Young Snowbirds » Rob

Dawg House Diner in Dwight on Route 66

Rob — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:18:14 +0000

The Dawg House Diner in Dwight Illinois on Route 66 is part of a collection of HDR photography included in our Road Trip 2011 Calendar now available for sale, just in time for and making nice holiday gifts.

Every picture tells a story and this one is no different. After the first 8000 miles of our 17,000 mile journey, I came to realize that when Darlene photographs her subject, any sort of thing can happen. From the Texas neighborhood watch that approached us within 2 minutes of arriving at the ward lefrance pumper, to a skateboarder taking his goldfish out for a ride, coasting through our shot while the shutter was open.

After a few days in Chicago visiting historical Al Capone sites including his grave site, touring the filming locations of the Blues Brothers and some geocaching, we decided to spend a day on Route 66 in Illinois. It was on our last day in Chicago when waiting to cross the street to the Museum of Art, we noticed the Route 66 mile zero marker on it’s post on the side of the street. We had been to a few parts of Route 66 while in Arizona a few months earlier and thought “We simply have to see Illinois’ section while so close”.

We started out early and made our way from the Leisure Lake RV Resort near Joliet Illinois, through Joliet and south west to Dwight.

Dwight Illinois

Dwight has an enormous amount of history aside from it’s involvement in Route 66. Downtown Dwight boasts the First National Bank building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905 and the Keeler Institute (now the Fox Development Center) which includes some amazing stained glass windows. I mean really amazing.

It’s also home of one of the oldest operating gas stations along Route 66, the Amblers Texaco gas station. It’s been restored to very near it’s original condition and serves as a welcome center for Dwight. we bought and mailed some postcards from here.

but I get ahead of myself.

The Dawg Diner

We came into Dwight from the north east and one of the first things we saw was this classic American diner. A little run down to say the least and for sale as I recall. Proudly displaying it’s Dawg Diner name on the side opposite from our picture, it stood there along the road in it’s red and white striped brilliance. (Update: Learned later that the most recent name of the diner in Dwight was Big Al’s Hot Dog’s)

We learned earlier from one of our RV magazines that it was national Pick Some Litter day and that RV’ers were encouraged to clean up any liter they found today. We cleaned up around the diner a little before setting up the tripod. It was a bit tricky to get a good angle because of an obstacle in our way (see video), but Dar did her best.

Using a wide angle lens includes objects very near the camera, so like I said, it was a bit tricky.

Video of Dawg Diner on Route 66

Road Trip Calendar

Have a look at the rest of the HDR Photography included in the Road Trip 2011 Calendar and then go ahead and order as many as you’d like using the buttons on the bottom of the page. Stunning imagery of places such as Rhyolite Ghost Town near Death Valley in Nevada, the Tombstone Boot Hill Hearse, a couple of shots of a classic fire truck from Corpus Christi Texas, two more all American diners from Rochester New York and Bisbee Arizona, a vintage corvette on a beach and more from Route 66.

The Dawg Diner was our introduction to Dwight Illinois, but we spent over 2 hours in the little town. Beautiful place and “not just a bump in the road.”

Pee Before Driving Through Cities

Rob — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:50:08 +0000

When you’re driving an RV, you travel with your toilet, but while the passenger has the luxury of peeing while you move, the driver does not. I’ve learned that before entering any city limits, it’s a good idea to find a place to pull over and pee because while on the Interstate, there are no pull outs to be found. They say the human bladder can hold 18 oz or 1/2 a litre of fluid, but I would wager it to be a lot more.

No related posts.

1956 Ward LeFrance Pumper – Classic Fire Truck

Rob — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:34:19 +0000

We drove past this fire truck just about every day when we were staying at Sea Breeze RV Park. Every time I went to the gym or we drove to Corpus Christi we saw it. It just sat there along the fence, under the tree, all alone, asking to be loved. We planned a couple of shots.. some basic ones, some using a special technique that would result in an HDR Photograph of a fire truck and then a technique Dar has used in the past called “painting with light.”

