February 2012

Not Kansas Cooke City, Montana 2012

When I took yesterday’s photo I could imagine myself back in Kansas. Not so with this shot of Republic Mountain on the edge of the Absaroka Wilderness. There are a lot of mountaineers in Montana who travel the world climbing rugged peaks. I wonder how many of them have been on top of Republic Mountain. It looks pretty challenging to me.]]>

Home on the Range Highway 191, Montana 2012

With the snowstorm hiding the mountains in the distance and a long straight highway out ahead, I felt like I had been transported back to Kansas where I grew up. Having spent so many years in the mountains, I’ve developed a strange appreciation for the simple minimalist lines of prairie landscapes that I was glad to get away from several decades ago.]]>

The Graves Hotel Harlowton, Montana 2012

I ate at the cafe in this hotel about five or six years ago. That was about the only part of the place that was open at the time if I recall correctly. Now even the cafe is closed. I assume the lack of business that lead to the closing of the hotel had more to do with the general direction of the population and economy in the area than it did with the desirability of staying at a place called The Graves.]]>

Patriot’s Dream #29 Harlowton, Montana 2012

An expression of the new American energy policy? Probably not. There is a large wind farm at Judith Gap north of Harlowton, but Harlowton feels more like it would rather be part of the more controversial oil and gas fracking boom in Eastern Montana. Of course whatever would bring jobs to the area would probably be welcome.

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The Harlo Harlowton, Montana 2011

Harlowton, Montana is much more upscale and bustling than is Martinsdale down the road. Still I was surprised to see that the Harlo Theater is still open (although not showing first-run movies). With satellite and cable TV, Netflix, internet streaming of movies and the near monopoly of the big multi-plex theaters over the big-screen movie business, it’s hard for a small town independent movie house to carve out a viable niche.  Having lower income expectations than big city businesses helps a lot I imaging as does being 100 miles from the next largest town with little else to do on date night when you want to get your girlfriend out of the house away from the parents. How long will the Harlo stay open? The demographics aren’t looking good. The 2010 population was 998, down 64 from ten years earlier.]]>

White Cross Martinsdale, Montana 2012

Montana is famous for the white crosses along the highways marking the location of car crash deaths (although these days they are officially referred to as “white markers” in an attempt to avoid separation of church and state issues). This particular impromptu white cross commemorates the demise of the Martinsdale train depot.]]>

Lost Dreams Martinsdale, Montana 2011

The railroad station down at the end of the street with it’s lost soles and mysterious dates is the loneliest looking place in Martinsdale, but the old Martinsdale Hotel isn’t far behind on that measure. For reference purposes, below is a photo of the train station that I took some nine years ago. Along with a big chunk of it’s roof, it has lost a lot of it’s artistic appeal in the years since then.

Vanishing Point Martinsdale, Montana 2003

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A Date to Remember Matinsdale, Montana 2012

Back in late August of 1924, something important happened–at least one person in Martinsdale thought so. They commemorated the day but unfortunately not the event, creating a mystery as to it’s meaning some eighty-eight years later. I’m going with it being the date this wall went up in the now quite derelict train station.]]>

Lost Soles #1 Martinsdale, Montana 2012

Coming across a single orphan shoe always strikes me as somewhat curious and intriguing–I want to know the story about how it got to be there by itself. I suppose the reason behind the solo appearance is often pretty mundane, but that unknown creates a sense of mystery that I find appealing. This is particularly true for shoes like this one whose aged, worn surface suggests a long storyline. This is not the first image of lone shoes I’ve taken or posted on POTD, but since it’s gradually becoming a collection  I figured I ought to start using a common thematic title and start numbering them.]]>

Further On Up the Road #2 Southwest Montana 2012

My friend Steve asked me a couple of days ago if I was o.k. He pointed out that I’ve been back from Budapest since November but haven’t posted anything but photos from that trip ever since. He thought maybe that was because I didn’t feel well so wasn’t getting out doing any new work. Well, I’m feeling fine and have been out taking photos since then, but I’ve been having so much fun with the Budapest images I haven’t given the more recent stuff much attention. Yesterday though I went on a little road trip (“safari” as my father used to call such jaunts) and took some photos I did have quite a bit of fun with on the computer last night. So, I think I’ll post a few of those. Then maybe I’ll get back to Budapest. (I took about 4,000 photos on that trip so there are plenty more.) Or maybe I’ll just keep coming up with more new work that I can’t resist posting. We’ll see. The last time I posted a photo with the Further On Up the Road title, I didn’t include an appropriate video because I couldn’t decide which one to use. This time the choice was easy for some reason. Here’s Eric Clapton and The Band from the Last Waltz concert way back in the late seventies. I chose this one because these guys look like they’re really having fun.

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