Wasted Days

2012-01-04T08:37:00.001-08:00

skate daze/"what's the difference between F-stop and aperture again?"

Kyle was stoked, the old man was sleeping in so Lansdowne was a go this time.

The camera doesn't lie but, at least in my head, everything felt completely perfect.

Dave and I brushing up on our moves

not to be overly dramatic but there's this moment when you're really hauling ass, your trucks start shaking, you can hear the bearings spinning and the bolts rattling, you can feel every lump and inconsistency in the concrete and you know if you're leaning just an inch in the wrong direction, yer slammin'.

David and the wolf

back to the blue thing

"...5 Scooby Doo, 6 Scooby Doo..."

"damn!"

"We got this one bro."

getting out proved to be the Slim Jim stick of the day. (who remembers those?)

I forgot how precarious this fence was.

My favorite part was when my board fell off so I got to climb over and do it all over again. Fun!

"...the one person with hope enough for the whole world"...early-nineties hc comp?

organized solely to eat veggie-dogs for dinner

finally finished and developed some rolls from different cameras and different trips. This first roll was from a Konica I found at my parent's house which they hadn't used since the early 90's. The battery terminal was totally corroded. I used Coke, baking soda and a toothbrush to clean it out which did the job pretty well but it was still temperamental. I missed some good shots (at least in my mind while I was looking through the viewfinder) when the flash wouldn't fire.

All the rest are from 2 old Pentax's. 1 is from the 90's and 1 I believe is from the late 70's or early 80's. (and trust me I know absolutely no one gives 2 fucks about all this but I'm thoroughly enjoying screwing around with film again which I haven't done since college) Like the above shots from the Konica, you'll see they span many months. (do you like how I mention that fact like I'm the first person to have a roll of film sit in a camera for over a month?)
Remember the last Catskill trip? Well here's a pic from it of me learning to use the self timer, Matt training Harley to sit still for pictures and Chris taking a shit.

"The Hunt for Poet's Rock"

Barto family burn day

remember that really douchey scene from American Beauty where that doucher explains to Ghost World girl why he filmed a plastic bag?...that's all I could think of as I grabbed every single one of my cameras to take a pic of this sunrise.

Ray thought it would be cool to wait til the longest train in the world was gonna go by before we left the diner.

people like Brendan and the Lost Soul team give me faith in the future of the Valley's skate scene

10 dudes meeting up to skate? what is this? 1989 at Weis Bank?

this was a great day of skating

next roll

Matt salutes his shorts

downtown Leadville

frontside hip?...Matt's ollieing. Northglenn park was fun as shit. Whaddya got in the Octopus bowl?

center city financial planning

a horizontal shot followed by a vertical one of the exact same subject = true shutterbug behind the lens

last roll

2011-12-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

The Colorado Experience IV

For the 4th year in a row now, Matt and I made it out Colorado to snowboard, skate, explore the local the tourist traps and eat quesadillas with our good friends Jeremy and Lisa (aka the Millers) who we've known since high school. I love packing. My routine usually goes something like this; pack, unpack, repack in a different bag, unpack again, repack in the original bag, unpack excess shirts and pants, pack more socks, unpack excess underwear, unpack everything to layout on the floor and start from scratch, realize I have too many shirts, repack, remember something I forgot as soon as I get to the airport.

fast forward to Denver international where Jeremy scoops us up and we head off to hit some skateparks. (I'm not going to list or post pics of them all but just know we hit a lot) Here's just the bowl section of the Colorado Springs park we hit that night. This is Jer who single-handedly keeps the Colorado professional sports attire business up and running.

I'll give you one guess who got stoked when some homeboy at the park cranked the Beach Boys.

We considered our options but couldn't think of one good reason to not stop by the world's largest beetle which was just 10 short minutes away.

skate mission gear up at Home Depot

I'd be lying if I said I didn't totally do some research on the subject

after some brush up, I felt confident we would reach our destination

"too much cheese" is a phrase rarely uttered in the Miller household

"Does the rabbit go around the tree or through the hole?"

oh yeah, Kipp and Juno were there too. it was great to finally meet the boys.

next morning, after everybody had their juice...

...and did their stretches...

...it was time to load up and hit the road!

family portrait time

"dude, this is the one."

"sit, stay. don't make me come back there"

It became clear that what I was envisioning was just not gonna happen. Thanks Juno.

After we dropped the hounds off at Lisa's sister's house it was time for breakfast. It's no secret the Millers love their burrito spots.

They were regulars. The lady in the window simply asked, "The usual?" when the Element pulled up.

While it was delicious, with many twisty, turny miles ahead of us, part of me couldn't help feeling like we were taking a suicide pact with each bite.

When we finally reached our destination, I was ready.

The first time I ever went to Colorado was on a skate trip in 2004. On that trip we found this spot easily enough but as soon as we started scoping it out a Ranger pulled up and we had to bail. Then the last 3 times we've been back to Colorado it just never worked out that we were in this same area. Basically I've been counting the days til I could get another crack at it.

Finally, after7 years, it all worked out.

Seeing the huge metal door concealing the entrance was like a shot to the gut. We were all bummed. Seeing as we all came this far, Matt wanted to drop the rope and go check it out for himself.

Minutes passed and still no word from Matt. Jeremy lowered himself down to see what was up and Lisa and I waited around for a report.

Matt and Jer finally reported back that you could still squeeze in. And by "squeeze" I mean "squeeze".

After a quick change of footwear it was off and up the pipe we went.

hell yeah! you can't really tell from this picture but you had to walk uphill about 60 yards before the pipe leveled out and was actually skateable (hence the delay in hearing back on Matt's spot check)

Matt got his.

that snow patch with the light hitting it in the background is the point where the glory hole descends and curves in to meet the pipe/"drain". that means that at this point we were about 35 feet or so directly under the surface of the lake. (you skaters out there should already know this stuff).