We drove up to the lot where the fire truck had been parked for what seemed like years. We got out and I began extending the legs of the tri-pod. HDR Photography requires that each shot taken has to be exactly from the same location but then with the different exposures and such within each photo. I am only beginning to understand the technique, so forgive me if I get some of it wrong.

As we took our time having a look, and choosing the angle, a fellow from across the street approached me.

“What Y’all doing?”, he asked.

Ah ha.. the owner of the truck obviously, living across the street, had parked the fire engine here and then forgotten about it. Barking dogs had roused his suspicion, and he must have looked out the window.

“Well, ” I began to say when another truck came around a corner a little up the street and then pulled across the road coming to a stop in front of mine.

I turned my head to see who I soon came to learn was Lupe J Jimenez, the actual owner.

In less than 5 minutes, one fellow was on his way across the street to check us out after having called the owner to say “there’s some people messing around with your fire truck, you better get your arse over here!”

Click the image of the fire truck for a larger version

While Dar continued to take photos, I introduced myself to Lupe and assured him that we were simply photographers wanting to capture this amazing classic vehicle. I couldn’t help but ask about the neighborhood watch they had in effect and comment on how well it worked.

“We all take care of each other”, he said, that much being obvious.

Fire Truck For Sale

We chatted about the history of the fire truck and what he plans to do with it. In short, we learned that he may have bitten off more than he could chew with this one, and is more interested in selling it than doing any sort of classic auto project. If you’re looking for a used fire truck for sale, I’ve been given permission to give you Lupe’s phone number and email address. You can reach him at 361-728-4373 or by email lupejj (at) charter (dot) com. Might be (dot) net though.

Before he left, we explained that we wanted to do a second set of images taken at night where we use the special “painting with light” technique, and that if he heard any reports of people around his fire truck with a lot of flashlights, not to be alarmed… it was just us again.

Painting With Light

Bear with me as I attempt to explain how this is done.

The photo above is a combination of about 7 different photographs. The tripod is set up and for between 1 and 2 minutes, the shutter is kept open. It’s completely pitch black out, with little or no ambient light. While the shutter is kept open, someone begins to light up or highlight sections of the truck with a flashlight… bringing attention to certain details. For example, the headlights and the chrome around the headlights or the hood ornament, the wheel wells and the door handles. Then the shutter is closed.

That’s right. There are people within that photograph. However, you dont see them because a) it’s pitch black and b) over a long exposure, the person actually becomes a ghost in the final image.

Then, it’s done again, but highlighting a different aspect. For instance, for 2 minutes in one of the shots, I’m behind the drivers side door waving the flashlight into the passenger area, through the front windshield (from behind) and then through the cherry on top of the cab. Then in yet another shot, Dar goes to the rear and lights up the rear wheels and the piping along the upper rear of the fire truck.

Details in the trunk of the tree and the lower branches are lit up in another shot as well.

The only real “trick” to watch out for is not to point the flashlight directly at the camera. Doing so results in a “hot spot” or “trace” effect.

During processing, all images are combined and the result is what you see above. A 1956 Ward LeFrance Pumper fire truck, in the dead of night, surrounded by darkness, but “pained with light”. Very cool stuff.

It took a day and a night to get the photographs we wanted and I would like to thank Lupe for allowing us access to, and his time spent with us, telling us about the fire truck. It was great getting to know the owner after having driven past it for so many weeks. By all means, please get ahold of Lupe if you’re interested in making him an offer. It’s not too often you find a classic fire truck for sale.

Cats On the Beach

Rob — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:37:35 +0000

Ever since we left Edmonton and set out on our 12,000 mile trip through the US and Canada by RV, I’ve wanted my cats to experience the ocean. They’re 16 and 15 years old and rarely ever left the house until recently. I’ve wanted them to experience as many things as possible while remaining relatively safe at the same time. If you’ve been following our blog, you’ll know that our first few days in the RV resulted in so much of Dar’s clothing and our bedding covered in cat pee, so we didn’t know what to expect from their time on the beach.

Pumpkin and Boo on the beach of Padre Island Texas

Pumpkin is the orange cat and Boo is the black one. They’re my Halloween kitties, but born in October and named respectively. Boo is about 16 while Pump is 15.

