Where is Ben?

New Galleries on my Photography Web Site

I just added some images to my TheBestofBen.com site. You'll find new images in the following galleries:

• Route 66
• Cadillac Ranch
• Lightpainting

Enjoy!

Vintage Bus Delivered via Freight

  

My vintage bus was delivered to its temporary home yesterday (where it will be re-powered and have the brakes and other systems upgraded). It arrived via semi truck and took over two hours (driver claims 4.5) to unload! Why so long? Well, the bus has a very long overhang behind the rear wheels and there are a few water tanks that extend slightly below the body in the middle of the bus. If it goes down too steep of a ramp, then either area can run-aground. 
 

The pic above was taken on maybe our third attempt. Each time we'd pile up more wood and ramps to try to make the angle less steep.

 

We'd also end up digging in an attempt to prevent the trailer hitch from scraping too much. 

In the end, you can see all the wood and ramps we ended up using. It was a good thing that this setup worked without scraping anything since the bus was put in reverse a few seconds after it was started and ended up going down the ramp with zero brake power because the air pressure didn't have time to build up yet. The bus doesn't have modern spring brakes which would have stayed engaged until enough pressure had built up to allow them to be released. My friend Charlie who was at the wheel joking said something like "I'm just going to gun it and get this over with"... the next thing I knew, it looked like he did exactly that! He came out of the bus with a white face and was a bit shooken up since he was expecting to go very slow with the brakes on the entire time. 

The next step in the vintage bus project is to locate the right engine/transmission combo. I'm currently searching for a Cummins ISL 425HP with Allison six speed automatic. I hope to find a low milage one for a good price out of a wrecked RV.

Vintage Bus Run Ends in Amarillo, TX

An update since my last post: On Tuesday, I drove from Sayre, OK to Amarillo, TX and ended up having some bus problems. The bus was simply lacking power and didn't want to have its RPMs go up all that high. I first broke down within yards of Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. I made a call to a diesel road-side assistance company and they came out with fuel filters that seemed to fix the problem, so I continued on my way toward California. 

During the time I was in Texas, I took photos of the bus in front of same nice restored gas stations in Shamrock, TX as shown below... right after taking the first shot, and odd rooster car drove by, which I had to capture with my iPhone (that's what all these photos are from).

 

A few hours later, after crossing into New Mexico, I noticed that it was very difficult to make it up hills with any kind of speed. I finally hit a rather steep hill and had to continuously downshift until I ended up in 1st gear and even then, the engine didn't have enough power to pull me over the hill, so I had to shut it down and call for assistance. At this point I was quite a ways away from any major city. 

My AAA service was only setup for normal cars and didn't cover RVs, but I paid $250 to upgrade it to RV status (that would have cost me only $53 if I didn't need service the same day). With AAA, you get up to 100 miles of towing. Amarillo was 97 miles from where I broke down! I knew I wanted to head to Amarillo since I knew I could fly out of that spot without any problems. That tow job would have cost me over $1000 bucks if I hadn't done it through AAA!

I'm sure my lack of power issue could have be resolved after spending many hours with a qualified diesel mechanic, but it was getting close to 1am and the temp was falling fast. I just didn't have a bunch of time to deal with details since I had already lost half of my day trying to get the fuel filters changed out. In the end, I decided to park the vintage bus in Amarillo and have it freighted the rest of the way to California. I have found a company that can accommodate my needs in that area and they should be picking up the bus within the next 24 hours. 

I have since flown from Amarillo to San Diego and am hanging out in my current bus.

I'm not overly bummed or anything... I was happy that the vintage bus made it as far as it did since it had it's original engine and transmission. I plan to replace the engine with one that has more than twice the power and will also install a six speed automatic transmission. Let me know if you know of a economical source for a Cummins ISL 425HP engine and Allison World transmission... that's my current quest. 

Note: All the photos shown in this post are from my iPhone.