Certain videos and bands lit the match in my youth and it was almost a release to finally experience my first "legit" full pipe. East coast kids learn fast that, with very few exceptions, all the pipes are in different time zones. Thanks fer nuthin' Reclamation Act.

We couldn't believe how smooth it was. It was humbling to see how high some of the stickers were pasted from past sessions. Albeit a bit lower, I still got mine.

looking up and out of the glory hole. Though it was highly unlikely due to the time of year, certain scenarios were definitely discussed between runs.

great session

I grabbed some last minute pics while Matt and Jeremy butt boarded down to the door. Judging from the noises I heard echoing in the darkness I'm guessing they had a good time.

sheesh, pass the Parkay

heading back down the spillway wasn't slippery at all!

Rule #1: Nobody gets left behind

Denver's #1 fan tunes into the Broncos game.

The back seat could have been on fire and Jeremy wouldn't have noticed.

And let me tell you how great those AM stations in the Rocky Mountains get reception!

After driving around the parking lot trying to get reception, we finally checked in at Glenwood where Jeremy displayed his unfledging commitment.

In his defense, it was a nail biter.

The following morning after breakfast it was calisthenics in 418.

20 minutes later we were at the mountain for our (well at least mine and Matt's) first run of the year.

always time for an extra sun salutation or two

you snooze you lose bro

there's always tomorrow

Jer shows no sign of retiring his thermonuclear protectors so we'll keep taking self portraits in 'em til he does.

physical fitness at 9,000 feet

Matt wanted to test his helmet out as soon as possible

After dinner we went for a stroll across the river into town. Here's the view of the hot spring pool from the bridge.

Had to pay our respects, again.

Everyone loves the traditional Christmas light walk.

Jer totally snaking my angle.

how many professional photographers is too many?

Bright and early the next morning. He missed FC (first chair) but he wasn't about to miss FO (first omelet).

nothing like a big cloud of hot sulfur wafting in your face on your way to breakfast

FO...mission accomplished

They have awesome old pictures of the hot springs all over the place. Here's one we obviously needed to recreate. I happily volunteered for the roll of the photographer.

back outside for the photo shoot

Same spot, same body position and I'm sure the same toast to good health. I wish I had video of this cuz Jeremy seriously chugged the whole thing.

perfect.

PS

one last trip into town

Even though it's at the confluence of the Colorado River and Roaring Fork River, we always said the same thing every time we crossed it.

we out.

I've always been a huge fan of local, non-chain army navy surplus type stores.

post-breakfast, pre-lunch fill up for Jer.

It was about this time we reminded Jer we should also probably fill up the tank before we set out for the day since we had some miles to cover. Unfortunately there were "none to be found".

fast forward 60 miles later to the booming metropolis of Rancho Del Rio where he finally felt it appropriate to top off.

here's the abandoned and forgotten general store

here's looking out over the abandoned and forgotten cabin area

oh and finally here's Jer at the abandoned and forgotten gas pump

Jer swore he "knew this car" so we pressed on.

back on the heavy populated County Road 1.

no service, no worries

all I kept thinking

dropped it in neutral for the downhills. again, it's a shame there weren't any places to fill up before we left.

you can spout confidence all you want but the eyes don't lie

always time for a Tebow

vistas were about the only thing not in short supply on that stretch

nothin' but professional photographers in this bunch.

Phew! Finally made it to Kremmling. The park looked sick but was snow covered.

the session must go on

Matt tests out one of Brian's christmas presents I picked up before we left Glenwood Springs.

about 10 minutes later we were good to go

everybody found a line. (and since Lisa left to find a bathroom it totally didn't take a million attempts to get this shot using the 10 second self timer) "Ok. Last time. Are we dropping in on 6 Scooby Doo or 7 Scooby Doo?"

always lookin'

It was dark by the time we got to Winter Park. That gondola that was right next to the lodge is what we'd take to the mountain in the morning. Neat!

Room 525 at the Winter Park Resort was to be known from that night on as "the Party Room"

not

"Do you guys want Mexican?"

Marty Moose was about the extent of the night life downtown.

that was of course until we found the town sledding hill!

The following morning we got sucked in and missed first chair. No complaints, I'll always be a sucker for a rom-com.

Let's ride!

I ended up keeping the camera in my pocket most of day 1 so here we are bright and early on day 2 at Winter Park. Morning routine phase 1.

Morning routine phase 2

Looking up from the lift line before our first run.

When you're on the mountain for a whole day, having the sun come out can make all the difference in the world.

When I feel a sun salutation coming on I just roll with it.

Now that I was loose it was straight to the park. The jumps there were fun as hell. All different sizes. None too huge, none too small. Great approaches, take offs and landings. Years have passed but the quest for big airs and knee punishing landings remains. Go big or go home bro. (I more often than not just go home).

Jer was going for backside 3's all day.

Matt goes frontside 3

tweaker off one of the smaller jumps up top

working out the kinks of his rotation. next year he's claiming them on lock

who doesn't love a good method? the epitome of classic.

frontside 3 with the grab. you either have it or you don't.

few things are more frustrating than whiffing on a grab

there it is. still working on maximum tweakage on my grassers though.

fun

looking down at the second set of jumps

looking across to the take off of the first jump

not satisfied with your last hit? unstrap and hike it til you nail it. (I hiked a lot that day)

Lisa isn't afraid to get hers

last run of the day was a no-brainer

plenty of room in the back after we picked up the pups

best feeling

back at the Miller's house we went through some of Jer's records

definitely some gems in there

reminded me of late night drives to Ocean City, Maryland in high school. (the REM flexi not the customized embroidered hat)

I sent this to Jer in '01 but the contest goes back to high school. Every year I sit waiting on top of Weis bank but he never shows. I better learn how to ollie again just in case.

