Thematic Photographic #140 - By Land, Sea or Air

Now that's a porta-potty!

Driving across Washington state one autumn I managed to choose the time of day when truckers were out in force.  There were belly dumps of gravel, truckloads of bovine, a chemical load or two, the usual grocery haulers and oodles of the usual other stuff on wheels.  What I didn't expect to see was a restroom in the middle of the road.  I'd imagine it's final destination might have been a park or roadside rest area. Or maybe it was being retired.  Wonder if anyone ventured inside when he pulled over?

Driving.  You never know what you'll see.

(Thank you to Carmi of Written Inc for another fun topic By Land, Sea or Air)

Give a little whistle, whoo hoo

Clap your hands.   They'll dance.

Whistle when they're bright.   They'll swoop down to scoop you away into the Heavens. 

Mom grew up in northern Newfoundland with three sisters and four brothers.  Among many things they believed the above two tales of the Northern Lights to be true.  As kids they'd stand outside quietly looking up at the winter sky.  Someone would clap or whistle and cause  a stampede of screaming kids to run into the house,  afraid to stay out to test if the tale was fact or fiction.  If the Lights became extremely bright or began dancing wildly, well, that only added to the screams and running speed.  Merv, Hope, Sarah, Kie, Ange, Dex, Gene and Jan are all still here to tell the stories so we'll never know what might have happened if one of them hadn't made it indoors.

I've a feeling it was most likely my Grandfather doing the clapping or whistling just to watch the group skitter along.  Perhaps not.  But I remember Grandpa being devious.  One need only look for the telltale glint in his blue eyes.  Then came a grin which soon gave way to a hearty laugh.  Yes b'y.  Yes maid.  He was a funny one dat one.

Thematic Photographic #137 - Late

Each week a different theme at Carmi at written inc.  This week's theme "Late".

Friday night a friend and I took off down the highway with our cameras.  The intent was to photograph Northern Lights.  While we didn't come back with many auroral photographs of note we did have a grand time.

We packed the car with camera cases, tripods, hot tea, hot coffee, hot food and warm clothing as we began driving at 10:30pm.  We parked about 20 miles outside of town at a small turn-out off the highway.  It was well below zero on the thermometer and a wicked cold wind was blowing.  It was nice and quiet in the car.  For about two minutes.  Food!  (Promise a hungry friend good food and one must deliver as soon as the car is in "park".)  Appetite sated we chatted and watched for the Aurora.  What to do in these conditions?  Open the roof on the Jeep, of course!  Never mind the arctic weather!  As long as it was open, we figured we might as well stand up and peer out into the night, right?  Right.  Cameras in hand, of course.    The Big Dipper was kind enough to pose for a shot or twelve.

As time passed with no auroral activity, we closed up shop and headed home only to find a crew working around the clock to thaw the ground and install a culvert beneath the highway.  Sweet!  Floodlights illuminated the steam rising up from the roadside and a huge crane hovered above it all.  Couldn't pass that up!  We parked up the road and walked down the shoulder of the pitch black icy highway toward the work sight.  To be noted, an 18-wheeler barreling down the road at 60+mph looks and sounds far more ominous when you're standing alongside the guardrail than it does from inside the confines of your vehicle.  Naturally this was when the Northern Lights began dancing above us.

Two crazy Alaskan women on a mission to photograph whatever caught our fancy and have a laughing good time in the process.  Late?  Yeah.  Dark and cold? Heck yes.  Worth it? Any time spent with a friend is worth it.  Add two cameras and it only gets better.

Almost five hours later, we decided to call it a night and headed home around 3am.  Is that considered late or early by the way?  (Next time, Ti, we'll know the better vantage points for the Lights.  But knowing us, we won't stick by the plan or the rules.  Rules?  No such things.)