The Current Status of Camden's Rock

Little did I know when deciding to chisel Camden's 4"x 4" x 4" block of concrete that it would take this long. I was being facetious in an earlier post and at this rate, it might take a decade. Here is what it looks like as of two days ago:

I brought my hammer and chisel to document the action on site. Trying to learn how to chip larger chunks is imperative and this was the biggest to date.

I deposited it at Kirkham Hot Springs on the Payette River. Hopefully it is half way gone by the end of this trip (a year and a half later after visiting Eastern Europe, the East Coast, each trip to the NW, and a couple locales in the middle).

Return to Idaho City...

... and then the Redfish Lake, Salmon River, Middle Fork of the Payette River and Riverside Hotel photographs. The last two weeks have been busy!

It was another beautiful day at the Idaho City Hot Springs before the storm arrived. Last week, I found a notebook on the shelf above the printer at Surel's Place. The first few pages were long gone and the only two words found inside were "synchronized swimming." The cover and interior were warped as if it had been wet in the past. It was highly fitting as I grew up watching my mother practice this activity in every single pool that was deep enough.

I am still brainstorming what do to with the water textures (the most boring photographs in these posts) and finally have a plan that may involve postcards. I will continue to reflect (ha) upon this after I return to the Midwest later this summer.

Middle Fork of the Boise River

The grand deduction: I am revisiting 75% of all childhood vacation areas within the span of one month (lucky me). The Middle Fork of the Boise River was the site of many campgrounds, sandy beaches on July days, hot springs, and traveling over dusty, washboard to arrive there. We did not make it as far as Brown's Creek as initially planned because the condition of the road was terrible. 

We stopped at the Willow Creek Campground which was the site of many lunches (relived that activity), swimming across to the other side (the river was too cold and high this time), and roaming around the beach (thus began my inadvertent photography collection of abandoned fire pits). 

We searched hard for Big Horn Sheep (another story of the month) but came up empty. Mom is examining her camera exposure in the shade above.

This particular area holds many memories as it is where mining activity took place (producing a hole in sheer rock in an unlikely location on the other side of the river). The water was always so green around the bend.

The turn around point: campground where the North Fork meets the Middle Fork. If anything, this month has made me miss camping and dry heat tremendously.

I wasn't too pleased with the photograph I made based on a concept of storytelling and water in Rebecca Solnit's publication The Far Away Nearby at Willow Creek but will post it alongside what may be the final image taken at Redfish Lake. Coming soon.

Three Random Photographs

Thousand Springs Resort, Hagerman, Idaho: This is one of the first places I remember that had a log roped into the pool. I am sure it was plastic. It was definitely slick and possibly a recipe for chipped teeth.

A deteriorating mountain range on the side of an RV at Banbury Hot Springs. The pool at this location was home to another log positioned in the deep end.

This is what I do in Garden City: walk by the Riverside Hotel nearly everyday watching the changing status of the pool (that I swam in as a child = highly convenient location). The first day it was full of water, then emptied, and slowly filled (but still containing leaves from last season). I have permission to photograph it this week. Here's to concocting a good idea that doesn't involve trouble.

Miracle Hot Springs: Wasp Float and Other Photographs of Pristine Water

Destination: Miracle Hot Springs in between Hagerman and Buhl, Idaho. This location made the first cut of my "must see/photograph" list of important bodies of water in Idaho. Tuesday's roadtrip marked my fourth visit to a location that made an indelible impression in my early twenties. How could one not love a beautiful pool whose warmth is not too extreme that laps can still be swum (outdoors)?

Or small rooms that are rented with a private pool where the water is drained between each use?

I had 600 wasps at my disposal knowing that we would rent a private room. With my Mom's help (the theme of the month), we estimated the dimensions of the space (on memory) and I arrived hoping I had enough to cover the water. The sun shining above the adobe provided a warmth to the scene that I loved (hence the magenta glow to many of the photographs). 

While Mom swam laps in the other pool, I spent thirty minutes covering as much surface as I could and photographing details of the drawings on water.

Wanting a person in the scene, I summoned Mom who slid under the hand rail into the deep end and began filling the space made bare of wasps when the water moved. I took several dozen photographs but none were as interesting as the action of placing the paper or the clean-up after they began to fall to the concrete below.

Why wasps one might ask? I associate this location with healing from the month of wasp bites that placed me in the Emergency Room for the first time due to insect bites several years ago. With a foot so swollen I could not wear a shoe and a flight to Boise reserved, Mom immediately brought me here upon my arrival. A detail like that is not something that will be known in the final series; it is part of my autobiography with water in determining the final locations to photograph. Here's to the anticipation that one of these images carries its own weight without the explanation.

Thoughts are still pending on which one that will be. 

The Wasp Test: Kitchen Sink

Earlier this week, I tested my latent drawing skills and concocted an image of a wasp. Thirty copies of twenty per page later and I was prepared for a late night with the paper cutter.

Unlike the first cake float when I had no idea whether or not the caulk-covered Styrofoam would float, I tested a page of cutouts in the kitchen sink.

As long as water didn't fall on top of the paper (or my hands were wet, weighting it down), they stayed on top of the surface for well over an hour.  I concluded that squares were preferable over oddly shaped edges. Next stop... Miracle Hot Springs.

Idaho: The Olfactory Experience

Here are the three smells that remind me of growing up in Idaho. That's a kneaded eraser if it isn't obvious in the center.

The Greenbelt Near Surel's Place: Return Visits

Boise Cascade Lake (home of a former rope swing)

A day later with a cormorant.

Boise Cascade Lake (channeling my inner screensaver landscape photographer)

Near the swimming hole near Veteran's Memorial Park

Swimming hole near Veteran's Memorial Park on a cloudy day.

A day later in the sun (the river is rising).

A rock where I write near Veteran's Memorial Park. The location of Surel's Place is convenient due to its proximity to the river and important places of my childhood. Still grappling with what all of that means though a breakthrough occurred Sunday evening.

All the S Named Lakes in Idaho

Typed on a Polaroid back and suspended by a clip.

One Week at Surel's Place: The House

A funny paintbrush discovered in the stash near the sink. I later learned it was "head gear."

A sculpture by Judy Moore behind the couch.

Hand soap in the kitchen.

Morning glory muffins.

Nuts and figs: a welcome gift by the neighbor, Lou.

Studio in the morning with brainstorming notes on the wall.

Frame on the shed outside the kitchen window.

Tree debris gathers at the front door each morning.

Standing on the Greenbelt next to the Boise River photographing Surel's Place (with pink door).

Day Trip 1: Lucky Peak Reservoir & Idaho City

Here we have the continuation of the untitled autobiography in water series (it began with last year's trip to Marfa and San Solomon Springs, Texas).

 Lucky Peak Reservoir

Lucky Peak Reservoir

Idaho City Swimming Pool (now The Springs complete with dining yurts and chandeliers). 

Idaho City (where I learned how to jump off the deep end)

Idaho City (one of several photographs I am considering though it's mostly in the collecting and documenting stage - this also means images like this may return to Indiana and appear in a different medium/format in a couple months).