Apogee Photo Magazine

Traveling On A Budget, Part 2

by
Bob Grytten

Now that winter is coming and has forced many of us indoors, it is time to reflect upon last season's successes and discoveries, and begin planning for next season. In this second part of a series, Bob Grytten shares with us his discoveries and special places of this last season.

Notes from the road

We depart Cranberry Lake area in the Adirondacs at 7am. Mountain mist is getting thicker now on way to the ferry at Essex on Lake Champlain. Enroute is Lake Saranac - quaint and a nice place to spend some time. Lake Placid still looked like an Olympic Village waiting for snow, then Whiteface Mountain where we often skied during college competition. I can still remember Brian Cuffe, skis over his shoulder, crossing the road during our first collegiate x-c race - the only team member remaining without equipment failure.

Approaching Vermont - the ferry crossing from Essex took only half an hour, reasonable at $8.50 - sailboats quietly moored to their anchor buoys. Nothing else is here as Ferry Road, that's its name, ends at this point. The parade of exiting cars split into different directions - we headed north on Rt. 7. Broad rolling Rt. 89 turned to Rt. 2 and wound into the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Mt. Washington at 6200 ft had mist shrouded peaks poking into the darkening sky as a storm approached. On to Hastings before nightfall.

Hastings, ME and Bears

We arrived at our FREE camp about 4:30 - now they charge $10. We took it. Only our second pay! Site #1, close to the pit toilets, across from the dipsy dumpster and recycling bins. Picnic tables, fire ring with grill - secluded from the other 24 sites. Taped to the table is a warning about bears and how to make sure food is hung at least 10' high and 4' out from any tree, AND NOT KEPT IN TENTS. Be nice to encounter a bear. We didn't have to wait long.

The dipsy dumpster right by our site attracted a large black bear. The small gathering of camera wielding campers grew to about a dozen - the bear about 50' away, now on top of the dumpster. Talk turned to seeking refuge in the pit toilet if it moves our way - appears rangers only empty trash once a week, due to budget cuts - an open feeding invitation. NOT A GOOD SITUATION!!

Acadia Nat'l Park (Mount Desert Island)

Acadia National Park is the second most visited of the national parks. The terrain is varied, absorbing the masses, except perhaps on Cadillac Mt. and the park loop. Both are worth the time, however. From Cadillac Mountain, you can be the first to see the sun rise in US, at 1500+ feet, from its bald expanse of rock - accessible by vehicle or a good hike. The park loop requires an admittance fee of $5, good for the entire park system for one week, and takes you around good photo opps of Maine's rocky coast, but if you don't want people in your picture, arrive early or get lucky.

Somes Sound, - the only fjord on eastern seaboard north of Brazil, perhaps one of the most overlooked natural wonders. Take time to meander here, and experience the spirit of these deep silent waters. We found a good route to the water by turning to Halls Quarry off Rt. 102. There is a campground on that short turn off that has showers, $15 a night, and the owners let us drive through. My choice of camp site would be on the water, and we will stay there next time. We couldn't this time as our payment was already made at Seawall ($11 a night), my choice of the national park areas. It's quieter than Black Forest, and close to other routes around Mt. Desert Island.

The Carriage Trails were originally constructed through the forest area by the Rockefellers, before they donated the land for Acadia National Park. Today they are maintained and a great way to wander through the forest area, either on foot or by bicycle, or as a special treat, by a horse drawn carriage.

Boothbay, Maine - If you have never sat by a campfire listening to nothing but the lonesome wail of the fog horn then you have an experience to look forward to. This one or two are two toned that have no particular rhythm which makes it all the more interesting. As soulful an experience as the fjords of Mt. Desert, was this has to rank right up there. As unique and nice as Acadia was, Boothbay is somewhat different, more quaint in some ways and somehow a little less goach, if that can be a description. I think the photographer with a photojournalist bent would find this very nice. Our camp is a large site $14, showers, partially on the water and firewood is $2-3 depending if you want the better or best. We could stay here much longer but will be off early to stay on schedule. Oh!! Carol made me do spaghetti with a meat sauce. and we finished the wine from the Adirondacks, a Red Almaden - good till you know when. Recipe: Begin with olive oil and garlic, crushed right in the pan with a large spoon. Add onions from three days ago and pour in Prego Ready made sauce (for convenience). We'll get about three meals out of this quart container. Set Sauce aside and boil water for spaghetti. Add pasta with a little oil and salt. Put the fry pan with the sauce on top of the open boiling pot. It makes the spaghetti cook faster and keeps the sauce warm - similar to a double boiler. Serve wine and eat before dark or wait until dark so you can experience Carol & Bobs Beer can candle holder.

