Thursday, August 28, 2008

Father and son at rodeo, Firth, Idaho, July 1974

Young contestant, Firth Rodeo, Firth, Idaho, July 1974

Cowgirls at rodeo, Firth, Idaho, July 1974

Cowgirls waiting their turn to barrel race, Firth, Idaho, July 1974

Carnival workers, Milton's Big Top, near Burley, Idaho, July 1974

Midnight revelers, Idaho Falls, Idaho, July 1974

Couple smooching near McCall, Idaho, July 1974

Publish Post

Cowboy reading morning paper, Idaho Falls, Idaho, July 1974

Mormon couple having lunch, Burley, Idaho, July 1974

Mormon couple having lunch, Burley, Idaho, July 1974

Reuben Cortez, used car dealer, Boise, Idaho, August 1974

I met Reuben as I was walking past his used car lot on the outskirts of Boise. I heard two men screaming and went to see what was going on. Reuben was standing next to a car and a man and his son were walking away from him shouting. After they left I asked Reuben what it had been about and he said, "Oh, people come in here all the time trying to screw me so why shouldn't I try to screw them?" Mind you, this was at a time that in a national poll a majority of Americans said they would trust a used car salesman more than they would trust the President who, some of you might remember, was President Nixon, or, at least he was when I took this picture. Nixon resigned exactly four days later. Reuben invited me to his home for the night and he and his wife were gracious hosts.

Reuben and Elizabeth Cortez, Boise, Idaho, August 1974

David Cortez, Reuben's son, Boise, Idaho, August 1974

Reuben Cortez eating breakfast, Boise, Idaho, August 1974

Kids looking through old photographs, Boise, Idaho July 1974

Rancher, near Mountain Home, Idaho, July 1974

Illegal Mexican farm workers, near Twin Falls, Idaho, July 1974

Illegal Mexican farm worker, near Twin Falls, Idaho, July 1974

Gary Steven, potato grower, central Idaho, July 1974

Inspecting drying mashed potato flakes, near Rupert, Idaho, July 1974

Shoveling scum off drying instant masked potatoes, Rupert, Idaho, August 1974

Cowboy in pickup truck, eastern Oregon, August, 1974

Cowboy in pickup truck, eastern Oregon, August, 1974

Family on summit of Strawberry Peak, eastern Oregon, August 1974

Putting up hay east of Brothers, OR, August 1974

Girls on horseback near Sisters, OR, August 1974

Kate Hitchcock in kitchen in the afternoon, Eugene, OR, August 1974

Kate Hitchcock in the kitchen at night, Eugene, OR, August 1974

The Rusty Cousins, at work on their stock car near Eugene, OR, August 1974

The Rusty Cousins near Eugene, OR, August 1974

Salmon fisherman, Newport, OR, August 1974

Crew member of a salmon boat, Newport, OR, August 1974

Young man unloading fresh catch, Newport, OR, August 1974

Young man unloading fish from fishing boats, Newport, OR, August 1974

The couple at the end of the road, Astoria, OR, September 1974

This native american couple pulled into the Lewis and Clark Memorial in Astoria, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, at about the same time that I did and we talked for awhile. They agreed to be photographed and it was the last official photo of my walk.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Dining car Amtrack head to NYC from Santa Fe, NM Sept. 1974

I hitchhiked back down to New Mexico from Olympia, WA, in late September and spent a few more days in Albuquerque. I went to the Bridge Street Cafe each day for breakfast and lunch and filled up on huevos rancheros and enchiladas. Finally I grabbed a train and headed back East to start the tedious job of processing the 400 rolls of film I had exposed during the year of the walk. At some point near at the end of the walk a guy approached me and said, "Ain't you the guy who walked across the country?" So I nodded and he said, " You must be crazy!" Then, after a pause he laughed and said, "Nope. I guess you'd be crazy if you wanted to walk back again."