Posts

Route 66 – 2

Progress to date:

Thursday – Tulsa OK to Oklahoma City OK

Friday – Oklahoma City OK to Shamrock TX

Saturday – Shamrock TX to Tucumcari NM

Sunday – Tucumcari NM to Santa Fé NM

Monday – Santa Fé NM

Tuesday – Santa Fé NM

Wednesday – Santa Fé NM to Albuquerque NM

 

Motel morning, Shamrock

Motel morning, Shamrock

 

Colourful, Santa Fé

Colourful, Santa Fé

 

Junk, Shamrock

Junk, Shamrock

 

Morning shadow, Tucumcari

Morning shadow, Tucumcari

 

Autumn near Taos

Autumn near Taos

 

Workshop, Shamrock

Workshop, Shamrock

 

We had all manner of good intentions for our rest day in Tulsa and ended up achieving almost nothing. The weather was wet and the temperature down by a good 10C over the previous few days, so a warm hotel room and some essential catching up was called for.

 

On Thursday our Toyota Yaris decided that Xmas was near and started lighting up its dashboard with festive looking warning lights signifying low tyre pressure, cold temperatures and finally, a servicing warning. Rather than risk a complete meltdown, we decided to head straight to the car rental office near Oklahoma City’s airport and seek advice as to what to do next.

 

The answer was a car change, affected by the extremely helpful guys at Hertz. The Toyota being taken off to get some TLC and us leaving only minutes later in a sIightly roomier Nissan. It was quite late by then and we agreed to head for our nearby hotel, rather than fight the mounting rush hour traffic 20 miles into town for some sightseeing. Good move – we checked-in, relaxed for an hour or so, then headed for the grillhouse across the road, a couple of drinks, a fine rib supper and an early night. Worked for me.

 

Abandoned diner, Newkirk

Abandoned diner, Newkirk

 

Yukon Mills, Yukon

Yukon Mills, Yukon

 

Whatever, Chandler

Whatever, Chandler

 

Poster leftovers, Tulsa

Poster leftovers, Tulsa

 

Wilkerson's, Newkirk

Wilkerson’s, Newkirk

 

Yukon Mills, Yukon

Yukon Mills, Yukon

 

Friday’s run was marked by a series of navigational problems. What should have been an easy exit from Oklahoma City, became an hour long nightmare of wrong turns and mounting marital frustration. Finally, the satnav decided it knew where we were and got us back on track. Just as well, I had twinges of Groundhog Day starting to appear.

 

Then the EZ66 guide book decided that it was going to be BloodyMinded66 and later still, FuckYou66, such were the misleading directions it gave us. Of course, several areas of roadworks didn’t help, just like in the UK, where miles of motorway (Interstate here in the US) had been coned off, but absolutely no workers were in evidence and even less work was actually going on.

 

By Sunday, we were both feeling frustrated by the guide book’s willingness to lead us into the unknown. In response, Mrs P set about Googling a solution and soon found a series of satnav routes derived from EZ66, but which didn’t end up in gravel roads going nowhere, or farm roads leading across private property. Wish we’d done this before leaving home.

 

Desolate, San Jon

Desolate, San Jon

 

You can get there from here, El Reno

You can get there from here, El Reno

 

Parkersburg

Parkersburg

 

Wilkerson's, Newkirk

Wilkerson’s, Newkirk

 

The Blue Swallow Motel, Shamrock

The Blue Swallow Motel, Shamrock

 

Sculpture, Canyon Road, Santa Fé

Sculpture, Canyon Road, Santa Fé

 

Which brings us to Santa Fé, a favourite spot for the next couple of days R&R. I sense some fine food on the horizon…

 

And there was – fine food that is and all too soon our time in America’s arty pueblo was up and we were back on the road to Albuquerque. More of that next time.