How did this all come about you might ask?

We took our RV to Padre Island near Port Aransas so we could get shots of our rv on the beach for Good Sam Highways magazine. We wanted good shots to accompany a recent article entry we submitted to them, so on day 80 we packed up and left Seabreeze RV Park for the day.

How Did The Cats Handle It?

Another good question. I’ve had some people tell me that they’ve never seen a cat on the beach, nor pictures of cats on the beach and neither had I. I had to walk them out to the ocean as they wouldn’t leave the rv on their own, but that’s not new. Even with the door wide open, they rarely leave the RV to venture outside.

I walked Boo down to the water and put her in about an inch of water. She didn’t move. Her paws sunk about a 1/4 inch into the wet sand. A wave came in and got her underbelly wet. She still didn’t move. I’ve been told recently that what they experienced was this:

They saw water on one side and beach on the other. They dont know what the water was and just saw it as “moving earth” and couldn’t comprehend it. They thought of the beach as a giant version of cat litter and weren’t too happy about walking in it so much.

I do have video of Pumpkin experiencing a wave coming in. She saw it coming and began to back up, but couldnt keep up, so kept accelerating in reverse as it rolled in . I’ll post it when I have time to edit it (seriously lacking time to travel, experience the US first hand AND process images and blog about it).

It was a long way between the water and the RV, so the only thing of familiarity around them was me. They huddled up around my legs. Boo hunkered down and crept her way back to the motorhome. Dar eventually picked her up and she just looked out at various things before we took them back home to safety.

For the record, I love my cats more than anything. I’ll even swear on their life to Darlene if she thinks I’m fooling around about something. That way she knows I’m serious.

At no time were they in danger and I kept them safe next to me at all times. The worst it got for Boo was about 2 inches of water that touched her belly as a wave came in. That was it.

The “cats on the beach” experience was all part of the day we took our rv to the beach, make sure you check it out.

Classic Corvettes On The Beach

Rob — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:23:30 +0000

A little over a week ago, the owners of Seabreeze RV Park in Portland invited us to a private showing of their classic corvette collection. Today, WE invited them to bring their favorite corvettes to Seabreeze so we could do a photo shoot of corvettes on the beach. Classic cars, classic corvettes, the beach and a sunset, what could be better?

They brought three Corvettes. How do two people drive three Corvettes? Regardless, we brought them down to the very edge of the RV park onto the beach that disappears into Nueces Bay and began positioning them. When all was said and done, we were late for potluck supper, but this is what Dar got:

The blue corvette you see here is a vintage 61 placed on top of a brand new 2007 corvette drive train. Ottos says that it’s 400 pounds lighter but with the same horsepower.

We found out later that they would NEVER have taken the cars onto the beach. Dora said something like “Not for 1 in a thousand people would we ever do that.” Well, we’re glad to be the ones they trusted enough to get the shots right.

Whooping Crane Birding Tour in Rockport

Rob — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:54:40 +0000

Whooping cranes summer in Alberta Canada, just north of where we live, so while we were wintering in Texas in our RV, we thought it appropriate to see where they winter too. We found a Whooping Crane Birding tour in Rockport Texas, so decided to go after our last event in the Seabreeze RV Park Olympic games.

Sandhill cranes in flight

There were so many of them, It was practically a Sandhill crane tour too. These are some sandhill cranes we saw while heading out into the Gulf.

The Wharf Cat

The Wharf Cat and it’s sister ship, the Scat Cat are two very large catamaran boats that operate out of Fishermans Wharf in Port Aransas Texas. They offer day long fishing trips, sunset dolphin tours and from November through March, take birding tours to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge to visit the winter nesting ground of the Whooping Crane.

The whole area of Rockport, Corpus Christi and Portland Texas are great birding tour areas. In port alone we saw seagulls (of course) and many egrets.

Fishermans Wharf

Darlene and I first stumbled upon Fishermans Wharf on our first trip to Port Aransas. As we toured the dock area there, we saw a fishing trip that has just come back. They hooked up and displayed all the fish from the fishing trip aboard the Wharf Cat in front of their sign.

