had already seem some great images of the folks and was truly excited to be able to spend time here.
During our time here Victor also introduced us to Mr. Fletcher Brown a true country lawyer and gentleman as well as Ms Alice Williams a sweetheart of a women!
Made wonderful photographs of both of them.
Peace River Camp early morning
Sunrise Fire
Early morning at the barn
Sunrise at the barn
Mr. Victor Milt and Mr. Fletcher Brown
Mr. George Pratt
Mr. Victor Milt and Ms. Alice Williams
Mr. Victor MIlt shooting a top om truck
Mr. Victor Milt removing hisself from my truck
January 20, 2005 – 11:35 AM
January 20, 2005
Peace River Camp
Arcadia Fl
With Key West and the Everglades behind us we pulled in and out of Naples. So much cement and so many cars. Signs saying “no animals” on the beach, huge mansions and cute old cottages hidden between the ever growing cultural on slot of Naples and Key West and so many small towns everywhere…….
We did stay in a great old Mobil Home Park outside Naples the last two nights The Greystone RV Park on Hwy 41. The park was primarily for stationary travel trailers from the mid 1960’s. Most of them had fences around their wheels and one or two small building attached to them. Very pristine old trailers well kept and in good repair. Was like walking back into the early sixties. Then there were a few spaces for travelers like us to camp for a night or two.
So there was some magic left in Naples. I’d spent the morning photographing some of the old trailers and wanted to do some trippy- dippy images of them connected to some images of the mansions in Naples so off we went on a walking tour. No way we were going to drive the airstream through upper class Naples stopping to make photographs along the way. After what seemed like miles of walking we started back to where we’d parked and from over my shoulder I heard what seems to be a familiar voice shouting some unrecognizable words and who should appear but Richard (the artist who didn’t use one of my many photographs of him, or ask me to shoot a new one, for his first book cover, may he rot in painters hell) Segalman. Surprise he was in Naples for a party and we just happened to occupy the same space as he. Met his friends Paul and Eileen, seems we were walking right by their home and he came out just then. Had a nice visit Paul and Eileen and then Paul drove us back to our parking place and off we went .
Left the big road and got onto HWY 17, hit farm country, or what is left of it after the last hurricane. Good to see small towns, people moving a bit slower and no “No Animals Allowed” signs. Ran through fields and swamps all afternoon and arrived after dark at The Peace River Camp in Arcadia Fl. www.Peace River Campground.com Looking forward to seeing the Peace River in the daylight.
Miccosukee indian and alligator show in the Everglades
More of the show
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
Paul,Eilene,Richard and Heather Naples
Henry with an additude…
January 16, 2005 – 10:59 AM
time for more coffee…..
Boats at Key West
Heather and DMK at Key West Camp
Henry and DMK at Key West
Dmk at Key West did a great 4×5 of tourists photograhing themselves with car see gallery oneday…
Did another good image here
Good time at the Keys
Chicken all over note the darts in this chicken
end of the road
Henry in the wind
Key West Home
Key West Home 2
Key West Homes and Shops
Traditional Key West Signage
Traditional Key West Sky
Henry’s thoughts’
on the road again
January 16, 2005 – 10:53 AM
yep time for coffee…
Heather and DMK outside Pepes a very cool place
DMK and an Angel at Mallory Square
Angel and Punk at Mallory Square
Mike,DMK and Silverman at Mallory Square
Silverman’s email
http://www.silvermansite.com/default.php
Silverman’s web site
if it all gets boring you can always go to……
or ride the conch train
or just hang out on Duval Street
and have a fine art photo made
and then shop some more
or go to woolworth’s
you’ll see why……
January 16, 2005 – 10:33 AM
January 16, 3005
Key West Florida
Well I think Papa Hemingway must moan in pain as people walk into Sloppy Joes Bar and step on his face embossed in the dirty rug by the entrance. Perhaps he shifts slightly in his grave as people line up at his home for the tour? How big a cut does he get from all the t shirts sold to the multitude of tourists coming off the 2-3 cruise ships that dock for a few hours each day at the foot of Duval Street?
