After leaving Pica we headed towards Yampai. In an eastbound context, Yampai marks the end of the Yampai Canyon and from here BNSF’s trackage descend towards Pica and into Aubrey Valley for the run to Seligman. Yampai is rather remote yet offers some compelling opportunities, depending on local road and lighting conditions, so I wanted to try my luck there…
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 13 - West Out of Seligman
After a nice and chilled evening at the Seligman/Route 66 KOA, we packed up the next morning and “prepared the cabin for departure.” After dumping our waste water and filling our propane tanks we headed out westbound on Route 66 through Seligman, Arizona. At this point we didn’t have any particular destination in mind. Rather, we knew the route we wanted to travel though. We wanted to stay on Route 66, which follows the BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision, as it meanders through some of the most beautiful scenery in northern Arizona. Interstate 40 takes a more direct and southernly route from Seligman directly to Kingman, Arizona. We were taking the road less traveled…
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 11 - On the Cut-Off
Despite my fears of a big cat looking for dinner, we slept well, deep in the heart of Kaibab National Forest. After I awoke and as I made a quick walk around the area where we camped, surveying for animal tracks as much as looking for a good shot, I thought of the today’s plan. We are now fairly far removed from all the trappings of a modern society. “No billboards, no buildings, no graffiti, no power lines — nothing to spoil a scene,” I pondered…
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 10 - Heading into the Unknown
After the shoot at CP Chalendar, I grew concerned, not so much about the distance we needed to travel today, but rather the uncertain condition of the roads and the general accessibility of the area that laid ahead in our travels along BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision. According to my original plans we were due to spend the day shooting the area around Eagle Nest and Double A. Since we were not even near Double A yet, I felt tense because that meant something must give in our schedule. I preferred it to be those areas we had visited before so we headed west on I-40 towards Williams, Arizona to try to get back on schedule…
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 9 - A Few Favorite Locations
After the wonderful visit to the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, and the opportunity to do some night viewing through one of their historic telescopes, the day’s events and excitement had left us with little energy to do much else. So after leaving the observatory we headed west on I-40 in search of a place to park for the night. We opted to just spend the night at the Pilot Travel Center at Bellemont, Arizona. This seemed as good of a place as any as it afforded us a chance to top off the tanks and do some shopping to augment our stores. No time for a traditional dinner tonight so we just grabbed some McDonalds and called it a night…
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 8 - Flagstaff Area
When I set out planning this trip I looked for activities that Deb would enjoy. Next to hanging out with me track side, shooting photographs of passing trains ad nauseam, one of her true passions is astronomy. Fortunately, Flagstaff is home to an historic and working observatory. That observatory, the Lowell Observatory, became one of the surprise side trips that I planned especially for Deb…
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 7 - Chasing From Winslow to Flagstaff
It had been a glorious two days hanging out at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona but it was time to leave. In part because our reservations expired and, equally important, because we came to see BNSF’s Seligman Subdivision. The last two days were the perfect starter course for this vacation and we now felt calm and relaxed — ready to enjoy what laid ahead…
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 6 - More Chasing at the La Posada Hotel
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 5 - Chasing at the La Posada Hotel
From a railfan’s perspective, the La Posada Hotel is blessed with a plethora of both, mainline trackage and plenty of traffic, that form the southern border of the property. Considering the hotel’s history, a place for weary travelers of the Santa Fe Railway Company to get some rest and good eats, this is by design. As such, the grounds provide a welcome sign of sorts admist the parch and arid landscape in this part of northern Arizona. Butted up against the platforms of the Winslow Amtrak station, a semi-circular brick plaza morphs into a walkway that leads directly to a portico and the lobby of the hotel. Today, as it was then, this area serves as fantastic train watching vantage point complete with wood rocking chairs for the guests to rock their cares away as they watch the parade of trains, from all points east and west, go by…
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 4 - A Railfan Oasis, The La Posada Hotel
There are some, but not many, places that offer a spectacular railroad viewing opportunity coupled with truly refreshing and luxurious accommodations track side. Our favorite, to date, is located in Winslow, Arizona and it is truly an oasis for railfans and travelers alike. It is the La Posada Hotel , a National Historic Landmark, and billed as “Arizona’s grandest estate…”
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 3 - The Run East Continues
The Townsend Winona Road overpass provides a nice vantage point to take in the action of BNSF trains as they transit the area near Winona, Arizona. Looking west, most of the elements that comprise an interesting composition, at least for me, can be found from the overpass — sweeping curves, a discernible grade, a distant view, and a nice, mountainous backdrop. The view from the eastern side of the overpass is less spectacular but similar…
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 2 - The Run East
On Saturday morning, with great anticipation and eagerness, I loaded the final pieces of gear into the truck and the perishables into the camper’s fridge. I have learned over the years that it seems something always comes up at the last minute as we prepare to depart, especially when it involves more that a weekend road trip, so I packed some flex-time into the first day of our trip. Good thing too because we needed it…
Convergence at Crookton
After leaving the Canyon Diablo bridge we meandered west along Interstate 40 towards Williams, Arizona. By this point it was late afternoon and the lighting was getting good. I was hoping to shot at a location we discovered during our last trip to this area in 2006. It is a cool spot near Williams that affords a semblance of solitude and the railroad track alignment offers some great curves to accentuate the struggle trains face climbing the Arizona Divide. We dubbed this area “Scary Bear Road” because the area was remote and certainly seemed like bear country to us. (We have “friendly names” for many of our railfanning locations to help differentiate them and make them easier to remember…)
A Parting View of Yavapai Point
Sunrise Over Yavapai Point, Grand Canyon
A week or so ago Deb and I took a brief road trip to Arizona. During our trip I took as many HDR photographs as the scenery and time permitted. One of the first stops we made was to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Since we were traveling at night, Deb had the idea to see if we could catch the sunrise over the Grand Canyon in HDR. Thanks Deb, what a great idea…
Going to the Next Level: Learning HDR
I recently started to explore the photographic technique called High Dynamic Range photography or simply HDR. This technique is centered around the post-processing task of combining a series of images, taken at different exposure settings, to create a scene that is, arguably, more realistic, which is not possible with a single camera photo…