Jesse Murch 9/1/16 Jesse Murch 9/1/16

Day 4 - The Painted Hills

It was hot and the sun was high as we got our late start, climbing out of the hotel and packing back into the jeep on our way to The painted hills, located a few hours south in the town of Bend, Oregon. The drive was simple and pleasant and with the help of conversation and sing alongs to the radio it made for a quick feel. As we exited northern oregon and headed further south the lush trees stripped away and we were greeted with dusty plains and wide open spaces. Pulling off the high way, the jeep crackled and hummed over the now sand and rock road, winding through farmlands and past old decaying structures from a time long ago. A rippling of reality caused by the heat could be seen over every horizon, the temperature now mid day spiked over one hundred degrees. A small wooden sign pointed us in the right direction and we found ourselves at once being surrounded by technicolored hills, vibrants red and purples straddled the mounds that flowed like calming waves as far as the eye could see.

Escaping the cool serenity of the jeep for the glaring heat of the sun as we clambered onto a small foot path that led up one of the hills, the hike was short but the heat tested our endurance within minutes we were sweating and out of breathe, still we pushed on knowing the reward would justify the pain. Our suspicions were correct as we peaked and overlooked the landscape before, words escaped each of us at that moment and we were left standing and jaw dropped, how could something like this exist and be created naturally with time. As you stood you immediately realized that life isn't about jobs, or what car you drive, or how big your house and bank accounts are, its about this, simple moments of standing atop a ridge with people gazing out at the wonders in this world connecting through something deeper then spoken words or written text could transcribe. Find these moments in life, as many as you can, and hold onto them for as long as time will allow and you will never regret it. After taking it all in we headed to the most popular spot in the park, a set of vibrant red hills with a boardwalk serpentining through them, it was only about a mile down the road and within minutes we found ourselves standing at the start of the path, here would be the place we decided to shoot some more images of Kayla in the gorgeous pieces that had been given to us. Waiting for a few tourists to enjoy the spot and move on, we quickly had Kayla change and start doing her thing, positioning her in the middle of the two hills and filling the frame with as much of the vibrant red as we could made for something exceptional images. We had only a few moments of shoot time before we had to quit as the boardwalk became quite hot from the full sun and rising temperatures of the day and was beginning to take its toll on Kaylas feet. We wandered for a little while longer around the park, enjoying the views and shooting here and there before, now literally dripping in sweat, we thought it best to start our journey to Yellowstone National Park, which at this point was over eight hours of drive time away and would by far be the furthest stretch of driving for the trip.

A few hours into the drive and now in Idaho, we pulled of to refill at a gas station and get some much needed cold beverages and snacks, it was dusk at this point and we were starting to come to the realization that Yellowstone was less likely to get to in enough time to camp, standing outside and discussing and researching our options i stumbled across a campground and national park none of us had heard of, the name was odd, Craters of the Moon National Park, but extremely intriguing so after a quick google images search and seeing the martian terrain and justified name that was the destination for sleeping tonight. Before we could leave the station a strange wind pushed over the facility followed by a wailing siren, not that of a police car or firetruck, but the silent hill esq city siren to signify a tornado or something of that nature, and once arriving home days later we actually discovered it was a tornado a few miles from us, we shook off the weird feeling and proceeded on, in moments lighting started off in the distance gradually becoming closer and closer until the thunder accompanied it almost immediately, it was loud and violent like fireworks on the fourth of july. The thunderstorm and winds lasted the entire rest of the drive to Craters of the moon, upon entering the campsite everyone was already asleep for the night so we quickly picked a spot in the back corner as to disturb as few people as possible while trying to set up, as if setting up a tent in the dark using only a flashlight wasn't difficult enough you add to that the severe winds and slight drizzle and you have a less then fun situation. Still after about twenty or so minutes our shelters were set. We quickly climbed inside our respective tents and tried to sleep. It felt as though id been asleep for only minutes when the feeling of something smacking me in the face awoke me, it was the sides of my tent being blown from the wind, between that and the heavy rain it was deafening inside, down towards my feet i could feel a dampness of water starting to find its way in and from the sound of shuffling and grunting to my right i assumed Mike was having his own issues as well. I wrapped myself in a jacket and sleeping back and scooted to the center of the tent and watched it move back and forth until my eyes grew heavy and i feel back asleep.

Jesse Murch 5/13/16 Jesse Murch 5/13/16

Recent Travels - Dr. Oliver Bronson House

The hum of the engine whispered in the background as we traveled paved highways through mountains and valleys, our destination would bring us hours from home to the town of Hudson, NY where the historic Dr. Oliver Bronson house lay vacant just outside of the penitentiary. Past the prison gates and right onto the dirt road where a small black sign with outlined white lettering assured us we arrived. Pulling onto the circular driveway the impressive old victorian sat nestled around tall trees whose branches seemed to embrace the old house. The front porch wide and vast directed us to the massive front door, once opened your eyes stretched over peeling sage floral wallpaper and onto the grand hall where a most impressive staircase grew from the floor circularly up to the third floor, a grand spindle entwined railing led the stairs. The boards creaked as our weight was brought upon them, we split up and each set off to discover the wonders and mysteries of a house long forgot. A musky stale air drenched throughout each of its glorious rooms, of which each had a themed paint color that was pale with age and history most were even complimented with a grand marble fireplace. Traveling to a time of sophistication and class as we strolled about the empty halls, sensory overload would be an understatement as each of us worked with our cameras and models to capture the beauty we soaked in. The sun flooded in, through massive windows that had warped and sagged with time, creating brilliant natural light unlocking every corner and secret of the old doctors estate. The few short hours we were given with the house seemed to be a tease equivalent to a bite of pie without getting a slice, but grateful as ever to witness such a beautiful piece of history we packed up said our thank you’s and headed back down the dusty road through the iron prison gates. After a refuel in the form of burgers at a quaint diner in the nearby town we drove to an old factory we had seen on the way in, parking in a truck repair shops back lot behind tall blonde grass we headed toward the massive structure left to waste in the expansive field. A small piece of pealed back sheet metal that once sealed an old entrance way led us into the belly of the factory, inside the concrete walls were complimented with to many windows to count, graffiti and bird droppings coated the walls and floors as we wandered. Climbing up railing-less stairs to an old office on the top floor that was filled with blueprints and old file cabinets. Quick to capture the surroundings we surveyed around the outside of the building and headed back to our cars, those that had come from other states said there goodbyes, we climbed in our respective cars and welcomed the mild engine hum as we grabbed some shut eye on the way home.