Somewhere in the Middle of Montana...
I woke up to a cool, crisp, spring morning today. I laid there with a huge grin on my face rubbing my eyes so they could focus on the view outside the tent. The tent door was left open all night to feel the cool breeze and to watch the moonlight reflect off the water. The camp was out in the middle of nowhere Montana, right on the bank of an alpine lake with a 10,000 ft snow covered peak in the background. Damn, it feels good to be back in the mountains. There's a feelin of inner peace when your out here... It's just to bad this place is 3000 miles from Texas... Well, better than 4000 miles I guess!!!
I've been on the road for 7 days now, workin my way North West though some of the most beautiful land in North America. I'm back here to pick up where I left off last year!!! Honing my photography one step at a time, and to maybe put a little change in my pockets in the process. Being from the South I've found the West to be a whole New World filled with opportunities and new things to see and explore everywhere. Once you cross over the Continental Divide not only does the landscape change, but so does the way of life.
Which, is why I'm back!!!
I guess maybe I should catch everyone up on what I've been up to since the last post. After leaving Montana last year I headed back to Texas and spent time with family and friends, and got back to my day job for a while. But as the month of June grew closer, I couldn't stop thinkin about last summer and the impact that it had on me. The days at work were gettin hotter too, and the thought of swimmin butt naked in a cold Montana mountain river was getting the best of me. So with that in mind and a cold beer in my hand after a hot, humid, sweaty ass day of work in Louisiana!!! I made the tough but easy choice to walk off my steady job and head back into the Wide Open of the West.
There was just one problem, really there was a few of them!!! My jeep didn't have a motor in it, and the tires and rims had a problem that wouldn't allow them to balance out. Oh yea, and the windshield gasket was leakin water like crazy every time it rained. There was also another hand full of smaller problems to fix too!!! I stared to buy a new truck but didn't think that would be the smartest thing to do, seein how I didn't have a job anymore.
So, my Uncle and I tore the engine down and had it sent off to be rebuilt. After a few days and a lot of long hours we had it back together and put back in. I would like to take the time now to thank my Uncle Rusty for his time, skills, friendship, and LOVE... Without you in my life there's no telling where I'd be!!! Rusty, you have been a great inspiration to me and a great man to look up to, Thank you for always being there... Thank You!!!
While I'm passin out all this Love and Thanks, I want to thank all of my family, with out y'all I wouldn't be who and where I am... I also need to thank Atlanta Tire for their help with my tire and rim problem. They have a very skilled crew that took the time to help me (without cost) to get my tires right. My hats off to y'all, Thanks...
It was good to be on the road again, back behind the wheel of my Jeep and headed West. It was a battle with the elements as always, the burning Texas sun, sudden Nebraska down pours of rain, the powerful Wyoming winds, snow covered mountain passes, the good, the bad, the ugly. You see people, this jeep and I have been though a lot of shit together, and we've seen a lot of miles. Although its not the ideal vehicle to cross the country in, the open view of the country side it offers is unbeatable. You can feel the wind and smell the air, which gives you a real taste of the landscape, plus it looks good, and I love driving it!!! I've been from Coast to Coast with her, to the Carolina's, all the way over and down California, up to Montana, and back into the Heart of Texas. In the next few weeks I hope to take a ride up though the Canadian Rockies. She's my General Lee, and I'm her Micheal Knight. You see, we have a good thing goin and were good to each other, the way it should be.
Anyways, enough lovey dovey stuff, back to the story!!!
I'm back in Montana for more than just fishin, campin, floatin, hangin out, and bullshitin. I'm here with a brand new plan... To let my inner fire burn, to sharpen my photography skills, to live out a dream, and most importantly, to just enjoy life... I've been workin on reinventin my other website and plan to photograph more than ever. This Blog has helped kick start my photography in ways I never expected it could or would!!! It's been more pleasure than business though, so I want to bring the two together and see where it goes. This Blog came to be because I was pinned down in a blizzard for 3 days in Flagstaff and wanted to share my photography with family and friends. Unexpectedly, people seemed to really enjoy the photos and stories from my travel across the country. I'm trilled with the responses that I've received from it, and it's still hard for me to believe that people like readin my writin... Hell, I'm no writer, and never claimed to be one, ( till now )!!! To tell you the truth, I haven't done this much writin since I was in the 3rd grade!!! Hey, if it brings eyes to my photography, then let it be...
I have a new Theme Song too... Its Waylon Jennings, Are You Sure Hank Did It This Way...
To me it's one of the best Honky Tonk songs ever!!!
So turn it up and take a ride, if you don't have it, maybe you should!!!
We'll, I have to run... I'm here for a good time, not a long time.
And there's lots to see and do...
Tune back in next week... I hope to have more posted!!!
Thanks for lookin and readin...
David
