My most current blog entry:
Entries from December 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018
Road Trip USA: Benton Hot Springs, California . . . Almost A Ghost Town
Sunday, December 30, 2018 at 5:50AM 
On my drive from the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah back to my friend's house in the High Eastern Sierras, I took a 'short cut' down some very small, and often unpaved, roads. One of the joys of this type of travel is the discovery of amazingly photogenic little wide spots in the road. One such gem was Benton Hot Springs, just off of US Highway 6, just across the state line . . . on California State Road 120.
The Benton Hot Springs Hotel is the pride of the nearly dead town. The hotel (now closed) was founded as a general store and Wells Fargo Station in 1868.
This lovely, and poetical plaque was placed on the old hotel in 1968.
A nice place to lean a chair and pop open an ice cold Nehi on a hot summer day.
The old hotel/store still had its old gas pump outside.
A lazy place lost in the dust of time.
But what caught my eye in the first place as I drove along State Highway 120 were the old abandoned cars just beyond the hotel.
Although these cars were not necessarily abandoned where they sat (they had obviously been towed to their present locations for photographic effect, one suspects), they made for a wonderful atmosphere of age and neglect . . . my favorite subject!
When I crisscrossed the USA with my family in the '50s and '60s, these kinds of scenes were common. Now, not so much.
I spotted a few very interesting cars here, like the 1934-1937 Chrysler Airflow (middle) - the first production car that attempted aerodynamic streamlining to increase economy.
I had fun being an "art photographer" with all the shapes and patterns around me.
These scenes lend themselves to black and white photography, so I have added a number of B&W photos to the end of this blog entry.
There weren't very many buildings in Benton Hot Springs, but this one had nice arched windows.
A chopped up old VW bus.
There was a nice old farmhouse across the road from the hotel.
Very pretty little place . . . and only 30 miles to Bishop, California . . . the nearest mall.
Although very fascinating to look at, it is a shame to see these old farm implements rusting away in the harsh weather. The average low temperature in January is 16(f) and the average high temperature in July is 92(f).
An antique tractor.
Another antique tractor.
People who live out in the deserted parts seem to like to drag old stuff out of the hills and old mines and display it around their houses as yard decor. In Benton Hot Springs someone had gathered many old wagons and wagon wheels just outside of town. These should be preserved too.
There was a hillside covered with these old wagons from the horse and buggy days.
Benton Hot Springs sits in a green valley below Boundary Peak.
I walked out of town and up a hill to get a view of Benton Hot Springs.
"If these walls could talk." Indeed.
As I travel the world I often ask myself, could I live here, in this place? I mean actually live here . . . to actually move to the place and make a life there. I am capable and free enough to live wherever in the world I want. I can say YES, I could live here. I may look into it more closely.
I left Benton Hot Springs behind and headed into the rocky landscape along California State Highway 120 toward Swall Meadows.
Dr. Jeff Harper
BONUS: Black & white photos of Benton Hot Springs, California!
Road Trip USA: The New Jersey Shore
Saturday, December 22, 2018 at 11:59AM 
I have good friends who are semi-retired and live year round in Ocean City, New Jersey. I spent a wonderful five days visiting them.
I brought my bicycle with me so that I could ride the many miles of Ocean City boardwalk.
Although Ocean City is a very old beach resort (for mostly rich folks from Philadelphia), many of the old beach houses were torn down and replaced with these fanciful 'kit' beach houses. About 80% of these are vacant during the off-season.
Ocean City has a nice beach. There used to be a major pier, but it was washed away during Hurricane Sandy . . . which also inundated Ocean City streets. The pier in the background is the private pier of the Ocean City Fishing Club.
Ocean City has a few attractions, including a very fine boardwalk. The town is 'dry' - alcohol is not sold in stores, so it has gained a reputation as a family beach.
We had the beach to ourselves every day.
I had the good luck to be here between storms . . . and wind. Quite mild and calm days for December. We took a nice bike ride to a nearby island and saw this inlet along the way.
Much of the area to the west of Ocean City is designated as a wildlife reserve.
Beach erosion is still an issue. Successive hurricanes and 'noreasters' severely depleted the sands. The local government dredged the seabed and sprayed sand back to make a new beach. It will have to find it's new 'natural' levels.
Wonderful patterns, shapes, and shadows in the beach dunes.
Wind patterns in the sand.
With my good buddy, Bud.
My friends and I drove 20 minutes south to the lovely colonial seaside village of Cape May in the late afternoon to see the decorated old Victorian and Colonial houses.
The sun had just gone down . . . and the houses were beginning to take on their night identity.
There are so many cute houses in Cape May. The Cape May Historic District has over 600 listed homes. Fantastic!