The next morning it was back to Loveland Pass for our traditional last riding day of the trip.

Coverage was on the thin side this year so we rode as far left (west) as possible before dropping in.

this natural roll in was fun as hell. you can see Matt's blue jacket on the far side.

for the last run of the day we decided to hike out as far as we could to one of the back bowls

Ideally, the lip in the distance on the far right was our destination.

some sections were flat"ish"...

...some were not (notice Matt in the distance)

looking to my right (down). I made sure I maintained a tight grip on my board at all times. probably the only I wish I still had my Aunt Mable's pipe leash (anybody remember those?)

peep Matt up on the far lip

Lighting conditions were not as ideal for Matt's Loveland strap in photo as in previous years but we made the best of it.

Matt and Jer discuss the dropping point

Matt snapped this one of me bombing the drop to make it over to the back country kicker we spotted other people riding earlier in the day.

we all made it but as you can tell the lighting was crap for pictures since the sun had already dropped behind the range

hiking it for another go

After a few hits we made our way down the mountain and out of the woods back to the road. Next year we'll need to start earlier in the day so we can hike farther out on the range. Safe to say the back seat was whooped on the way home.

Northglenn park that night. God damn this bowl was fun!

Jer, leave the christmas lights on the fern in "my" room and we'll see you next year. Great trip! (there'll be some more random pics as soon as I finish the roll in my camera)

PS Happy Holidays. Solid haul at the Barto house this year.

2011-11-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

rural decay/occupy everything/Boston (tourist nerd stuff)/barnstorming

first things first, bid hard!

a 15 minute session can be the greatest feeling in the world if I haven't rolled around in awhile. some things will just never change.

took the scenic route for some chinese take out and ended up finding a great spot.

picked this up on the cheap while searching for the mountaineering section.

one way to stop wondering is to just pull over and see for yourself

I don't think the officer expected to hear "35" and "37" as responses when she asked our ages. She was cool though. Just wanted to see if we were spray painting the walls.

I tried unsuccessfully to get a "cool" shot of the marathon. Congrats to all who ran.

8 hours to kill so I basically ended up pushing back and forth across the city about 5 times. no complaints. lunch was an old haunt.

searching for the secret "pizza park". I've still never found it.

It felt like 2001. all that was missing was a single Gleason on the couch in morning recommending grilled cheese at Sugar Mom's for breakfast.

I was in the neighborhood so I had to see what all the hub bub was about

damn. couldn't even get my go to city hall line in. (ollie up the bench to boardslide off the wall just in case you were wondering)

don't worry, Occupy Philly still got sessioned. the puddle of urine all over the landing gave just the right motivation to land clean.

when you have to kill some time, Barnes and Noble is a no brainer

it was literally straight from the thanksgiving dinner table to Boston. spent the night to break up the drive in an abandoned Providence, RI. dinner that evening consisted of Goldfish and Chex Mix. No complaints. Here's Friday morning on the harbor.

shitty picture of a nice view from College Hill. (it should be noted I've had a fascination of all things New England"y" or Ivy league"ish" pretty much since childhood when I was exposed to the stories of Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. it was something about the history of the region. the mountains, stone buildings, taverns and the legends that surround them all that always intrigued me. suffice it to say, I was stoked to be visiting Brown, Harvard and Yale all in one weekend)

an hour later, basking in the Southie sun. (if anybody reading this is actually from Boston you should be prepared for my lame, stereotypical quips about your town)

I crept along at 5mph so as not to miss an autograph opportunity.

no parking at the site of the Boston Tea Party

a short while later I was staring through the fence at a spot I've been wanting to hit since '91.

I have a new found respect for anything that was done here

my roll-ins on 12' bowls with 2+' of vert have been lacking lately so for my first run I opted to take the ladder

"don't take the picture until my front leg is full extended on the back smith"

"ready?"

"dude I got this!"

"you got that one right?"

talking "snake boards as christmas presents" with the maintenance manager to stay in his good graces.

get some while you can

comparison shopping (not the first and certainly not the last in links I've made for the sake of 2 people)

had to Occupy Harvard from outside the gates. bummed. I wonder if any of them had signs that said "MY PARENTS ACTUALLY ARE THE 1%"?

a pilgrimage in it's own right

the Old North Church. This church became famous when Jon Voight told Sean Bean to go there in National Treasure. Little did he know that Harvey Keitel would be waiting for him!

wait, how many lanterns did Robert Newman hang in the steeple again? sometimes I find it's easier to remember historical facts and figures if I associate it with a fond personal memory.

8th grade after school art club Brett always finds the horizon line and vanishing point

Copp's Hill cemetery. see that obelisk off in the distance between the tree branches? that is the site of the Battle of Benny Hill. the British occupied Copp's Hill and used its elevation to their advantage to reign artillery shells down on Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's ancestors in Southie.

the gravestones were unreal. they almost looked fake. the details in the engravings were so clear for being over 250 years old in a lot of cases.

This is what I'd like my gravestone to read. Although when I picture my funeral it ideally looks more like this. that reminds me, in my Life Drawing class in college, the professor would always play this instrumental cd while we were drawing that I thought was awesome. one night after class I asked her what it was. she said it was the soundtrack to the Mission which I watched the first chance I got. Rad movie. It would be sick to go out like that too. then thinking of that reminded me how much I love scenes like that.

1672. I wonder if in 2350 someone will go of on a tangent and link stupid YouTube videos when they see a gravestone from 2011.

Peter Paul Revere was a Flemish Baroque painter who also told everybody the British were coming. He's one of my favorite "Pauls". This was his house. Quick! How many lanterns did Robert Newman hang in the Old North Church's steeple? (see I bet you remember now)

I celebrated our country's freedom by eating a cannoli while standing on the Freedom Trail directly in front of it.

