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Notes & Itinerary - December, 2004
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23rd - Thursday
7:30 AM....
Hit the road - & DRIVE! - straight thru to Needles, CA.
Stay at the 'Relax Inn', 24$/nite.
No photography - just 'drive'.
Fortunately, there is a good burrito to be had in this town :-)
...it's at the 'funky/ family style place' on the main drag,
on the right side of the street, if you're traveling south, as I was -
ya can't miss it, especially if you're hungry...

24th - Friday
The shooting starts here :-) ! Pick up Old Rte 66, go thru Oatman, AZ
(a really a crazy/tourist trap/slap-dash looking place).
The drive thru the mountains is better.
Get back on Rte. 40 for PM drive to Page, AZ.
End up at the Quality Inn, Page.
Good burrito to be had here, too - once again,
it's a funky/family style place, on Lake Powell Blvd.

25th - Saturday/Xmas day
North on 89 towards Kanab,Utah, taking in some of Powell Lake
....then back to Page, and south on 89Alt,
towards Jakob Lake. I follow falling light...

26th - Sunday
Overcast - 'desert winter' - Check out Lee's Ferry,
and whatever else is around...

27th - Monday
On to Monument Valley - more dull overcast winter skies.
Not very photograhically interesting... (at least to me)
in this light/weather...
but I am left with no doubt about
how stunning & unique this land is...

28th - Tuesday
On to Canyon De Chelly. Sunny, but turns out to be just for the day - Walk down to White House ruins. Find out just how wide pentax 55mm lense is - take in the entire cliff (ruins to sky) in one vertical frame.

29th - Wednesday
More bad weather coming - locals said it would be around for a few days - against my fondest wishes, I decided to head back to CA.
Hit the road west - thru worst driving imaginable...
Flagstaff, AZ is at 8,000 ft. - ANY precipitation at this time of year is most probably snow -
(Yech! - I grew up in Maine and New hampshire -
i've had quite enough of the white stuff).
Make it to Four Corners, CA. - another 'Relax Inn' -
this time, w/ no competition, the tab is 40$.
But the aroma of good east Indian cooking,
that wafts out to the front desk, is worth....ooh.. at least 10$.....!

30th - Thursday
Drive up Rte 14 North, from Mojave, CA. - entrance to Red Rock Canyon has been dug out of mud, but not completely - not wanting to do anything crazy or stupid,..
I continue on...
Drive on, to 178, to Lake Isabella - stormy skies - *big one* on the way... i drive and shoot, and shoot and drive...arrive back home in San Rafael at 6:30PM.

"End of trip"... but! - the beginning of... wanting to go back, again...

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