Back in the Day

It's always fun to dig through the boxes of old photos from my many cross country j0urnies, in which date back long before I owned a digital camera. I decided to post some as I am getting ready to head out west again very soon, and will hopefully be spending time with some of my best friends depicted in these photos. These photos are from various trips throughout the U.S and the watercolor titled "Cross Country" was one of the first travel related pieces that I had painted. The painting depicts my good friends Josh Adams, Phil Schaal, my dog Ira, and myself all crammed into the cab of my Chevy truck that we traveled in that year. On the back of the truck was a pop up camper,"the Skamper". "The Skamper" hung way out from the bed of the truck on either side blocking mirrors, and sagging the suspension to an all but street legal low.With three climbers and a dog in the cab of the truck, I am sure we smelled like hot garbage , and there were certainly multiple times that we were all at each others throats. Not sure how we never got pulled over???...Good times!!! In many ways this piece was the beginning of my more recent body of work of travel related paintings..

Cross Country
Watercolor, 6"x14",2004

Me in the Redwoods, 1996, on my first trip west
shortly after graduating high school.

The interior of my pop up camper "the Skamper".
I was given the Skamper by Ct. climber J.D Mackie.
Mackie established one of Ct's hardest routes , the Wall of Horrors 5.13
at Ragged Mtn. in 1993.

Steve King on our epic hike after climbing Magnolia Thunderpussy,
Granite Mtn., Arizona,1998

Me climbing at the Gallery,
Red Rocks, Nevada, 1998

Jared Roth on Boone Speed's I Scream in Hell 14c

shortly before he made he second ascent.

Dave Watson on Social Outcast 12a
Rumney, New Hampshire, Ca.1998

A young Phil Schaal at the Happy Boulders,
Bishop, California, ca.2000

Josh's dog Ibex on 9th and Marine
"Get the squirrels"

Josh Adams , aka Swayzee, Swaygina, Swayzleduece
on Get Carter, before his retirement from climbing.
Bishop, Ca., 1999

My Dog Ira
Red Rocks, Nevada, 1998

Climbing in the Druid Stones
Bishop, Ca.
photo: Carolyn Taylor