This is where Crispin Glover got shot and started the Civil War. Until I got HBO I had no idea that John Adams represented the British soldiers who did the shooting.

note the Freedom Trail running behind it

a Boston Strangler's murder site

been there!

who doesn't enjoy a stroll through the Common?

Sam Malone phone home

told you this was gonna be touristy

"Sam's Starters"...I laughed

Saturday morning breakfast run

a stop in New Haven was mandatory on the way home

then it was time to Occupy Yale

a quick rub in hopes of no traffic and not getting lost on the way home. didn't work.

I totally love stuff like this

B&W to set the appropriate mood

we out

lumber recon mission

don't worry, it was all on the up and up. you're dealing with 2 Eagle Scouts here

Jake's. (I'm haggling more aggressively for the bullwhip next time)

in '96 we woulda had the proper set ups for this hot spot

2011-11-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

weekend in the Catskills/walks/collar bone etchings

here's a brief (not really) summary of how I was first introduced to what has become one of my favorite destinations, the Catskills. Many moons ago, Chris, Jim and I went in search of a pool in the woods outside Albany. after Dave and I had been led on a wild goose about 2 hours in the totally opposite direction on a previous attempt, I finally got in touch with a guy who hooked me up with the proper info. Chris and I set out about 4am from his mom's house, met Jim at his house and then headed north. We followed the directions and found the pool easily but unfortunately the deep end was filled. We debated going back into town and renting a generator and a pump but after considering the time and effort it would involve we just skated the shallow end. here are some of Chris's pics from that day.

the shallow was super steep so trick selection was limited (ie: carves)

it was a beautiful fall day but since a session of kickturns and slashes can only captivate the senses for so much time, we decided to chalk to pool up as a loss (for the day) and head out to explore the area. chris or jim remembered seeing a sign for some waterfalls on the way up so we decided to check it out on our way south. long story short (too late for that), we spent the rest of the day screwing around at Kaaterskill Falls. (next 2 pics are also Chris's)

it was gnarly cuz there was a crust of ice covering almost everything in the woods so the approach to get "under" the falls was super sketchy. it's steep to begin with and everything being iced over made it even sketchier.

Here's Jim and I "under" the first tier.

I've returned to the region on a few occasions since then and always had a blast camping, skating and exploring. So recently when planning for a camping trip to the Adirondack Mountains with the usual camp crew (Brian, Matt, Chris and I) suddenly hit a snag, the Catskills seemed like a no brainer to keep things a little more local and simpler. Chris and I stayed at my parent's house Friday night to get an early start Saturday morning. More than a few people have told me I look younger since I shaved but I just don't see it.

"Good night"

we left Matt's house before 6 and were lacing up our boots before 9:30. Harley was ready to hike

Matt jumps ship, while I spot wildlife and Chris memorizes the map. We decided on the Blackhead/Black Dome loop as the route for day 1.

I always register as Pierre from Ardmore. (That's Chris's alter ego of a French guide that he becomes as soon as we start any hike in the woods)

due to his condition, he was stoked to come across a courtesy stash of walking sticks at the trailhead

3 minutes into the hike, as you can see, he was feeling fine. judging by the scream we heard a minute later, it became a different story.

started getting steep

Harley always made sure everyone made it up the scrambles

according to the map we were supposed to look at stuff here

hoping to see Matt's angle of this one on xcrament.com

Being the lensman that he is, Matt captured me in a moment of deep thought. I've always done my best thinking in the woods and I was no doubt lost in a memory of simpler times, some moment from the past which shaped who I am today.

Pierre self portrait

wrong turn

I always take about 4 times as much food as I need. It's snacks for days whenever I shop for a camping trip.

lunch bunch shot

Looking up towards Blackdome Mountain

looking back towards Black Head Mountain. (where we ate lunch)

after a quick stop at the Price Chopper back in town it was time to eat!

finally got to put the birthday present to work. works great.

early the next morning we were off to check the falls. we interrupted these two little buddies eating breakfast.

top of the falls

Pierre says "Subitement, la beauté est allé"

we call these "Pearl Jam cover shots"

Chris can slip in to calendar shoot mode at any moment

who am I to deny my true calling ?

you got it bro!

metatarsal check up at the skate park. not looking good.

Captain Pank salutes his shorts at the lighthouse

then my camera took a tumble off a table trying to snap a pic of what turned out to be a total waste of megapixels anyway. i should have taken a photo with my phone but basically it looked like this. RIP digital Hoot. through snow, wind, sand and rain, you have served me well. I had to break out the "real" camera and cast my memories back 17 years to Moxey's Photo 1 class in order to continue the Pearl Jam cover shoot.

a hearty Ahoy! can really carry from the North Point

final fire of the weekend. great trip.

walks in the woods

training begins

the Age of Quarrel has yet to steer me wrong

2011-10-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

Florida vacation fashion/Reading spots of yesteryear/total skate weekend!

digging through some photo albums that got flooded in my parent's basement. found some family vacation snaps from last year.

I'd bag on Brian's choice of haberdashery if it weren't for the fact that I would occasionally wear my Jimmy'z beret to little league practice. the yellow shirt I'm wearing was a Gordon & Smith tee. I vividly remember opening it on Christmas morning and being stoked that I now had 7 "skate" shirts which meant I could wear one every day of the week.

next 4 I found buried on my hard drive and are from this trip. I think these are Chris's shots. first one is Hillsboro, OR

Buhl, Idaho

cow field camp out. outside Carbondale, CO

the Weasel surveys the land atop the cradle

if only I knew then what I know now.

Lincoln City, OR. that was a great fuckin' trip.

me and Pop at game 1 of the St. Louis series. don't think I've ever bonded with my dad as much as I did that day. I mean, we were like high fiving and shit.

