Reflections from a train

**Michaelaw** · 07-27-2012, 10:05 PM

It's been a year and a few weeks since I took the director of Audiovisual services position and you may have noticed I'm not posting as much and have had no time for world affairs let alone conspiracy rants

My former life as a freelancer was one hell of a lot simpler, show up, tech the show, put it all away and go home. I could tech half a day (4 hour meeting) and get enough coin to survive with the rest of the day off to shoot

Summertime was my enemy as was Christmas because I faced a total of four months with no wages...Yes there was always ei but it's no joyride collecting that paltry sum in comparison to your now flat lined way of life. So now, after a year of madness, building shows, booking technicians, ordering gear for banks, government agencies and snake oil salesmen, I get two weeks to myself. It all starts tomorrow and not a moment too soon. Tonight I have a cold case of beer, big smile on my mug and a certain finger extended to my other fifty weeks of lifestyle! I had choices for this vacation... Merida, Mexico, just show up and cover what you eat and drink, free lodging with an old friend and her man. Toronto...Fly out, free lodging blah, blah, blah, with an old girlfriend. A couple of other similar situations here and there but at the end of the day, I go sideways choosing a road trip to somewhere around Regina and back...Madness!
My Ford Focus is turning eight, has an iffy alternator and Thirty percent left on the tires, but it has a mission!...Get me to Regina and back with little or no problems

I don't have the budget for problems! Put all your faith in the Ford, an idea that would give many people the heebie jeebies. The four beer I've had tonight are not blocking the fear I'm feeling regarding the wisdom of this trip but it's too late to back out, the trunk is packed with cans of tuna, beans and corn, bandaids and camera gear. To make matters worse, my ex is demanding daily reports because...Well, "People go missing all the time out there!"

The reason behind this doomed idea stems from the 1970's and the warped visions of a younger man staring through the window of a VIA bar car at blurry visions of antiquity on the prairies and swearing he'd return someday to do it justice with a camera. The strange part of all that is the young man had no idea what an f stop was

For me it's a total break out, a big finger to what I've become. The last time I did this trip I was twenty five, drove from T.O to Vancouver island in a 1967 GM pickup truck I bought off a farmer for four hundred bucks. This truck sat in a field for four years because the farmer was too drunk to get it home and then couldn't remember where he'd left it and bought another one. Apart from a wheel falling off near Sudbury, it was an allstar, got me anyplace I needed to go. They don't build em like that anymore, and that scares the crap out of me! Anyway, if all goes well, I'm gonna have a boatload of shots of all that stuff I thought would make sense years ago as I stared out at the prairie landscape from a VIA Rail barcar...See you all on the flip side

**Barefoot** · 07-28-2012, 12:02 AM

Man, go for it!

**Michaelaw** · 07-30-2012, 08:18 PM

I went for it BF...A combination of cheap motels and camping so far and a drivers arm same colour as Morgan Freemans!

Got the car bottomed out on a prarie back road and for a while it didn't understand reverse anymore...Troubling. Left Burnaby 8am Saturday and hit Regina Monday morning...Yuck!! Turned around an I'm now in a seedy motel room in Medicine Hat, I would have camped tonight but the sky was looking...Well, strange! I had no idea saskatchewan was so broke? No real rest areas like alberta and no speed traps. Albertas off the freakin wall with speed traps!!! Heading up to Drumheller tomorrow and then connect with hwy 16 for an easterly heading to Saskatoon. I'm actually looking to find a place in Sask called "Bents" as it's got a cool old ghost town. All the back roads seem to be surfaced with rocks which makes me nervous about the tires? Turning on the A/C in the car brings on the "battery" light so it's windows down all the way. Little birds love when I pull over for coffee cos it's free lunch on the cars bumper

The car is being "twitchy" but hasn't outright quit yet. Coming up with a photographic plan of attack isn't cemented yet, so many miles between what I think would look good in the "Golden hour" and then miles of nothing but mass heat and light. All in all though, it's a hoot! Just loving the total drifting around idea without any paperwork

**Michaelaw** · 07-31-2012, 01:27 PM

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Cut a tire just slightly out of Medicine hat which spun me around 180 degrees because I was steering with my knee at the time while I was digging for a bottle of water. So it's medicine hat sleezy motel for another night while the Ford gets four new tires.

**Iguanasan** · 07-31-2012, 02:25 PM

Awww... good luck! Got my fingers crossed for ya!

**Michaelaw** · 07-31-2012, 05:23 PM

Thanks iggy...Just got the new tires installed and life feels better, so it's off to drumheller in the morning

**Marko** · 07-31-2012, 05:46 PM

Way cool maw - Looking forward to hearing more as it happens.

**Matt K.** · 07-31-2012, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by Michaelaw

Thanks iggy...Just got the new tires installed and life feels better, so it's off to drumheller in the morning

Stop off @ Dorothy, if you have a chance, it is just 30km East of Drumheller, and a ghost town ... you may get some nice images there ... keep em coming!