Cape May was first established as a village in 1632, on of the earliest settlements along the Atlantic coast. Most of the homes in the Historic District are of the Late Victorian Era Style.
The beautiful Victoria B&B . . . .
The Queen Victoria B&B front door.
Lovely turreted Victorian mansion.
The pastel colors of the perfectly restored (maintained?) Victorians were so sweet.
As the darkness continued to fall, the old houses began to light up in their Christmas charm.
Although not as grand or ornate as some others in Cape May, I like this modest white house the most: it seems so inviting.
Another one of my favorites . . . that enclosed porch is just perfect!
A typical Cape May street in the Historical District.
Photographers love the 'magic hour' - the first and last hour of sunlight, but we also love the 'Blue Hour' - the time just before dark when the sky is a deep blue.
The holiday decorations were very nicely done . . . and NONE of those horrible inflatables!
Such a lovely little town . . . "The way it used it be" . . . at least for the few who could afford it, even back then. My friends said this is "Philadelphia money."
At times it seemed we were walking through a movie set . . . so perfect was the restoration . . . 
These two were gems: big porches on both floors!
Such a fantasy house!
Cape May! 
A beautiful gem in the blue hour.
I could live here!
The old houses come in many colors.
Tourists come to Cape May all year. 
There is an old timey park in Cape May with a lovely gazebo.
Such a festive feeling.
The buildings around the old town square.
There is a nice walking street of old shops in Cape May proper.
The shop windows were dressed for the season.
So pretty.
My friend, Bud, doing some last minute shopping.
Christmas trees seemingly in every window!
The interior of this hotel was nicely festooned with Christmas regalia.
There was even a small Christmas Market in the garden of the old Heritage Hall Hotel. Yes, we had glüwine.
There were many cute little shops around the town center.
As sweet as the commercial area of Cape May was, the star of the city is the vast numbers of Victorian houses lit in Christmas decorations.
Gems in the night.
Lit up like Christmas, as they say.
A dream house . . . 
Another favorite of mine . . . this pink grand dame in all its glory!
Seen earlier in the daylight, now a gem box of amazing color and form.
It was late (and cold!) when we finally left Cape May. I want to come back and stay in one of these old beauties. I have added an additional entry at the end of this blog focusing on just the front porches of these old Victorians (Bottom).
I drove north 30minutes from Ocean City one nice winter day. I brought my bicycle with me and had a nice 10 mile ride along he famous Atlantic City boardwalk.
Atlantic City has been the dream retirement spot for eastcoasters for generations. . .
Hurricane Sandy and other major storms have played havoc with the Jersey Shore. After dredged sand was blown in, an attempt to stabilize the new beach.
The boardwalk and most of the buildings seemed to be in a good state of repair.
The famous pier at Atlantic City was closed for the season.
But, of curse, it is the Atlantic City boardwalk that attracts people, even on this cold and clear December day. I really enjoyed my 10 mile bike ride along this wooden bike path.
As I took a closer look at the large hotels, I was shocked to see so many of them boarded up . . . closed and abandoned. The economic collapse of 2008 and the establishment of Native American casinos in Pennsylvania had a major negative eeconomic impact on Atlantic City.
There were a few shops and a couple of cafes open to service the winter wanderers, like me.
The weathered remains of a hotel beach party set-up . . . the last trace of the summer season. I rode my bike back five miles, loaded it into my camper, and drove back to Ocean City . . . good exercise for the day.Dr. Jeff Harper
The Victorian Porches of Cape May, New Jersey
One of the most beautiful architectural features of Cape May, New Jersey are the front porches of the old Victorian houses.
These houses date form a period in cultural history when the front door mattered as the face of the family that lived inside.
In summer the porch serves as a place to sit and greet your neighbors as they pass by. In winter, it serves as a stage to light the Holiday Season.
Closed or open porches . . . they are such a beautiful feature one wonders why they ever fell out of fashion.
Please, step on in . . .
The many B&Bs in Cape May must be packed during the summer season . . . and the rocking chairs on the porches fully occupied.
Festive, to say the least.
The Carpenter Victorian porch is just pure fantasy!
Charming and bold colors.
An old Victorian in all its Yuletide glory.
Soooo inviting!
Porch Life has not vanished from the Earth . . . it lives on in Cape May, New Jersey!
Road Trip USA: In and Out of Winnemucca, Nevada
Monday, December 3, 2018 at 3:50AM September 2018
After camping up on Steens Mountain in Oregon, I drove south on Oregon Highway 205. My destination was Winnemucca, Nevada, where I would stage for my planned camping out on Nevada's Black Rock Desert. I was dirty, my camper was dirty, and my clothes were dirty. I needed a few nights in an RV park . . . and I had a hankering for Mexican food.