Father No Neck and I had a similar moment at the Union game

finish that hot dog. I wanna start bashin'

might as well have been layered in banana peels. it didn't help that these dogs had no concept of height or regard for personal property

who'd a thunk a spur of the moment stop would lead to a complete reworking of my fall wardrobe?

had plenty of time to kill so we took a less than direct route home. I rarely find myself on this stretch of road anymore so when I do, I know where I'm eating

navigating solely on landmarks we hadn't seen since '92, we tracked down this mecca of our adolescence.

that's the wall we were lined up against waiting for Jake to lower the fire escape when the AC skinheads threw bottles at us from a speeding pick up truck

we continued on and as soon as we said "we should find that courtyard we used to skate" we realized we were right next to it.

it was our poor man's, east coast EMB but it was rad. on sundays it would be totally deserted.

saturday morning. session at the jank bank

Max took a break from ghost hunting to document the action

Clifford had the pivot fakies on lock

Ray got the schralps

ollie fakie to death?

cutting the arm off means instant Photo-G status. (like how i make references that probably 6 people will understand)

no angle went undocumented

who wore it best?

6:55am usually means first lines. turned into a full on session stacked with quality dudes

back to the jank bank for some much need upgrades

Ray and I had to distract ourselves while we waited for it to dry cuz we were so stoked to skate it. we caught up on the past 20 years or so and eventually just started pushing in circles around the parking lot.

by the time V showed up it was good to go. a half hour of patch work made it 500x's easier to skate.

Ray snapped this one. it was not a make but I shall return. great session. I have more pics that I'll post as soon as I finish the roll of film.

here are some of my pics I contributed that made it into the Live...Suburbia! book: Chris, Andy James, Nate and I in the Kutztown cafeteria circa '94. notice the wrap on Chris's wrist. this was the infamous "Snapcase wrist" that he supposedly got stage diving at a Snapcase show at City Gardens. He still complains about it to this day. Also his outfit consisting of a World Industries hat, flannel shirt and jeans is what he wore every single day of freshman year. (case in point) Behind us is the "alternative girls" table. this meant they wore Vans and listened to Ride and Sunny Day Real Estate.

Nate and Matt Rife in Brian's freshman dorm room

Brian, Roeder, me and Bortz at Magic for my 14th birthday

1994. new skateboard day for Brian and I in his sophomore dorm room. he used to say it looked like I had pieces of shit stuck on my face.

Jamie, Tina and Brian somewhere in Kutztown

beach girls. ocean city, md. you know how it goes, meet on boardwalk, exchange addresses, write letters for a few months, continue with life. (ps I just noticed the Rage Against the Machine sticker on the door)

Brian and I give Matt a wake up call on the same beach trip. RIP Budget Beach

me and Bortz combining two of Brian's creations to shred on the back patio

years later. same back patio. Matt, Chris, Nate and Scott hangout session.

Aaron, Brian, Chris Fehr and Roeder in the pit at Scarlett's

Jared and Josh look on as Roeder, Pettit and Aaron bust some elbows

the always classic Roy's shot

preshow hangout at John's house. ps those are the alternative girls from the cafeteria shot!

and finally, Tommy, Kyle, Kim, Tanya, Scott and John aka the "youngins" (except for John) hanging out in the parking lot before a high school football game. we always brought a keg of root beer

2011-09-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

Hurricane hike/canoe/bike ride (that was somehow uphill the whole way)

Hurricane hike with Brian and Paul (and the hounds)

The PJ could be my investment of the year. Brian feels the same way about his Keen's but they haven't really been put to the test yet.

a few weeks later, Hawkeye wanted to check if his sea legs had gotten any sturdier. turns out they hadn't.

Brian heads out for a solo paddle. He and his canoe were the envy of all the "dad" types at the lake. they all wanted to talk wood shop.

ahoy!

where to next?

how about a hike up the slopes at Spring Mountain? we would go to this place in boy scouts every winter. it was the first place either of us skied. those trips were great. I have some classic pics of our winter gear circa 1989. if I can find 'em I'll post 'em. I happened upon this place on my bike ride to Emmaus years ago but the trails were all over grown so I couldn't really explore them

The Rock Lobster! I wonder what Webb, Johnston (Dirt), Jason (Meatball), Drew (Alfred) and Randy (Redwood) are doing right now. Troop 25 til death.

we were stoked to find this. it's just a rock that kids painted red cuz it looked like a lobster when you were above it on the lift but it was cool to see it again after 20 years. wait, 20 years? well considering some of the stickers that were on my ski boots at the time, yeah, I'd say that's pretty accurate.

tarantula

later that day, city jaunt/pedal/hang before heading to mom and dad's

soaking up the view I ended up with a cameo in Dave's favorite skater's shoe commercial. although of the two, I'm much prouder that this video documentation exists. Brian and I spent $1,000 on a video camera in 1994 to capture all the magical moments of our college years. On a semi-related note, I went skating by myself for the first time in a long time the other night. I hit a bunch of random parking lots trying to find curb spots and gaps. although they're always more fun with a crew, many times, these end up being my favorite missions. skate tough.

following morning, off to meet Matt for a bike ride over the Blue Mountain. i swear i get up earlier on the weekends than i do during the week.

I arrived to the sound of sawing logs. seriously, either turn that alarm up or cool it with the benders.

to the top of Blue Mountain and back was the goal. that's it off in the distance. much like with Spring Mountain, I was transported back to the school ski trips we'd take there in junior high. those were also great times. at 14 years old, being stuck in school, in need of constant physical, audio and visual stimulation, it was sheer torture getting stoked all winter watching stuff like this and ending up at places like this. I wonder what Chad, Bortz, Kathy (Hair), Bachert and Bomboy are doing right now. Probably not remembering being psyched to go see Ski Patrol on opening night like I was.

miles later we reached the summit. the preparation I put into setting up this shot was not worth the end result.