Driving down the Keys we were excited about spending a month or two here, even though the rv park was 3 times more expensive than any we had encountered before, (and we were to learn that anything else other than the space came with a price tag) making photographs during the day and working in the darkroom at night, having some leisure time on the beach, walking in the hot sun and exploring the old streets of key west in the evenings. Maybe even finding a local bar to spend the evening hours. And we did… Pepe’s on Caroline Street! Great food, great drinks and great people. Truly a local’s hangout and they loved having Henry dine with us. Our waitress even had doggie treats in her apron. Ate many good meals here.
Mike and Lorene arrived on Thursday and we’ve spent the last few days exploring together. Have had a good time being with them and will be sad to see them leave today but…….
What we found was that Key West and Santa Fe have much in common. A great history, lots of history and natural beauty but city fathers with greed in their eyes and hearts. Duval Street is more a circus than a cool historic street. Lots of T-shirts and trash that appeal to the tourists from the low end cruise ships. A multitude of open air bars offer up appalling loud live music that blasts out into the street and melt together becoming Hemingway’s scream as it pounds against your brain. Mixed among the bars and T-shirt shops are restaurants with high prices and not so great food as well as poster art galleries and stands hawking the tours you can go on.
In all fairness as you leave Duvall Street and roam the small backstreets that make up Historic Key West there are many wonderful old homes and small shops that make up the real key but your looking at $350.000 low end for a small 1-2 bedroom home with no land and it’s a fixer upper. Heading in the local paper “City to study dorms for local Workers”, seems that the support people can’t afford to live here anymore. Hello Santa Fe! But the small street are quite beautiful and years ago it must have been a great place to live.
Each night there is the Sunset Party on Mallory Square by the Marina. We did get to see the sunset- one night when the cruise ships weren’t blocking it. Quite a good gathering of street artists, performers and venders selling-for the most part local crafts.
Silverman, a self made mime was quite good and fun to talk to as well as the “Angel”.
Made good images of both. But then along came “The Ambassador to the Conch Republic” -self appointed I would assume. Dressed in a cheap suit and uncle sam hat. I asked, as I always do, but this time with a ten-dollar bill in hand, (as it was obvious he was pan handling) if I could make his portrait and got told quite rudely that I could not “he’d been ripped off too many times”. Now he didn’t seem to mind the multitude of people who approached and snapped his photograph without asking and then gave him a buck. The very first person that has refused to allow me to make their portrait the entire trip, a year and 40,000 miles ago. Perhaps it’s time for a new ambassador? But all in all the sunset party was a good time and the sunset we did see was spectacular.
Leaving downtown you’ll find home depot, kmart, boarders, and all the rest on Hwy 1. As with Santa Fe, the true local flavor has been diluted to almost nothing. Everywhere you go there is a generic melting of culture a sameness creeping across america . A greed and consumption that seems to swallow up the old and spit out generic high end shit. Onward toward Texas?
The Ambassador to the Conch Republic photo by Michael Kravit
stepped on Papa
Sloppy Joe’s now the origional was in Havana Cuba
Drinks at Sloppy’s and they are good!
After a few drinks at Sloppy’s
After a few mork drinks….
now it’s time to buy tee shirts
January 10, 2005 – 8:55 PM
January 10, 2005
Key West Florida
Arrived this afternoon to 78-degree weather, blue skies and feathery white clouds. For a while there we were not sure we’d make it. While in the east our water pipes froze and when they thawed out, one burst, then the refrigerator shut down, and the electrical system shorted out so the time in Boca was spent either in Mike’s darkroom or the numerous small spaces one has to squeeze into to do repairs on an Airstream. But after hours of work and more than a few moments of pure craziness we got on our way again.
Two miles out of Boca the alternator gauge went crazy as did I, but it settled back in and all was well. Have to remember we’ve gone over 40 thousand miles with no repairs until now so it’s quite amazing that more systems haven’t failed… but it would be less stressful if they all hadn’t failed at once.
Had an enjoyable time in Boca. Got to see old friends Kim and Victor Milt. Also found time to process and contact the gallery shoot. It’s interesting to go off road and work in a real darkroom again. But I really enjoy working in the “road darkroom” and the excitement of “processing” the Polaroid’s and seeing the image in 20 seconds still is a rush.
Once again thanks Mike and Lorene for all your love and support!
Camp outside Boca Raton Fl.
Strange things between orange croppers
Mike and my film in his darkroom
Road to Key West HWY 1
looking back as we head toward Key West
Old Key West Bridge