It was roughly 200 miles from my campsite in The Steens to Winnemucca through some of the most uninhabited countryside in the USA. The major wildfires that had swept through much of the western states left behind smoke and haze that obscured the landscape . . . and in some cases made it more interesting.
This unforgiving high arid country left behind many abandoned homesteaders and miners' shacks, sheds, and farms buildings in the giant western landscapes.
If these walls could talk . . . certainly applies here.
I had fun stopping, getting out of the truck, taking a photo, driving on a few feet and getting out again . . . . These scenes are so photogenic, I didn't want to miss a shot!
The road went on and on through the dry, smoky landscape. Oregon Highway 205 became Nevada Highways 292 and 140 before joining US Highway 95 into Winnemucca.
An old abandoned farmstead. This one looks like it wasn't abandoned all that long ago. What was the story of this house? Its history?
There were a few wide spot in the road towns along the road to Winnemucca.
My camper ECU was acting up . . . the engine developed a radical rich condition . . . lots of black smoke. I diagnosed the problem as a temperature sender. I stopped to let the engine cool down and reset the ECU. It was an opportunity to take a walk around in the parched land.
It was quiet and still. Cars would come by on the highway only every 10-15 minutes.
It had been dry here for a long time. Other travellers along this highway had driven off the road into the desert too.
Yes, the desert is not a welcoming place.
Bone identification is not my academic field of study . . . sheep or cow?
Back out on the highway and toward distant mountains. I thoroughly enjoy these long desert drives . . . and have missed them in my tropical, equatorial life.
Such lovely layered mountain ridge silhouettes in the wildfire haze.
I pulled over to the side of the road whenever I would see these old decaying sheds.
One of the joys of long desert drives is having the scenery suddenly change as you drive up and over a mountain pass.
Another abandoned homestead. This old ranch house was literally 60 miles from the nearest store and gas station.
Such rough construction. The summer temperatures out here are blistering . . . and the winter sees deep snow for months at a time.
My camper was running well now . . .
Dry desert just north of Winnemucca, Nevada.
And on I went . . . down the highway of mirages.
I eventually arrived in Winnemucca (pop.7,600), bought gas, went to a self-wash car wash, found a Mexican restaurant (and had a GREAT meal), checked into the Model T Casino RV Park (I bought the t-shirt!) I stayed there two nights while I resupplied the camper with food and water, ice, washed the clothes, cleaned out the camper (bought a small vacuum), took a shower, bought a new temperature sender for the truck, and watched a few NFL games on the big screen TV in the casino bar. A very nice stop.
There was a great sunset both nights in Winnemucca.
The view from my RV park.
I would come back to this same RV park when I returned from my extended camping in the Black Rock Desert.
Steens Mountain (Frenchglen Hotel) to Winnemucca, Nevada.
_________________________________________________
Golconda, Nevada
US Interstate Highway 80 heading East toward the Bonneville Salt Flats.
While driving east I was having some trouble with my old Chevy pick-up . . . the ECU was acting up and I knew I needed to replace the temp sender and fitting. I had a new one in the truck, but had been too lazy to change it. I pulled off at Golconda, Nevada and waited for the engine to cool off . . . and in the meantime I walked around this little old mining town with my camera. It was worth the stop.
I pulled up under a tree in front of the old Golconda School (circa, 1888), opened the hood, and headed down the street, camera in hand.
Golcanda, population 216, is an old mining town with very little activity left in the mining sector. Corrugation!
One of my favorite photographic subjects is corrugation and dilapidation . . . Golconda had both.
There were lots of old farm implements sitting around in the brush.
It seemed like about half of the houses and businesses were closed, abandoned.
Some beautiful ensembles of junk, old cars, weathered surfaces, and light . . .
A failed scooter business . . . .
Like a movie set . . .
A closed store out on Old Texas Highway 40 heading out of town.
Closed, vacant, the people and stories gone.
I couldn't resist these marvelous shapes, surfaces, and shadows.
Gone from use.
A fire burned the rear of the old store . . . but at sometime after it had been abandoned.
WOW! These surface textures are amazing . . . and beautiful in a strange way.
Sad and forlorn, still and silent . . .
A straw rake imbedded in a tumbleweed . . . with white picket fence.
Lots of old, abandoned automobiles about . . . and a surprising number of panel trucks.
I'm surprised the hot rodders haven't been by and 'picked' this nice Chevy panel. I'd love to have it . . .
I know these towns . . . the hot, quiet, lonely days . . .
I do not fully understand why I find great beauty in these old places . . .
I walked back across the mainline rails to the school and my camper. Such a beautiful location for a town.
The pride of the town, the restored, and nationally listed, Golconda School.
Winnemucca to the Bonneville Salt Flats.