I like to call these "mom shots"

still on the to-do list. a ways down, but still on there.

impractical yet sufficient hydration system

skid out session on the way down

if you enlarge it you can see the tower on the mountain where we just descended from

onward and into Leaser Lake which, as you can see, has been drained

walk 'em...

ride 'em...

or carry 'em

looking back at the northern side of the lake where we started crossing

great ride except my palms were rubbed raw. as you can see my bar grip was fresh so i'm not really sure what the problem could've been

here's the route. 45 mile loop that was somehow all uphill.

anybody know how many avocados there are in a large veggie pizza, a 2 liter of coke and a pack of peanut butter kandy kakes?

let me get this straight, if i was 18 years old i could be walking around this park with a loaded gun and nobody could legally do anything about it but since i'm 35 years old and i have a skateboard i can't walk inside this fence and put my board down without having the cops come. yeah, ok. oh well, that's what memory banks are for.

one more thing, i have a few pics that are gonna be in this book. if you were a child of the 80's/early 90's "alternative" suburban lifestyle, in other words if you skipped slow dancing with all the norms to this at school dances and instead stood by the speakers waiting for the heavy part to start so you could slam, you'd probably enjoy it.

2011-09-07T06:04:00.000-07:00

Untitled

where's my headlamp?

digging through my parent's flooded basement I found some gems. well, "gems" is relative.

this was the "Owls Home" show

2011-07-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

the Catskill shots that survived/Abandoned Turnpike bike & camp

I developed a roll of film that had been sitting in a camera on my window sill for about 4 years. I shot one frame when I first got the camera...

...then didn't pick it up again til about 3 months ago

a few weeks (months?) ago we got a crew together to hit the Catskills. hiking, swimming, skating and camping were the only orders for the weekend. I'm slowly trying to gravitate away from digital and make the switch to film but unfortunately, due to my sparse knowledge of 35mm cameras (gimme a break, Moxey's photo class was like 19 years ago), the local drug store lab fucking up 2 rolls and me blowing a 3rd roll, I wasn't left with many pics of the weekend. The skatepark, village and lighthouse snaps were lost. Here's what survived.

3 guesses who went on a rager the night before

Simon on the balcony

after swimming it was off to camp to meet up with the rest of the crew

get in where ya' fit in

Mochi was standing guard

first beach day of the year! thanks to Clay for the board hook up. Let's try it again when the water's a little nicer.

new swim spot

biking the abandoned turnpike has been on our to-do list for awhile now. as soon as a weekend came up that worked for everybody's schedule, the trigger got pulled. and as you scroll down to see the pics, lest anyone think Matt and I coordinated our outfits,

I assure you it was purely coincidental

preride shakedown at the Sidling Hill service plaza. Andy's Keens and shaka were obviously mandatory. and before I forget, big thanks to Ron for letting me borrow his bike

after bombing the long downhill (which meant uphill on the return trip) we found the starting gates no problem

no spandex on this trip, I mean I wouldn't want to look gay or anything

exploring these is one of the main reasons we came here

we ditched the bikes and walked the plank to get inside

I crossed my fingers that Andy was up to date on his tetanus shots. Lockjaw would have seriously hindered his vocal range for the trip. (Andy = sing everything)

descent to the turbines

we climbed a few flights of rusty "stairs" and got up into the ventilation tunnel on top above the road. Think of it as an above ground cave.

the road flares came in handy

kept reminding me of this commercial

looking down to the road below

If the Floyd can shoot their album cover here, so can we.

Rife planks vertically

Luna bars all around to maintain proper pH balance

westward

deciding when to turn the lights on was a fairly easy decision to make

"how's my ascot? I mean, the last thing I want to look like is an douchebag."

true or false: Andy sang Outspoken's A Light in the Dark more than once on this trip.

Brian wasted no time engaging the shades once we emerged on the other side

tunnel # 2. as you approached, you could feel the cool air coming from inside a good 30 yards away.

Rife never pedals without the Gerber in arm's reach

end of the line

Any pointers bro?

Breezewood town limits

abandoned hotel across the street. first thing we looked for was tranny in the pool...no dice

heading back east

great cap control

entering the western side of the ventilation tunnel

always a fan of signage

album cover shoot #37 of the trip

Andy and the Dickbag Joeys

the return trip seemed twice as short as on the way out. Abandoned Turnpike, done and done. Time for the uphill!

Brian and Rife's electrolytes were depleted. Time to rehydrate.

stocking up in McConnellsburg. only the essentials

5 warm spots, coming up

who packed the Pert?

Brian Eagle Scouting

standing room only in the kitchen

Matt's secret ingredient? dash of TSB (the Silver Bullet)

lesson learned. guess it's back to the hat store for me.

Andy is easily my favorite subject

any experienced camper knows the best thing to do when it comes to setting up a new tent is to just follow the directions

mandatory crew shots around the fire

"how's the ventilation in that 5x5?"

you could pretty much set your watch by Andy's lower GI for the rest of the evening

good night

good morning

worm's eye view of Brian's 5:30 wake up call

great trip

2011-05-04T06:35:00.000-07:00

American and Back: II

the pics I took of crop circles from the plane window didn't come out so here we are at Sunset Junction. great army surplus shop!

stopped in for a quick hello at Dave and Stacey's bbq. horrible views.

I hadn't seen Dax in well over a year. we picked up right where we left off with a game of "drop the slobbery ball on my foot repeatedly until I throw it".

fuck yeah!