After seeing its sheer size, we knew Dar would feel safe enough to go on a tour. It’s a two level boat, air conditioned, with two heads and a beverage bar inside.

Whooping Crane Tour

We found out that there are two types of tours. One that starts from their location here in Port Aransas, two days a week and the other Whooping Crane tour in Rockport, which leaves three days a week. Basically, the boat has to sail up past the Rockport to get to the Wildlife Refuge, so can begin at either location. We choose the tour in Rockport simply because it would give us less travel time on the boat, and focus squarely on the whooping cranes.

Whooping Cranes

We saw a bunch of different types of seagulls, blue herons, terns, egrets, cormorants, roseate spoonbills, brown and white pelicans, sandhill cranes, dolphins and of course whooping cranes. As I mentioned earlier, it was as much a sandhill crane tour as it was any other bird.

Blue heron in port

... and a moment later, heron in flight

Growing up in small town Saskatchewan, my father was a hunter and taught firearm safety. He did so for over 25 years and I came to appreciate the whooping crane in a whole different way. I recall him having a patch sewn to his coat that displayed “Save the whooping crane” because of its place on the endangered species list. There are said to be only 250 of them left in the wild.

Dar here: from what I remember there are only 3 wild flocks left with this one being the only MIGRATING flock anywhere in the world. So they take good care of these birds to try and ensure their survival. We saw evidence of conservation efforts but unfortunately for the birds, this year was a bad year for their food (the blue crab) so they were having a hard time finding food. That doesn’t bode well for the poor whoopers. Made me not want to eat blue crab ever again.

A pair of whooping cranes in flight as they passed in front of our boat

Imagine our amazement as we neared Matagorda Island and saw two “whooping cranes in flight”, as our birding tour narrator Ray called out on the Wharf Cat’s speaker system. The two cranes flew across the channel in front of our boat and landed in the marsh area about 100 feet from our location. Simply amazing!

The magestic Whooping Crane

Ray our Birding Tour Expert

As a special little treat, and part of our Whooping Crane tour, the Wharf Cat staff provide the services of a professional birder who gives the riders some insight into the birds we’re seeing. Ray was easily in his 70′s and an excellent source of information. We enjoyed Ray’s narration and explanations of what we were seeing or could possibly see. He cracked the odd joke and simply kept us very interested and entertained with our birding tour.

As we headed back to Rockport, we enjoyed the sea breeze and kept our eyes peeled for dolphins. We eventually saw some.

Dar here: Ray also explained how to tell the difference between the sandhill and whooping cranes, as the sandhills are often mistaken for whoopers. The Sandhills do not have the distinctive red patch on their head that the whoopers do, and the whoopers feathers are much whiter as are they larger than the sandhills.

Arriving safely back in Rockport, we chose to drive around the area a bit more stopping in Fulton to see the Fulton Mansion which was closed, and then just to drive along the shoreline. We saw, more birds, of course, pelicans this time. They were off the pier across from the Waters Edge RV Park in Fulton, which we had originally looked at as a possible RV park on the Gulf of Mexico. From what we saw, it looks like a good location and has its own private fishing pier complete with pelicans.

A whooping crane birding tour was not something I had ever thought I’d be doing. The birds were something I grew up knowing about but had never seen. As the cranes migrated from my home province of Alberta, all the way down here to Texas, I thought it fitting that I should take the opportunity for the birding tour. It was a day well spent. We would easily recommend the Wharf Cat tour operators as they were professional, educated and had a good operation going. If you’re in the area and looking for a whooping crane tour, Look them up www.WharfCat.com

Texans Are Very Serious About Being Texan

Rob — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:46:17 +0000

I took a dip last night in a hot tub that was the shape of the state of Texas. Of all the states we’ve traveled through so far, Texas seem to be the most proud of their heritage. Lone stars are built into the architecture, the sidewalks and the Texas state flag is seen flying everywhere. Formal attire for a Texan is a cowboy hat and boots! I posted my thought about Texans being serious about being Texan on Twitter and got the reply, “Yes, like glue is serious about being sticky!”