 

Art Deco and old New Mexico, Santa Fé

Art Deco and old New Mexico, Santa Fé

 

Abandoned, Tucumcari

Abandoned, Tucumcari

 

Moonset, Shamrock

Moonset, Shamrock

 

Canyon Road, Santa Fé

Canyon Road, Santa Fé

 

66 ruminations

A few seconds of thought will probably provide a logical answer to this one. I’ve always found it weird how when driving in the US, a car/van/truck can be behind, filling my rear view mirror, often for a considerable distance, when the next glance in the mirror shows that it’s completely disappeared.

 

Yeah, I know it will have turned off, but it seems to happen so suddenly; one moment all you can see in the mirror are the chromed slats of a grille and the letters LIBRETE (ETERBIL in the mirror), the next moment, the road behind is completely empty. Even when I don’t recall passing any other roads, or turnings. Odd that.

 

While in Chicago, I made sure of the sunrise time and was on the streets well before 07:00, in good time to grab some early morning light. By the time we reached Cuba, that had inched closer to 07:15. In Oklahoma City, at 07:00 it was still pitch dark outside. Further west, Shamrock TX only sees the sun from 07:47 tomorrow (Saturday).

 

Sunrise in Santa Fé today (Monday) is 07:12 – we’re an hour later here as we’ve crossed into the Mountain Time Zone.

 

America’s road network is great and in the main well maintained. The byways of Route 66 unfortunately don’t enjoy the same level of maintenance and pot holes are everywhere. One I spotted this morning (while making yet another U turn) was so big that I did wonder whether it hadn’t been used to bury the car from the BBC’s drama serial One of us.

 

On the subject of road surfaces, many, many roads employ concrete slabs, with expansion joints between. Easy if you have an American car with soft springs and soggy shock absorbers, but a European (or Japanese) car generally has much stiffer suspension and so there is a lot of b-dum b-dum b-dum road noise and driving any distance can become a bit of a trial for driver and passenger alike.

 

Del's Restaurant, Shamrock

Del’s Restaurant, Shamrock

 

Trump support, Shamrock

Trump support, Shamrock

 

Autumn colour, New Mexico

Autumn colour, New Mexico

 

Wind turbines - Route 66

Wind turbines – Route 66

 

About photographing Route 66; Philippe sent me a blurt after the last post, saying that I should produce more colour images. Well, I’ve done that this time. They are images that I think work well in colour and there’s still some b&w threaded through them all.

 

Pascal suggested a run up to Hernandez, with a view to recreating Ansel Adams famous moonrise shot. Well, we went to scout the location en route from Santa Fé to Taos yesterday, but it doesn’t look quite like it did in Adams day. Idea binned – see below.

 

Not quite how Adams saw Hernandez

Not quite how Adams saw Hernandez

 

Once again, most images have been shot with the Fuji X-Pro2, a couple with the X-Pro1. Favourite lens? Still the 23mm f1.4, with the 90mm f2 and 16mm f1.4 coming into use where appropriate – the latter at the Taos Gorge over the Rio Grande.

 

Junk yard, Shamrock

Junk yard, Shamrock

 

Breakfast friends, Santa Fé

Breakfast friends, Santa Fé

 

Rio Grande - Taos Gorge

Rio Grande – Taos Gorge

 

Rio Grande near Hernandez

Rio Grande near Hernandez

 

Gone, Newkirk

Gone, Newkirk

 

Wilkerson's, Newkirk

Wilkerson’s, Newkirk

 

Tow truck, Shamrock

Tow truck, Shamrock

 

On Route 66

On Route 66

 

Window, McLean

Window, McLean

 

Scrapyard bonnet, Shamrock

Scrapyard bonnet, Shamrock

All the Js

Queue for the Amber Palace, Jaipur

Queue for the Amber Palace, Jaipur

 

These have been busy days; travelling from Gwalior to the Js. First to Jaipur, several days on the streets and then on to Jodhpur. Two cities in central India that are home to much of the country’s history and able to speak volumes of their entanglement with their former colonial rulers.

