Road Trip: 4x5" film and supplies along I-40

Hey folks--I've stepped down from my job at the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, and my family and I have been in the process of relocating to my wife's hometown of Honolulu. My wife and son are already out there, and the movers picked up our stuff on Dec. 30-31, and since it will take approximately 45 days for everything to arrive, and I have to ship the car from Long Beach, California, I've decided to take a road trip visiting friends and family and making some photographs along the way for about three weeks.

I've got my 4x5" Linhof Tech V and four lenses (75/90/150/360), about 70 sheets of film loaded (TXP and Efke PL100) and another 100 sheets of PL100, a couple of packs of Fuji Instant packfilm, and I also brought a Nikor daylight tank, a gallon of Acufine, a half gallon of fixer, and such so I can process in hotel bathrooms on the road.

Yesterday I was in Washington, DC, and then I met up with Thomas Sauerwein in Virginia to see the fantastic new studio and multi-process darkroom he's building, and now I'm in Durham, NC, staying with friends. The basic plan is to take I-40 west, maybe with a diversion to Kansas City, and then to follow historic Route 66 to about Flagstaff and then up to Las Vegas, where my mom lives, and to LA, where my sister is and where I have to drop off the car before flying to HNL.

I think I'm pretty well supplied, but say I want more 4x5" Tri-X or Fuji packfilm, or I need to replace the fixer, where might I stop wouldn't be too far out of the way (say within 90 minutes or so--I'm pretty flexible timewise)?

Dear David,

Have a really great trip sounds very exciting ......and hope the move to Honolulu goes well...

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

Sounds like a fantastic trip, David! Hope you have a great time. =)

Have you considered shipping some film ahead to one of your predetermined stops?

All the best.
Shawn

We did Fourty from mile zero at Barstow CA to Memphis in Septembe. Still HOT HOT. Williams turned out to be a bit too much altitude for my wife and COPD. Albuquerque to beyond Williams is above 6000 feet much of the way. If no issue with the altitude the Grand Canyon is just north of Williams.

David...there is film in phoenix and right here in l.a.
best,peter

you are welcome to use my darkroom right here in los angeles if you need!!
best,peter

There is (was?) a photo store in downtown Flagstaff -- I had 120 B&W processed there in 1977 when I was working at the Grand Canyon. I realize that this info is probably of zero use to you, but it gives me the excuse to wish you a great trip and much luck in your new home!

Vaughn

Lucky stiff. Enjoy the retirement. Looks like the day I can "step down" from this nasty printing press will be the day I "step up" to heaven. And if they have presses there, I'll know I ended up at the wrong place.

your visit with thomas sounds like it was a blast !
did he make a construction with YOU ?

Shawn Dougherty said:

Sounds like a fantastic trip, David! Hope you have a great time. =)

Have you considered shipping some film ahead to one of your predetermined stops?

All the best.
Shawn

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+1
i wish i lived near i-40
id hoard supplies for you
feed you a warm meal and
crafted beer and coffee
send you on your way ..

Flagstaff store that had 4X5 and 120 film closed last winter, Rollies Camera in Sedona (25mi? south of Flagstaff) used to carry a good selection. Sedona is certainly worth a side trip on it's own.

I'm in Memphis. Our local shop, Memphis Photo Supply, doesn't stock 4x5 film, but they do have chemicals and other sizes of film, including Fuji pack film.
Good luck with your trip!

David, Kurt's Camera on Central Avenue (old Route 66) in Albuquerque has some 4x5 in stock, along with darkroom chemicals.

~Joe

Peter Schrager said:

David...there is film in phoenix

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Tempe Camera is a good source-- right off the I-10 in downtown Tempe. However, it may not be worth it to drive all the way down to Phoenix, as it's nothing but terrible suburban sprawl, with nothnig of much interest. Oddly, Flagstaff doesn't have film, but you could take the detour through Sedona down South and get to scope that out.

Good luck on your part-retirement David.

You will definitely have to update your APUG profile.

And it's going to be tough dropping into B & H on a wim.

