Week 2

It's been a mixed Sunday here - the forecast was for rain but the sun seemed to find its way out at times. It was like that yesterday too... sunny in the morning, windy late afternoon, and raining in the evening. I feel quite at home though folks from the southern states (where current temps are around 90 to 100F) are finding it a bit parky.


It's been a busy week and an even busier one is about to start, with 51 hours scheduled for classes, talks from manufacturers, and practical classes between now and Saturday, though I expect some of the evening classes will not go on as long as scheduled.  Things ease off after that though the gaps in the schedule will be filled with lots of photography for our projects and to practice all that we are learning. 


With this coming week in mind my day has been filled with doing laundry, buying food, and catching up on the photographs I've taken (I'm almost caught up). This evening, as every Sunday evening, there was an optional review lecture.  Today's was particularly well attended as many of us plan to go to the Augusta Rodeo very soon and part of the lecture covered how to take advantage of the opportunity; how to get there, where to sit, advice on the scenic route if we want to go that way, and general stuff like not stepping on rattlesnakes if you leave the road to take photos... everyday sort of stuff!


Travel to and from class got a lot easier this week now I've worked out how best to carry the heavy bag with my camera and laptop while riding my bike. An amusing touch is the garage door opener my host has given me... so as I cycle the last few yards I press a button and the door opens up for me to ride straight into the garage. Magic.

Philipsburgh main street

So what have I been doing this week?  Well, I made two trips to Philipsburg, which is around 78 miles away. This is a small town (population around 930 and at an elevation of 5,280 feet) that grew up in the mining days and retains many of its old buildings. 

Taffy machine

On the first trip we spent a lot of time inside the candy store where they make many of their own sweets, some of it using old machinery. To give you an idea of the scale of the place I counted 60 different varieties in the liquorice section and bought a sample of a few of them. 

Inside the candy store

From being kids in a literal candy store we then went to a figurative candy store - if you happen to be a photographer. Neal's Photo is unlike any photo shop you are ever likely to find. It's a cross between Aladdin's cave and a jumble sale, and the owner knows what stock he has and offers it at a very competitive price.  It just looks, well, different inside - outside too, come to think of it.

Buying camera bags at Neal's Photo

After two of our group had purchased a couple of camera bags and a tripod we headed off to visit Garnet ghost town.  This is one of several towns that grew up quickly in the gold rush of the late 1800's and faded almost as quickly. The state preserves what's left so it is safe for visitors to go and see. 

Garnet Ghost town

Inside on of the old buildings

View on the road to Garnet

My second visit to Philipsburgh was to take photos of the town itself and as we walked around town we saw posters for a barbecue cook off... a BBQ competition.  If barbecuing meat ever becomes an Olympic sport then these are the folk to look out for. Happily the judges only needed small samples of each entry to decide which was best and the rest was available for the hungry crowd at $10 for all you could eat.  We ate well :-)

BBQ Philipsburg style

More photos from this week will be available in the gallery (and the rest from last weekend as soon as I get chance). 

Links: 

Gallery: http://web.me.com/djgough/Five_Months_-_complete_collection/Welcome.html

(Sign in with mt59802 and zootown)

Philipsburg: http://philipsburgmt.com/

Garnet: http://www.garnetghosttown.net/