Keg Master Eli

this was just before a fascinating discussion on monasticism took place. "I recommend it."

goodnight LA

Day 1: Los Angeles to Mingus Mountain, AZ - 410 miles

a red letter day for sure!

we ditched the highway whenever possible

towns like Hope, Salome, Yarnell and Congress were the only signs of life (sort of)

all I kept picturing was this scene

ascending the Black Hills. good thing pizza was after this stretch of road.

Nightmare on Mingus!

Day 2: Mingus Mountain, AZ to Bluewater, NM - 319 miles

leaving camp, looking back over what we drove the night before

I had been through the town of Jerome years ago on a skate trip but it definitely warranted another drive through. It's built on the side of Cleopatra Hill and its switchbacks are something to be experienced.

(as always, click to enlarge)

Sedona was just down the road

one for mom

if you had your windows down you probably heard me

farther on down the road we stopped to check out some authentic, native american indian dwellings.

"please bite my finger if these blankets are infected with small pox"

"please catch my dream of not getting small pox"

next stop, the Petrified Forest. here's the Painted Desert

the roads you have to drive to get to the different sections of the park are almost as cool as the designated attraction areas

there was a part called Newspaper Rock that had petroglyphs you could see through viewing glasses. I realize in 2011 you can find images of pretty much anything you want online but I gotta admit I had a "moment" when I focused in on some of the engravings that were made up to 2,000 years ago. I wonder if future generations will experience the same emotion when they see this.

I took about 3 million photos of the Rainbow Forest. here are a few of my faves

this whole area felt like a movie set. Star Wars+El Topo+Dune+Tremors+Quest for Fire. the petrified logs are really pretty amazing up close. I had another "moment" where I pondered how rad it would be if in another 2,000 years, more cool kids (skaters and punks) could still view places like this and appreciate their history like I did that day (honestly)

there used to be way more pieces of petrified wood all over the park but apparently way back when, workers on the Santa Fe Railroad would steal tons (literally) of pieces. here's me contemplating a federal offense

Bluewater Lake, NM. what you can't see in this picture is how insanely windy it was. no joke, it was NONSTOP gale force winds the entire night. I'm talking like a 9 on the Beaufort.

this night was the maiden voyage for my newest camping toy

woefully, I was forced to break my own "one match" rule trying to light the charcoal. it just wasn't possible with the wind.

the rocks were placed behind the grill in hopes of preventing a gust from blowing a spark and igniting the dry grass surrounding the sight. it worked...kinda.

Day 3: Bluewater, NM to Hutchinson, KS - 668 miles

woke up just in time. a full on snow squall erupted as the tent was being dismantled.

reenacting the man from my nightmare in Mingus

onward and eastward to Albuquerque (and that means skate day!!!)

I was organizing the drop off/pick up game plan a good 60 miles before we even reached the city limits. "You're cool with sitting in a Cracker Barrel parking lot 'til I get to the bottom right? If you get bored just walk in and pull up a barrel." (slight exaggeration but not really)

8:00 am, 2 hour drive, about 3.5 hours of quality sleep thanks to the relentless wind against the tent, handful of pretzels for breakfast...what better warm up spot than "the Bear"?

this was easily the scariest thing I've ever rolled in on

it feels like you're going twice as fast coming off the first wall. my eyes were watering trying to spot any rocks on the face wall or the flat that might send me flying. thank god I opted for the cruiser set up at the last minute before I left philly.

the bear keeps going on a slight downhill grade (as they all do in ABQ) but I had nothing to offer there besides a few carves so after a few runs it was off to the next spot. there's a lot of footage of this spot online. seeing dudes rolling in on it in '76 on homemade boards made me feel like a pussy. local legend says when Alva was in town during his heyday, he stood on top but wouldn't roll in.

the last time I was out here I only got to skate Indian School but after a little pre-trip, online sleuthing I got in touch with K-Lee who hooked me up with all the info I needed to find and enjoy some of Albuquerque's finest ditches. thanks again K-Lee. next up was Harper's.

again, I took a lot of pics at these spots but at the end of the day it's just a picture of a drainage ditch. if you're a skater you should really try to get to ABQ at some point to hit some of their ditches. they are truly incredible.

lots of fun pop-in/pop-out spots

Indian School bro (from the top this time!)

just step on your board and you can cover over 2 miles without a single push (much more if you don't get picked up at Juan Tabo). I'd be lying if I said it didn't make it a little harder to get stoked on some of our local ditches.

back on the road and continuing eastward with only the essentials

drove through Logan, NM again which meant cookies at Subway and Ute Lake! then through the very northwest corners of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.

hmmm...any suggestions Bill? Cameron? girl Chris thought was hot in college?

all we could do was prepare ourselves as best as we could

we sat it out for 20 minutes then continued on.

all I kept thinking of

oops, the old west connection definitely warranted the sepia setting

we drove until well after dark. towns were few and far between on this stretch but the monolithic, silhouetted grain silos on the horizon would call out the pockets of civilization a few miles before we sped through them. the weather turned and forced us indoors for the evening. couldn't wait to break my fast continentally!

Day 4: Hutchinson, KS to Evansville, IN - 637 miles

this day was pocked by off and on rain so just putting some miles behind us was the only real game plan. we were set to cross the Missouri River which i've kinda been fascinated with ever since I first heard of Louis and Clark. if i find myself in the vicinity of a location that was significant to their expedition, I'll make it a point to stop and check it out. needless to say I wanted to cross the mighty river on my preferred mode of transportation.

visions of manifest density

trying to get to the arch in pouring rain at rush hour...fun!

made it!

once last look since I don't see myself returning to Old Missou anytime in the near future

"see where it says Rib Tips? well fuck that you don't wanna go that way anyway?"

Day 5: Evansville, IN to Weston, WV - 500 miles

finally woke up to blue skies. reminded me of the trips we took to "the Big Lake" in college

apparently my film camera shit the bed somewhere back in Kansas so this is the only pic to give you some idea of the flooding. notice how the road is continued on the other side. this is pretty much how the roads looked for the first hour or so of the morning

took the scenic route the whole way to Louisville.