Wow, David! Sounds like an awesome trip, can't help with supplies, but hope you'll post pix when you land in Hawaii! Safe travels!

I'd step down from my job of emptying the cat litter and mowing the yard, but everything looks like up from here, to misquote Richard Farina. Stay warm on your trip, some states look pretty icy right now.

Route 66? Damn, David...

My dream trip? The Mother Road all the way from Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. With a night also spent at the Wigwam Motel.

Have you read The Grapes of Wrath in preparation?



Ken

no trip like that would be right without a little driving music. Appropriate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw1tiNGQ4wI

Hey, thanks everyone! I'm not retiring by any means--more like going freelance, unless another academic post at a university comes along. Between my academic contacts and my contacts in the literary and publishing worlds, I've got plenty of work to do that I can do from pretty much anywhere, so when my wife got the offer in Hawai'i, I started lining up gigs, so we could make the move.

I won't be doing all of Route 66 (this is a cool version for fans of the song-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3TbSSI3hy8 ), just from Oklahoma City to Flagstaff before veering off to Vegas and then coming down to LA, but it's a good chunk.

Thanks for all the tips and keep them coming. I know where to go in Vegas and LA, but the in-between stops are more of a challenge.

And thanks for all the good wishes.

I'm still kicking myself for not stopping at Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico years ago...

Will need to get permission in advance from tribe to photograph.

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/pueblo_laguna.html

ROAD TRIP

David A. Goldfarb said:

Hey, thanks everyone! I'm not retiring by any means--more like going freelance, unless another academic post at a university comes along. Between my academic contacts and my contacts in the literary and publishing worlds, I've got plenty of work to do that I can do from pretty much anywhere, so when my wife got the offer in Hawai'i, I started lining up gigs, so we could make the move.

I won't be doing all of Route 66 (this is a cool version for fans of the song-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3TbSSI3hy8 ), just from Oklahoma City to Flagstaff before veering off to Vegas and then coming down to LA, but it's a good chunk.

Thanks for all the tips and keep them coming. I know where to go in Vegas and LA, but the in-between stops are more of a challenge.

And thanks for all the

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Well, David. Retiring or not... It's not EVERYONE that gets to go on such an adventurous excursion AND gets to document it too! Nevertheless, I AM jealous!

Have a blast! congrats and please post your trip! CHEERS!

Ken Nadvornick said:

Route 66? Damn, David...

My dream trip? The Mother Road all the way from Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. With a night also spent at the Wigwam Motel.

Click to expand...

David A. Goldfarb said:

I won't be doing all of Route 66 (this is a cool version for fans of the song-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3TbSSI3hy8 ), just from Oklahoma City to Flagstaff before veering off to Vegas and then coming down to LA, but it's a good chunk.

Click to expand...

Oklahoma City to Flagstaff?

Here you go then. If you'll be living in Hawaii, you may not get another chance. That's a LOT of water in between.

Wigwam Village Motel #6
Holbrook, Arizona
"Have You Slept in a Wigwam Lately?"

Google Maps Street View
Note the period cars scattered across the parking lot.
And the unloading tour bus behind the left-most teepee.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A bit of preserved Americana at its finest...

:w00t:

Ken

wow, have a fantastic cross country drive ! too bad you didn't take the long way around and visit Toronto I'd be making a stop at Freestyle if I was behind the wheel lol

These days it may be better to just have film overnighted to your motel since most of the local camera stores are now gone. Pictureline in Salt Lake City used to do this (they once offered to have film shipped directly from their distributor to my Moab motel if I recall correctly), although these days they only list Delta 100 and HP5+ in 4x5 on their web site.

Sounds like an awesome trip, have a great time!

When shooting and traveling in the US I sleep in my truck. Walmart for safe sleeping, The flying J for fueling and showering, YMCA's for swimming and showering (sometimes even cheaper than the shower at the truck stop), Starbucks for wifi, clean bathrooms and changing out film holders in harrison tent, and fedex hubs for shipping film back to the lab and receiving orders. The hubs are all over the place, have long hours (even on weekends) and will safely hold your package for up to a week. Good luck and be safe!