 

Jaipur, unremittingly India, colourful, noisy and a must on anyone’s travel agenda. It is also home to the sprawling, hilltop Amber Palace and with the right guide, a place of constant surprise and delight.

 

We’d arrived after a lengthy drive from Gwalior. Nine hours on a variety of roads from primitive, yet effective (and tolled) dual carriageways, to rutted, potholed country tarmac. Piloted by the ever-capable Manoj our driver, we finally tumbled off the bus late in the afternoon and set about doing b-all.

 

Untitled, Jaipur

Untitled, Jaipur

 

The following morning, our itinerary was essentially a tour of the Amber Palace. The bus set us down in Ghandi Chowk, the village at the base of the hill over which the Palace looms. On the suggestion of our guide, we wandered the lanes, alleyways and various temples on our walk up to the Palace itself. Before you ask, yes it was blerry hot – before 10:00 and the temperature was already reaching for the mid-30s Celsius.

 

Untitled, Jaipur

Untitled, Jaipur

 

Every town and city we’ve visited has a slightly different feel; Jaipur being no different. It’s closer to its agrarian roots, retains more structured village-like housing and is palpably tidier.

 

Depending on your photographic preference, the Amber Palace offers just about everything; horizon-to-horizon views, magnificent (if down-at-heel) buildings, quiet corners and people everywhere. October is late season in this part of India and the crowds were manageable – it’s hard to imagine what high season 40C temperatures and thousands more people could do to the current semi-tranquility.

 

From the Palace, we descended into the city and it’s market under a banyan tree. It’s very obvious if you’re driving past, but few guides seem to bother, preferring to usher their charges through the more obvious tourist landmarks.

 

The market under the banyan tree, Jaipur

The market under the banyan tree, Jaipur

 

We got to see locksmiths cutting and matching keys by hand, the hairdresser turning out first class high-lather, straight razor shaves and a transport hub, all in an area not much bigger than a large blanket.

 

From there the street market was just a few steps, the colour and bustle of India on display at every turn.

 

High art and cables, Jaipur

High art and cables, Jaipur

 

Day two saw us lolling – the guide books call it a “day at leisure”, we call it a “down day”, which we use to rest and sleep a bit, attend to our personal needs and wander the immediate area. Years of touring have impressed on us the necessity of time off – if you don’t make time in your schedule, you’ll quickly wish you had – especially with day time temperatures peaking close to 40C.

 

Day three. The early morning vegetable market, cold coffee in one of the city’s famous patisseries and on to the Monkey Temple. Nestled in the hills to the east of the city, it’s usually ignored by tour guides and visitors alike – a pity as the photo opportunities are wonderful.

 

Monkey temple, Jaipur

Monkey temple, Jaipur

 

A late lunch in one of the city’s swankier coffee shops and back to the hotel to prepare for the drive to Jodhpur tomorrow.

 

Hard though it was for us to believe, Jodhpur is almost clean and free of litter. Our guide explained the Rajah’s ongoing involvement with the city and away from the (supposedly idle and corrupt) ministrations of the government, things like refuse collection and maintenance work and are well funded and get done timeously.

 

Commuter, Jodhpur

Commuter, Jodhpur

 

Untitled, Jodhpur

Untitled, Jodhpur

 

Untitled, Jodhpur

Untitled, Jodhpur

 

Rickshaw, Jodhpur

Rickshaw, Jodhpur

 

Rickshaw, Jodhpur

Rickshaw, Jodhpur

 

Obliging photographer, Jodhpur

Obliging photographer, Jodhpur

 

Untitled, Jodhpur

Untitled, Jodhpur

 

Chillin' (no.1 daughter's toes) Jodhpur

Chillin’ (no.1 daughter’s toes) Jodhpur

 

The Mehrangarh Fort hovers spectacularly over the so-called Blue City city; perched on a commanding hilltop. Our guide was highly enthusiastic about the Fort and we found it’s tour well organised and pleasantly free of litter and land mines left by the itinerant cattle.