Hattaras, NC. - Here's a spot worth putting on your travel agenda.

Of the three Nat'l Park campgrounds ($11 a night) we checked out, the one at Frisco provides a refreshing break from the ordinary. The camp sights are situated in amongst the sand dunes vegetation, each with a table, an elevated grill- and plenty of privacy. Ours had a view of the ocean, and plenty of breeze between some of the higher dunes. If camping amongst the dunes is of an ecological concern, don't worry here - they're not natural. They were put in by man during The Roosevelt Administration under the CCC program. In fact, as we were told, before they were put in only grasses, salt water insects and sea oats existed. The dune brought fresh water ponds, vegetation, birdlife, and freshwater insects & other animals. Flush toilets and cold showers are also provided.

Seven miles north of this site is the tallest lighthouse in the US, at 217 feet, site of another campsites along on the ocean but more level and grassy. If photographing this lighthouse at dawn, a good vantage point is at the top of the sand dune by following a wooden deck walk. The rising sun plays off the golden sea oats in the foreground and often will light up the clouds behind the lighthouse as well as give good front light for the lighthouse itself. Wait a bit longer for the light to get stronger to provide shadow on the lighthouse to eccentuate its roundness. a 35mm - 24mm lens works well here. While waiting for the stronger light a longer lens will pick out shore birds, surfers boarders, and seascapes. If you find out when it will be lit and are lucky enough to have heavy fog, this should yield you some strong images of the light reflecting through the fog if using long exposures.

In Boone, NC, 3300 ft elevation, it seems the mountains rise straight up. Within 40 minutes you can be at Beech Mountain 5300 ft elevation. This is also one of 5 ski areas in vicinity. Most have snowmaking equipment however as the temperature is cold enough but the snow level varies. This is one of our favorite haunts, and we came across great peaches at L & S Produce on Rt. 105 toward Vallie Crusis. Mrs. Lambert says L & S stands for Lambert & Sons; but she & her daughter n law think it stands for Lambert & Slaves. Here's a ditty pasted to the side of their cash register. "Worry is like a rocking chair, - it gives you something to do without taking you anywhere." Mrs. Lambert says most people agree but her mother doesn't think it's true. She says its good - because worry can get you to the nut house or the grave. Hhmm! Somehow that sounded funnier when Mrs. Lambert said it.

Anyhow, from there we checked out the Profile Trail up Grandfather Mountain, the highest around. These trails are privately maintained, which is supported by a $4.50 trail permit, available at Connect 4 Sport at Tynecastle, on Rt. 105 where Rt. 184 to Banner Elk comes in.

We've just returned from the trail and it is fantastic. Waterfalls, stream crossings tall hammock forested, boulders, an assortment of flora that may demand a truck load of film. We only made it about a mile and back but it took us 3 hours, but it goes all the way to the mile high swinging bridge. Allow plenty of time if doing the photos and camping is allowed. This will be on our schedule for next years workshops. This is one great area.

On the way back to Boone we noticed a sign "Over 300 Artists Year Round" so we stopped in. Next to a lake by a beaver dam a stream through this patch of land. Amongst the trees, almost hidden sits an weathered building. A multi-colored garden with statues and sculptures leads the eye to the bridge crossing the stream, entrance to Creekside Galleries, a complex of two galleries & artist studios.

Only one studio is active now as Toni Carlton, weaver and owner of the Carlton Gallery, moved her looms to another location to make room for the myriad of works from around the country - award winning artists' paintings, sculptures, original clothing, weavings, baskets as huge as a wheel borrow and other multi-media eye catchers.

As you wander through, one room to another, the entire side wall disappears to reveal the working potters studio. Looking below, past giant stringers of hand hued beams, sit long tables of freshly thrown pieces, on wide boards waiting for their turn in the kiln. Shelves hold other works and amidst bags of material in this working studio; At the wheel sits Tim Turner, jeans and blue shirt, owner of The Potters Gallery. The wheel turns, knowing hands guide the clay through cycles of turns into the next piece. Through the open window the rippling of the stream blends with the soft music floating through the gallery above. The setting only whets the appetite for the visual treasures of time, patience and those other elements which of into these creative works. There are no clichés here.

The foregoing is excerpted from the newsletter published by the Bob Grytten, F/8 and Being There, Published bimonthly, e-mail bobgry@aol.com for more information. You can also learn more about F/8 and Being There by going to its website at http://www.apogeephoto.com/f8news.html