Paris Springs, MO to Sayer, OK

Well today my goal was to make it all the way to Texas and I'm sad to say that it wasn't meant to be. Instead, I've made it to Sayre, OK which is a total of 22.8 miles from the Texas border. I would have made it to my desired destination if it wasn't for me going a bit too quickly when programming my GPS. I entered "Shamrock", which is the city I wanted to end up in, but I didn't realize that it was still set to search in Oklahoma. Needless to say, Shamrock, OK is a five and a half hour drive from where I am right now. Unfortunately, I made it almost 40 miles in that direction before I realized that it wasn't sending me in the right direction. I have to backtrack and by the time I got back to Sayre, I saw a mini city of RV's at the local Flying J's Truck stop that were parked in an area away from all the idling trucks and so I caved and called it a night.

I spent most of today driving with a few stops to take photos of the vintage bus in front of various old train stations and gas stations. 

St. Louis, MO to Paris Springs, MO

After posting yesterday's update, I decided to drive a bit more. I ended up driving for about an hour and a half and spent the night in Cuba, MO. I didn't actually get to sleep until after 3am. That made for a late start today. 

Just outside of Cuba is Bob's Gasoline Alley where I was greeted by a car club and had free lunch: 

Just down the road from there is the world's largest rocking chair:

For the rest of the day, I drove only 153 miles and ended up at Paris Springs, MO. This included some rather steep hills where the 1963 engine only allowed me to budge over them at around 35 mph at full throttle. I'm parked just inside the gate of the Gay Parita Sinclair gas station... I caught the owner right as he was locking up for the night: 

Here's an image of the same place from my real camera that I took last year:

Tomorrow, I want to get an early start (that means before noon) and make my way as close to Shamrock, TX as is humanly possible.

Note: All the photos shown above were taken with my iPhone

Columbus, OH to St. Louis, MO

Today I drove about 420 miles... Google maps claims that can be done in 6.5 hours. Google maps needs to get with it and add a vintage bus setting which would give a more accurate 11+ hour estimate. I spent most of today driving, eating or napping, so there's not a lot to report. I spent about 1/4 of the day driving through the rain and it seems that truck drivers in Ohio don't know how to drive in the rain. There number of jackknifed trucks was amazing and added at least an hour to my journey. Tomorrow morning I plan to get on Route 66. 

Columbus, OH to Columbus, OH

The distance between where I started my day and where I ended it was around 23 miles. In between those two stops, I visited a bunch of local bus nuts who wanted to take a look at my new acquisition. I ended up parking for the night in a friend's driveway who has a nice 50 amp electrical plug which means I should have heat tonight.

The weather forecast for last night called for a low temperature in the lower 50's. In reality it got down below 45 degrees. That's the kind of temp where I can easily make it through the night, but don't have much incentive to get out from under the covers in the morning. 

Tomorrow, I plan to head West toward St. Louis. 

Alliance, OH to Columbus, OH

I picked up the 1963 Flxible Starliner bus today. After spending an hour or two going over the various RV systems with the previous owner, it was time to hit the road. 

My first stop was Loudonville, OH which is where the bus was manufactured. That's where I met up with a local bus expert and saw and amazing collection of memorabilia about the company. I also drove the bus to the actual building where it was made and took a photo of the bus just outside the garage doors where it would have been delivered. 

Today I drove about 160 miles and spent a good portion of my time trying to get used to driving a bus powered by a 1963 vintage motor and a manual transmission... and no power steering. That setup means that I have to slub over big hills at between 35-50 MPH. I plan to repower the bus with an engine that puts out at least twice the power and has a six speed automatic, which should make for a much more enjoyable driving experience.

Originally I was planning to drive up to Michigan to inspect a 1957 Buick that I was thinking about purchasing. I've since decided that I'd rather head South and West right away since making that side trip could easily add three days to my trip. 

I think it will take me 3-4 days to figure out just how far I'll want to drive on an average day... only then will I be able to figure out how long it will take me to get to Los Angeles. I plan to get on Route 66 starting in St. Louis, MO. 

If you have any questions about the bus, just submit them in the comments section and I'll try to answer them... but be sure to first glance at the Vintage Bus Project link on the left sidebar of this page because it just might contain the answer to your question.

The Vintage Bus Project Begins!

For over a year I've been contemplating, planning and trying to start "The Vintage Bus Project". In the process of searching for a vintage bus, I've investigated no fewer than 89 individual buses. I've driven all over the US inspecting them and am very happy to have finally picked what I am sure is the right bus for me. 