 

The Blue City, Jodhpur

The Blue City, Jodhpur

 

Locked, Jodhpur

Locked, Jodhpur

 

Suti handprints, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

Suti handprints, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

 

Inside the Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

Inside the Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

 

Apparently, the municipality herd these bovine interlopers together and take them to a central pound, where owners can pay a fine and re-claim them. Likewise, badly parked cars – the first city in India where we’ve heard anyone even mention a functioning police force.

 

The guide created some expectation regarding Jodhpur’s street market. The city is very much a desert city and it’s market reflects the different style that brings. Gone are the narrow lanes and claustrophobic press of people, in it’s place, open air displays and vendors selling the produce so typical of the region. There is even a thriving area in the market for used clothing, especially freshly washed and pressed saris. And, for the first time since arriving Mrs P buys spices and a (new!) magnificent cashmere scarf for our upcoming and doubtless chilly UK visit.

 

All too soon, the clean and thoroughly enjoyable Jodhpur falls behind us as we move on to the last leg of this hugely enjoyable and entertaining journey. We’re headed for Narlai, a tiny village barely on the map, ignored by the guide books and home to a hotel our recent experience tells us from which we should not expect too much.

See Agra and then quickly head for Gwalior

The Taj. A magnificent monument to love. Fuji X-Pro1, 25mm Zeiss Biogon

The Taj. A magnificent monument to love. Fuji X-Pro1, 25mm Zeiss Biogon

 

Gwalior. Not on the itinerary of many India visitors and it really should be.

 

I’d added it to ours on a whim – the evening before the details of our tour were set in stone, I’d been idly remembering a series of British steam locomotives that had been named in the ’30s after various Commonwealth countries, provinces and cities. Amongst them, Gwalior.

 

Not very PC in this insane world of being frightened of offending people, but there was an easy two day slot in our schedule. So, why not?

 

I’m glad we did.

 

Family pilgrimage, The Taj. Fuji X-Pro1, 25mm Zeiss Biogon

Family pilgrimage, The Taj. Fuji X-Pro1, 25mm Zeiss Biogon

 

Architectural detail, the Taj. Fuji X-Pro1, 25mm Zeiss Biogon

Architectural detail, the Taj. Fuji X-Pro1, 25mm Zeiss Biogon

 

The observant amongst you will quickly realise that I’ve skipped Agra and the Taj Mahal. Not. That’s about to happen. In truth, Gwalior probably ought to rank equally with the TM and if you’ve been there before, do replace it on your list of places to see.

 

Taj visitors. Fuji X-Pro1, Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4

Taj visitors. Fuji X-Pro1, Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4

 

Untitled. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

Untitled. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

 

We’d left Lucknow by train – did you expect anything different? It was a horrible journey, almost as bad as the TANZAR between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam, which is probably unfair as Zambia Railways actually got us into Dar on time after three and a half days. The bloody Lucknow-Agra Express was dirty, more cramped than a flight on Mango Airlines in South Africa, full of broken seats and seat back tables and the air conditioning was on a par with an asthmatic old man.

 

I decided not to risk the WC.

 

Anyway, this bloody old contraption eventually lurched into Agra at 01:00, three hours late after stopping at every station and signal along the way. Fortunately, our guide was still patiently waiting for us and sped us off to our hotel and a couple of hours of wide awake in bed, waiting for sleep to come. We’d abandoned our 05:00 alarm call to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise.

 

Instead, we visited at dusk and it’s magnificent – pretty much as you’d expect. This is low season, but there were still thousands of visitors milling around and getting any kind of collectible photograph is hopeless. We did the sunrise shoot the following morning, immediately prior to getting back on our small bus for the drive to Gwalior.

 

That was also special. Less visitors, fewer locals jostling and some nice photo opportunities and a brilliant sunrise.