Spanish Mission of Goliad

Rob — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:00:05 +0000

The Presidio La Bahia in Goliad is known as the birthplace of Texas independence. With a presidio comes a chapel and of course a mission. As with the Spanish Missions of San Antonio, the Mission Espiritu Santo is also located on the San Antonio river. It was the first large cattle ranch in Texas supplying the needs of the Spanish settlements as far away as Louisiana.

Spanish Mission Espiritu Santu in Goliad

This is file #1111 entered into this blog if you're keeping track

THIS was on the mission! Explain why a mission has a skull and crossbones on it? I can’t.

Presidio La Bahia

Last stop before heading back was Presidio La Bahia, “the Fort of the Bay”. Established in 1721 and moved to its present location in 1749, this fort is the most fought over in Texas history having seen 6 National revolutions / wars of independence. Spanish, Mexican and Texas soldiers have all garrisoned its walls.

Soldiers here fought with the Spanish army against the British during the American Revolution, making Goliad the only community west of the Mississippi to participate in that war. The cattle industry has its roots here too, as the soldiers oversaw herds from the two nearby missions (Espiritu Santo and Rosario).

The Texas revolution from Mexico started here as well. The first declaration of Texas Independence was declared at the Presidio December 20, 1835 and the first flag of Texas was flown. Might it have looked like this? I wondered if this is where the lone star originated?

Presidio La Bahia Chapel

The chapel at the Presidio, “Our lady of Loreto”, is the oldest building in the compound in continuous use since the 1700′s. It is one of the oldest churches in America. Restored in the 1960’s it is considered one of the most authentic restoration projects in the US.

During our stay at the Sea Breeze RV Park in Portland Texas, we learned how important Texas history is to Texans. Their state constitution is unique and from a Canadian’s point of view, Texas state patriotism rivals that of the entire United States. Independence happened twice in this America, once in Texas and once for the US as a whole. Goliad is the central point of that history and it’s Spanish mission, presidio and court house reflect that history. These photographs of the Spanish Mission and the Presidio are part of Dar’s tip to Goliad.

Spanish Missions of San Antonio

Rob — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:56:11 +0000

Spanish missions helped form the foundation for the city of San Antonio. The modern San Antonio community early recognized their significance, and since the 1920′s, has worked to preserve them. Darlene spent an entire day photographing three of the five San Antonio Missions, namely San Jose, San Juan and Espada. The fourth, Conception was closed (the fifth being The Alamo). Our RV Park, the Braunig Lake RV Resort, was on the south side of San Antonio, placing the Spanish missions between us and The Alamo downtown.

The chain of Spanish missions established along the San Antonio river began in 1718 with San Antonio de Valero, later called the Alamo. A second mission, San Jose, began in 1720 and then as East Texas missions failed for various reasons, they too were moved to the San Antonio river valley in 1731. These five missions, a presidio and a settlement were eventually to become one of the most successful Spanish communities in Texas.

Mission San Antonio de Valero

the chapel at the Alamo known as "the shrine"

Commonly called the Alamo, mission San Antonio de Valero was founded in 1718, the first mission on the San Antonio River. Now a state historic site, the Alamo has been under the care of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas since 1905. We visited the Alamo on our first day in San Antonio.

Espada

Founded as San Francisco de los Tejas in 1690, the oldest of the East Texas missions was moved to the San Antonio River in 1731 and renamed San Francisco de la Espada.

An HDR Photograph combining multiple exposures from within Mission Espada

The Espada Mission is the Southernmost of the San Antonio chain of missions that run along the river south of the city lying just south of the 410 ring road.

This is a three part post on the Spanish Missions of San Antonio.

See the next mission, the San Juan.

Page 2 – San Antonio Missions – San Juan

Before Picking Up Hitch Hikers

Rob — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:49:08 +0000

When you’re RV’ing and you’re considering picking up that hitch hiker, be sure to ask them if they’re a traveling missionary. “Ken the traveling missionary” was called to spread the word of God as he made his way through the US through the kindness of strangers. We picked up Ken outside Benson Arizona, and dropped him off in Lordsburg New Mexico.

Day 48 – Tombstone to Van Horn Texas