On October 21st, 2009 I'm scheduled to acquire the 1963 Flxible Starliner bus that is shown above. It's located near Akron, OH at the moment. My current bus is located in San Diego and the person I'm thinking of using to re-power the vintage bus is also in Southern California, so I plan to drive the vintage bus all the way from OH to CA over the next few weeks. 

I've also found a 1957 Buick Caballero station wagon that I might want to acquire on this trip. It's the car I was planning to tow behind the vintage bus once I start to live on it. I plan to repaint the vintage bus so that it resembles this paint job (yes, it's that's the bus that was used in the Robin Williams movie "RV"):

 

After seeing that, you might get an idea for why I think the Buick would be a good car to tow behind the vintage bus... here's what the station wagon looks like:

As with the bus, I'd plan to update the Buick to a modern drivetrain. I'll inspect the Buick the day after I pick up the vintage bus... it's located in Michigan. 

I plan to follow the entire length of Route 66 on my way back to California. I'm planning on shooting night scenes this time around to really round out my photo library since I've already followed the full length of Route 66 twice. It will likely take me a few weeks to make it back to California.

It should take about a year before the bus and wagon are ready to replace my current bus/jeep combo. Until that point, I plan to remain living in my current bus.  

Here are some more photographs of the vintage bus. Keep in mind that I plan to repaint it, rip out the interior and do a brand new interior that is customized to my needs and tastes. 

     
 
If you're itching for more frequent updates, then be sure to check out my twitter stream on the left sidebar of this blog. The map in the same area is usually a pretty accurate gauge for my current position on planet earth.

Vintage Bus Hunt Continues

I'm flying to Columbus, OH today. I'll be driving around Ohio and then on to Ontario, Canada to inspect three vintage buses. I hope one of these will work out for my vintage bus project (details on the left sidebar if this site).

I had the tattoo shown above added to my left arm during PhotoshopWorld. It's an eagle holding a Wacom pen... It lasted for three days... Ballpoint pen tattoos just dint last all that long.

Neon Boneyard Shoot

I just finished shooting at the Neon Boneyard in Las Vegas!

The photo above was taken on my iPhone.

Testing to make sure my Blog posts make it to facebook

Just ignore this for now. 

Testing iPhone posting capacity

Welcome Back to Ben's Blog

What have I been doing for the last four months? Here's a quick summary in no particular order:

•  Explored the East Coach, going through many states that I had never been to, including Maine, New Hampshire, Delaware, etc. Also, spent a week sitting in on John Paul Caponigro's creativity class in Maine
• Attended a vintage bus rally in Hershey, PA (no I still haven't purchased a vintage bus). If you're not familiar with my desire for a vintage bus, then click here for more info. 
• Did a bunch of research about vintage buses, which continues to this day, but included: 1) Meeting Kerwin Elmers who has been converting buses into RVs since 1952, 2) visiting the Museum of Bus Transportation research center, 3) visiting the RV Hall of Fame's Library, 4) visiting the Pacific Bus Museum
• Inspected no fewer than a dozen vintage buses in my search for the right one to purchase
• Followed part of the historic Lincoln Highway, shooting a few vintage gas stations along the way
• Spent three weeks visiting friends in my home town of St. Anthony Village, MN (park of Minneapolis)
• Watched the movie "Fargo" while parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Fargo, ND
• Spent one week each in both Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks
• Attended the arts festival "Burning Man" in the Nevada deser
• Had the generator in my RV quit working on me one day before I was to rely on it to sustain myself in the middle of the desert at Burning Man (had to rent one and still haven't gotten around to having mine fixed)
• Left Burning Man early due to a bit of a family emergency. For the last week or so, I've been in St. George, UT helping my 86 year old dad with some health issues. He's OK, but he needed some help getting things sorted out. 

So, what's the plan for the near future?

• I'll be heading to Las Vegas for PhotoshopWorld where I hope to introduce a set of Photoshop Actions (if I can get everything done by then... helping my dad has slowed me down a bit)
• Right after PhotoshopWorld, I plan to fly out to inspect two more vintage buses in the hopes that one of them will be "the one". 
• In late November, I'll be spending a month exploring Asia. That will include a 12 day workshop exploring Loas, Cambodia and Viet Nam while teaching Photoshop and Photography. Then I have 16 more days when I think I'll explore Thailand and Malaysia. Have also been contemplating India, but might have to wait for another trip.