 

Taj close-up. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

Taj close-up. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

 

Agra? Great, but as WikiTravel says; one day and flee. I’ve been there and now understand why.

 

Poolside loll. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

Poolside loll. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

 

Sandstone everywhere. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

Sandstone everywhere. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

 

Sunrise near the Taj. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

Sunrise near the Taj. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

 

So, Gwalior.

 

This morning’s guide arrived full of beans and was clearly a local history maven. He took us to the fort – actually a mogul’s palace and temple. In a word; spectacular.

 

The fort is perched on a hilltop overlooking the city and our tour explored pretty much every nook, cranny and tiny staircase in and between the walls. Our guide didn’t guide, he taught us about Shiva, Vishnu, the succession of moguls, wives, the architecture, habits, practices and just about everything else. In short, he brought the whole two thousand year history of the fort and its surrounds to life. Taj Mahal? Seen it and won’t go back. Gwalior? Read on.

 

According it the blurb, we’re staying in a non-hotel hotel. A self-catering boutique hotel, created from the tumbledown structure of some former mogul’s guest house, the hotel has a central buffet-style dining room if you want to use it and not much else. It’s old, renovated, comfortable, surrounds a large lawn area and is entirely enchanting.

 

To our (all of us) delight, there are several tiny temples and other ancient buildings also on the property and accessible to guests. Having arrived late yesterday afternoon after a lengthy road journey from Agra, my sundown shoot on the property was hurried and yielded little. This morning’s sunrise wander amongst the temples was everything I’d hoped for yesterday and a great deal more.

 

Gwalior is welcoming – as are all of the places we’ve visited so far – and as hectic as we are coming to expect. It also has the special something Agra lacks. I’d recommend it to any traveller.

 

The rest of the family arrived in Agra, along with my new Fuji X-Pro and Fuji 35mm f1.4 lens. Between visits, walks, food and beer I’m working through the manual and trying the new lens and well as my various M mount lenses on its adaptor. So far, the 50mm Summilux, 25mm Biogon and Voigtlander’s 15mm all seem to work fine. The latter is a complete surprise as my Sony NEX-7 simply refused to deliver anything usable with it.

 

While I’m learning the X-Pro, I’ve been relying on my X100T and growing to respect it more and more. It’s simple to set up, incredibly forgiving of my regular poor decision making, reliable and can shoot against a 2-3 stop overexposed background and still deliver a magically balanced, usable image.

 

More? It’s small, unobtrusive, unthreatening and totally silent. It’s visual qualities have been amply demonstrated by many other photographers around the world. I’m late to the party, but will happily sing its praises and endorse those that have gone before.

 

Every image below was shot with the X100T at f2 or f2.8 – see what I mean?

 

Rickshaw, Gwalior. Fuji X100T

 

Daughter-in-law temple, Gwalior. Fuji X100T

Daughter-in-law temple, Gwalior. Fuji X100T

 

Intricate detail. Mother-in-law temple. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Intricate detail. Mother-in-law temple. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

 

Intricate detail. Mother-in-law temple. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Intricate detail. Mother-in-law temple. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

 

Full colour, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Full colour, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

 

Untitled, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Untitled, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

 

Sikh pilgrims, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Sikh pilgrims, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

 

Museum visitors, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Museum visitors, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

 

Untitled, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Untitled, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

 

Untitled, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2

Untitled, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2

 

Tea room, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Tea room, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

The thousand yard stare

Cape Town quickie

I’ve made a couple of quick trips into Cape Town recently. Yesterday, I had an hour to kill, so wandered the streets with my now much loved Fuji X100T and added a few images to a small, but growing collection.

 

Plein Street

Plein Street

 

EFF spoor

EFF spoor

 

Truth Coffee - steampunk comes to Cape Town

Truth Coffee – steampunk comes to Cape Town

 

Buitengracht St

Buitengracht St

 

Building supply by IKEA

Building supply by IKEA

 

The thousand yard stare

The thousand yard stare