Retro Vol. 2: Road Trip from California to Maine, detour Vermont

Dad, this one's for you (Don't forget to click on each picture to see it bigger.) Instead of the common I-40 route to trek across the Lower 48, I took the less traveled I-15 to I-70 across to Upstate New York, then state highways to Maine (Via Vermont, you'll see why on a later post). For the first day (of 4), I took my time, miscalculated my pace and allotted time, and consequently took a mild stroll through some of the more picturesque parts of America, west of the continental divide.

Above you'll see a plateau found in the central-eastern part of Utah, while driving on the I-70 after the Spotted Wolf Canyon, and before Grand Junction. The purplish color of the dirt was quite notable and made quite a convincing argument to pull over and squeeze the trigger. Great photos are all about the light and this one was in part due to the fantastic light of early morning. For those interested: Manual Settings: 1/125th seconds, f32, ISO 800, at 140mm using the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS on Canon's 5D Mark II, Circular Polarizing Filter.

Although that was probably the most remarkable shot. I did get to see some other fun things on the way. Below is the Hoover Dam, coming from the east side on Hwy 93, in Nevada. I found myself mistakenly on the I-40, so I had to turn around. Y'know how it is in the desert, you can go for miles without a place to make a legal U-turn.


Canon 5D Mark II with 17-40 f/4L at 17mm. Manual settings: 1/320 second, f16, ISO 400. Quite an elaborate structure. If I had more time, I would have taken the tour. You can probably guess by the photo, that this route set me back some considerable amount of time.

After the first photo, and before Green River, Utah, one comes across this beautiful curving road. I had to pull over for the signs and take a quite snapshot of this notch, the Spotted Wolf Canyon. The dirt is remarkably red, and Springtime has the added benefit of contributing other colors to the rich hues of the rock.


Manual Settings: Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS at 140mm, 1/125 sec, f22, ISO 1600, Circular Polarizing Filter.

The final photograph did not mean that there were less opportunities to photograph compelling countryside. It simply meant I was pressed for time, as I recalculated estimated arrival times, and figuring in time to drop by Vermont, and fax some paperwork for my Medical License (or else I would be driving to Maine exclusively for the wedding), and then deciding what time to arrive at the Howe's on Friday night.

Here is the view right before Grand Junction, Colorado. The clouds make the photo, but the open green doesn't hurt much either.


Manual Settings: Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L at 29mm, 1/250 sec, f22, ISO 400.

From Denver, it was a longer, faster push, with Rest Area naps, and eating at Chevron Foodmarts. If I only had a TPN and a catheter, that would have helped. Traveling in Spring made a lot of it bearable, since the flowers were out, and Spring rain means skies beautifully textured with clouds. Iowa actually had some wonderful examples of these, but again, I ran out of time. And of course, Upstate New York, and all of New England were invariably scenic as well.

Next time, I'm taking a week!