Why did it take me this long to update my blog?

• I always wanted to post a "finished" photo and would often wait until I had one ready. 
• I went through a lengthy period where I was shooting a lot, but not creating any finished images. 
• By the time I had a finished image ready, I had too many items to update you on, so I put it off in general while being distracted by my vintage bus hunt.
• In the mean time, I had been updating Facebook on a regular basis, but I only allow close friends to see those posts (FYI: if your phone number isn't in my phone, then I doubt I'll approve you as a friend on Facebook). 

What's the future for this blog?

• I've given myself license to use photos taken from my iPhone on the blog, which means I no longer have the excuse of not posting due to not having a "finished" image.
• I have been updating the "Ben's Location" map that appears on the left side bar of this site. It's rarely more than 24 hours off on my true location.
• I've decided to start Tweeting for really short posts. Those are the kind of posts that I've been doing on Facebook lately. I've got it setup so that anything I tweet will appear both here and on Facebook and then I can reserve direct Facebook posts for more personal information that I might not want to share with everyone. My tweets will appear below the map I mentioned above.
• I will reserve normal blog posts for my travelog and for things that you might actually want to look up in the future.
• Finished photos will now appear on my photography site at TheBestofBen.com I'll try to remember to post on twitter or in a blog post to let you know when I've added content to that site. 
• Ideally, I'll make a blog post about once a week and I have resolved to make sure I never go more than a month without posting.

Anything else? Yes! I was recently interviewed on the Lens Flare 35 podcast, feel free to have a listen.

The image at the top of this post is of my buddy Wes who works at Wacom. I visited him on the 4th of July weekend and thought it was appropriate to do some light painting with sparklers. Feel free to click on the image to see a larger version.

Erie, PA to Palenville, NY

Today, I drove 422 miles to Palenville, NY, which is where my friend Dan Bulkholder lives. I went to dinner with Dan and a few friends in Woodstock NY and we plan to explore the general area tomorrow. It's raining nicely tonight... I love the sound of rain hitting the roof of the bus... it's one of the best sounds to sleep to. 

Detroit to just shy of Erie, PA

After spending a few days in the greater Detroit area, I decided to continue East. Today, I drove via the back roads (not reflected in the map above) to the Pennsylvania state line, just short of Erie, PA. 

I'm itching to get to areas I have never explored in the past, so tomorrow I should end up somewhere near Albany, NY and then it will be on to Vermont! 

Iceland Interviews Ben

I've made a trip to Iceland three out of the last four years. I plan to return in July of this year to conduct my first photographic workshop in Iceland. 

I was interviewed by the local Icelandic guides that will be putting on that workshop. You can read the interview on the Focus on Nature web site. The photos featured are all ones that I should on my various trips to Iceland. 

There's also info on how to get a 10% discount on the workshop if you care to join me in Iceland this July.

The Vintage Bus Project

I've created a new page on this site to announce and describe my current major project which is to restore and live on a 1940's bus like the one shown above. You can find the page on the left side of my blog site under the heading of Other Stuff and just above the new Ben's Location map.

I plan to update that page with additional details about the project as the months go on. The page is quite detailed right now, so just skim the headings if you don't feel like taking in all the details. 

Contemplating an Auction

I'm now in Indianapolis, IN and am thinking about bidding on a vintage bus auction. I've spent a good amount of my time today inspecting the bus, but haven't really come up with my high bid quite yet. I have until Saturday to decide how much I'd like to bid on the bus. 

St. Louis, MO to Indianapolis, IN

Today, I only drove 243 miles and ended up at the State Fairgrounds RV park in Indianapolis, IN. I'm here for a vintage car/bus auction. The item I'm thinking of bidding on goes up on Saturday. After that, I plan to start exploring the East coast.

Stroud, OK to St. Louis, MO

Today, I drove 442 miles to St. Louis, MO. I'm hanging out with Chris and Cherie from Technomadia.com. I have one more day of long driving before I can mellow out and start to casually explore.