The Amazing Adventures of a Zoobroker and a Sentiographer
Here is Zoo in front of the Brown Palace. Not laughing.
Last night out... It was rainy early on as we headed to dinner, and just plain wet when we were done. Note to all: New cowboy boots are slippery onwet stone block (and 16th street is ALL paving blocks!)
Tons of photos after the jump.
It was only fitting since I've already covered LODO, it was more important to meet some of the people that work and party here.
TONS - I mean LOTS of nightlife photos after the break.
First off, meet Danielle. She likes mining.
And when not mining, is a stunning woman. (OK, she's still sexy when mining.)
She invited Zoo to mine.
And it was like a magical elixir:
So he started other prospecting:
Which was taken so favorably that he was rewarded with some dances on the bar:
Meet Beth - her husband works here (he's on the left, and a damn cool guy). It took about two hours, but the gal with the best hair in Denver, a self-proclaimed pacifist, finally let one loose on him.
And it wasn't the last.
During a smoke break, we met two incredibly intelligent and sexy women:
And Zoo just doesn't know when to accept only a kiss...
Again demonstrated here:
All in all, this bar is downright fun.
Just watch out when they bring you the check...
After having morning coffee and blog time, I made my way over to The Wrangler. I was itchin' for some cowboy boots. Having never owner a pair, or even gonne into a western wear store, I was floored. Lookit all them boots!
More pics and stories after the break: I found just the right pair and a super-friendly Cheyenne-ite (whose sister live 7 miles from me in New York), rang me up and gave me some greta advice on driving to Denver.
See, it's Saturday and by Wyoming standards, there are lots of Saturday road-ragers on the highway, so she gave me a tip. We took a lesser-known highway.
It was like deja-vu. 65 mph, slow down to 50, then to 45, then 35, then a small town less than a mile long with a railroad and grain towers on the left, some seedy bar ond general store on the right, done and repeat.
There was this interesting creature, though. Methinks it's Zoo's id.
Today was a very short drive (by our standards), only 2 1/2 hours. So, we'rte back in Colorado and Denver again. Wow... Now to tear up this town for 2 or so days before flying to our homes. I'm certain we'll make some more indelible marks on this city, and perhaps visit Croc's again...
After Zoo and I had left our mark on the town, I headed out with my tripod and electronic cable release to grab some essence of my own. Sleepy little town with some wonderful vignettes.
Here is where we had our steak dinner:
Lots of shots after the break: Here is Shadows - our bar.
Wish I had visited while they were open to get a cowboy hat and boots :(
These people are smart. Love it.
...and funny.
The capitol building is in the distance.
Here is the bar we decided NOT to go to...
Here is our hotel - The Plains
Mosaic in the sidewalk outside
Lobby
A real player piano...
Many thanks to the folks behind the counter for allowing me to snap some shots.
We had no side trips today, except for a little celebration we'll post separately. So, this is a small collection of photos that can be taken from Route 80. I gotta say, I had no idea that Wyoming had such diverse terrain, and a humongous canyon (that we did not visit - we would have missed our steaks tonight!)
So, without further ado... photos after the break:
Sure, I was lazy last night. I shot from the balcony of my hotel. But, I think I made the right choice. SLC isn't very photogenic up close, so I backed it off. One pano of downtown and a few shots of isolated moments in the night.
Zoo found another winner today. After discovering we had 35 miles of construction between us and Salt Lake City, he chose a road north that connected with the arm of the salt flats we wanted to hit. Below are images from just before we left paved road, to an unmapped (by Google) dirt road, Nevada to Utah to Nevada to Utah and then back onto the highway again and into the city limits of Salt Lake City.
Another fine find, Zoo. Excellent roads. Tons of photos after the break:
Zoo almost stepped on a Horny Toad! (LOL..)
And he scampered away...
In Utah, beliefs can make mountains float like clouds...
When Zoo and I headed out on our 1st road trip from LA to Denver, we made on little side trip in Arizona. We cut north of the mountains to get to Sedona and ended up in Jerome - high up on the rim of the mountains surrounding the area. It started with a cattle gate and ended during dusk. It was a moving experience and I exclaimed THAT was the best road I had ever been on. Scratch that. (It was and still is amazing...) Today, we took a side road that cut through Humboldt National Forest. It starts in southern Idaho and ends 40'ish miles north of Elko, NV. It changed my life, and we guess that no more than 10,000 people have ever seen what we saw today.
Gobs of photos after the jump. First we drove past the Salmon River Reservoir:
and on into the Bruneau Desert flats
And then into a jaw-dropping canyon. And I mean CANYON.
Zoo took a moment to throw a stone...
And then, since I was driving this leg, into the base of the canyon. We drove along at 20 mph, wondering how far it really was to Jarbidge, because we were nearing a half tank of gas... Nothing like a little uncertainty to make you enjoy things more ;)
So we stopped and shot up into the canyon walls a few times. Zoo said, "Fuck Arches! [National Park) And fuck the tourists! This is awesome." I soooo agree.
After stopping for lunch and gas (what a relief) in Jarbidge (see post) Zoo took the wheel and we drove higher and higher...
When I dreamed of road tripping this time of year, I saw in my mind's eye the aspen and birches turning yellow... and I got it. Stunning.
And the landscape changed for the third time. Now the mountains were carpeted with scattered trees.
And then the landscape changed yet again, now getting into desert-like conditions with jutting rocks on mountainsides here and there...
And then Hunboldt ended.
The desert became even more desert-like. The mountains squashed down into hills.
We were on private land, and cattle ranches surrounded us... but not much cattle.
And then 5 1/2 hours later, we hit pavement again. Did I mention that it was 95% dirt roads? Yeah, that's a road trip!
Dirty Hyundai. Love ya!
South of Pocatello, ID is a darker area away from city lights. We drove around looking for a safe, secluded spot to pull off and make some long exposures. Mission accomplished.
Can you See Zoo Broker's profile in this one?
And drove down the mountain to find that industry never stops.
Covered a lot of ground, caught a lot of pixels (and some film, too!) Here is a small gallery of today's photos:
Montana
Yosemite (west side)
Sign right as you enter Idaho from Montana on Route 20.
A 23-photo pano I stitched looking to the right of the sign above:
Idaho, lonely and open.