I've been to the Louisville park a few times already but never when it was this empty. the 3 bikers left before i even got on my board and then it was just a hippy, some fall out boy looking kid and me.

Bourbon Country

made a wrong turn outside Charleston, WV and ended up taking "the back way" to get back to the highway. none of my LOMO shots made it and this phone pic really doesn't do it justice but Route 60 through Fayette and Kanawha Counties proved to be one of my favorite stretches of road the entire trip.

Day 6: Weston, WV to Philadelphia, PA - 382 miles

woke up at Stonewall Jackson (or as Andy would've called it, Samuel L. Jackson) State Park. (That Gettysburg trip was quite memorable as well)

the last supper

and here are just a couple pics from last weekend. Aaron was in town from Myrtle Beach, great session at Kings! It's not a picture unless Andy is mid shaka.

I, for one, welcome the resurrection

lastly, hate to end on a bummer but, Rye,...

Ryzod...

Dormi bene. You will be missed.

2011-04-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

LOMO zone/Self Concious/dogs/bike rides/Tough Mudder

I forget how exactly I came across this image. judging by the weights in the corner, I'd say browsing eBay. most likely shopping for fanny packs. anyway, this exact poster graced my walls for many, many years growing up and I was stoked to find a pic of it. i thought the girl in the middle was so hot.

finally finished a roll of film i started this past winter. this is my first LOMO zone in awhile.
christmas time in NYC

the Beefy building by central park

in high school, i probably would've gotten an A+ in Moxey's photo class for this shot.

Raymond Pettibon show in Chelsea

same roll of film but now we're back to just a few months ago when Brian was assembling the barn for his art show.

the hounds were there

then I finally picked it up again just 2 weeks ago for a dog walk with Brian and Don at Bear Creek.

later that day Don and I explored a train tunnel we used to rappel at in junior high.

on a bike ride with dave and kim from south philly to fishtown, then back to south philly, then back to fishtown, then back to south philly

now it's back to strictly digital. this is my favorite skatespot in philly.

session at the white whale before the Self Conscious show.

being punk means you leave the box at home.

my view of the sick of it all cover. did i ever tell you how much i love dreadlocks?

Self Conscious

photoshoot on the river. nice to get out of the office once in awhile.

spent a couple days helping Dave build a set in Norristown. that was a memorable weekend.

that's 2 boot casualties in a month.

hour 17 of a 20 hour day

I got a text from Don saying he was looking to do some technical hiking. my response, "you got it bro!"

we also wanted to scope some of the obstacles for the tough mudder the following week. the sweaty yeti was looking good. (note: these overlap with some of the LOMO pics above)

not gonna lie, we had a little scare when we were in the middle. turns out the sound we were hearing was coming from the road above us but for about a minute or so i totally thought we were gonna get Browered.

the next day was for riding bikes

and for exceeding my recommended caloric intake tenfold

toe update...looking good!

next weekend, more dog walks. first with Brian in Vera Cruz...

...then with mom on south mountain

the next day was the tough mudder so I crashed early. up at 5 to get ready. luckily the Insanity infomercial was on to get me psyched for the day!

i was totally running low on tees so i called Shaun T. posthaste

Brian pulled in the driveway at 6 and we were pedaling to the mountain by 6:15

"dude you missed my wheelie"

Whaddya wanna see? miami hopper or a cherry picker?

we got there and found Mental J in the Vegan Treats van. I felt bad taking a pic when he was obviously immersed in deep mental preparation.

The Floozies were ready

Brian and Bear Claw from Jeremiah Johnson

enough of this hanging around shit! off to the starting gate. this year was almost 4 miles longer and had way more obstacles than last year. I carried a camera with me again and tried to document the run as best I could.

first up was the death march. it was lot muddier and snowier than last year. the snow gun blasting you in the face from 10 feet off the trail ensured that you were drenched within the first 5 minutes of the run.

up and over the sweaty yeti

strategy for the slip and slide?

nah, fuck it

lock in the hubs, time to ascend the 'Squatch

something went wrong and we kinda actually exhibited behavior similar to teamwork

the boa constrictor is where shit got real

close quarters with rocks, mud and cold water. no way to avoid it, you were gonna wet and scraped up. here's brian coming out of the first section (there were 2). the streaks are from the snow gun that was blowing straight across the water onto you. you dropped into about a 2' pool of mud and water before you had to climb back into the second section. fun!

i tried to make Brian a little more visible in this one. i'm pissed (but not surprised) my lense was coated in mud at this point. unfortunately i didn't have time to properly prepare for his exit.

then it was into the woods for a couple miles. when we finally emerged, we were met with a dumpster being continuously stocked with ice cubes, red dye and the stems and remnants of the hot peppers you were handed and supposed to eat before you jumped in. after his dry heaves subsided, Brian was the first to take the plunge.

the water obstacles usually mean it's time to fly the flag

everybody was vomiting from the peppers at this point

Metal J got behind the lense to document the plunge

Matt

me

Brian

yes, the water was cold

emerging from the muddy mile (you can kinda see one of the pools in the background)

Brian gets an A for effort but an F for execution on the greased monkey bars.

under the wire

there were lots of fun obstacles i didn't document cuz i only had 24 shots to spread out throughout the whole run so here we are at the last one. lots of wires, random ones had 10,000 volts running through them. it was fun. i'm sure you can find lots of videos on youtube of people going through it.

last stretch

note my expensive camera strap

tight crew. thanks to Brian, Matt, Metal J and Danielle from Vegan Treats. had a blast.

stopped back at my parent's just to use the powder room

since I'm sure I'll need another embroidered, orange headband, I'll be back next year