Archive for November, 2008
roadside distractions 7 comments
It will come as no surprise that my journey has gotten ahead of my blog posts. Life’s like that. I’m in Oregon – just preparing to continue on my way into California. More about that soon.
Last post, I was in the last leg of the trip across Ontario and about to reach the prairie region of Canada. The crossing took about three days as I did not push myself too much as I was fighting off a head cold that had been attempting to bring me down. I knocked off early and tried to get as much sleep as possible and that seemed to do the trick. The other reason for not driving so far each day was that I found it surprisingly difficult to spend many hours behind the wheel while crossing such flat terrain. Where the drive around Lake Superior was demanding, it was stimulating because it demanded most of my attention. On the prairies, I spent a good deal of time struggling with drowsiness — no doubt partly due to the head cold. As a coping strategy, I began pulling off the Trans Canada highway to visit and photograph grain elevators any time that my alertness began to flag.
Here in Canada, the familiar wooden grain elevators such as that above, are fast becoming a dying breed. Many have been demolished and replaced with new concrete and steel structures such as the installation in the next photo. It seems something of a loss to me as most of the older elevators are quite individual — in shape, construction, and paint. As you can see them from miles off, they are an identifying mark on an otherwise seamless landscape.
Leaving the highway, I would drive to the elevator to shoot a few photos, then make a small tour of the town before heading back onto the open road. Often, there were old trucks or buildings, or some type of industrial structure — objects which have always been of interest to me.
In the town of Indian Head, Saskatchewan, there was a tall chimney that rose like an obelisk on a side street. It seems that it must be the remnant of a power plant.
Leaving town, I came upon one of those large and rather peculiar roadside attraction sculptures which are so often found in small towns around Canada and perhaps beyond. Well, I am back on the road again as of this morning, but will try to write more soon.