Happy New Year! 2020!
Hey guys and gals!
It has been way too long since I have last written. For that I apologize. It has been an interesting year for Rider and I. We have done some photo shoots, and a few shows…and even published another book! Yes, “Rider on the Pony Express Trail, Volume 2” is complete!! You can order it and/or any of our books by clicking the link at the bottom of this letter. We had to get quiet, off social media for a bit, to put our nose to the grind stone and get ‘er done! Our pony express trail journey from Sacramento, California to Salt Lake City, Utah is now finished…wow, what an adventure we have had! We sincerely hope you will hop in the truck with us once more to see the sites we hadn’t been to in Volume 1, or thought no longer existed. This book has over 300 full color pages, packed full of photos to entertain and share with you more about this famous American trail. We believe you will enjoy the ride!
We did quite a bit this year, yet, I still feel as if we didn’t do much. Maybe because I didn’t shoot near as much as I have in the past few years while working on the pony express trail. But, we did purchase a new camera and long lens this year! Which, we bought to assist us on our journey with the Spike 150 Wagon Train. (I wore two cameras, one with telephoto lens, and one with wide angle.) That 5 day event in May was just one of the many historical events scheduled this year to celebrate the 150 Anniversary of the Golden Spike. The golden spike was the last spike driven into the ground, where east met west, when the United States transcontinental railroad was completed in May of 1869.
It was such a blessing to have been chosen as the official photographer for the event. (Thank you Brian and Teri Arnold!) We met so many wonderful people on that wagon train! I spent weeks editing photos for the folks who were on the train, and for artwork to sell at shows and online on our website.
Spike 150 Wagon Train Group PhotoSpike 150 Wagon Train Group Photo!
2019_05_06_s150wt_group-0303
Today, as we close out the last of this decade, we are sitting in the Arizona desert awaiting another show in mid January in Quartzite. The rest and relaxation between our last show, that was in Las Vegas, has been a welcoming break. I am so grateful to all of you who came to visit and shop while we were there! But I must admit, I am not much for the big cities, and Las Vegas was a bit much for me. Though Rider sure seemed to love it! He thought all the folks on the elevators and in the casino were happy to see him, which they were, and that all wanted to pet him, which they did! Haha! But for me, I so love my quiet time with God under the open sky, surrounded by His beautiful creations. This is a great place to spend time to reflect and give gratitude.
Rider near Quartzsite Arizona
Praise ya’ Lord for blessing us, all of our family and friends this past year and into the New Year! In Jesus name, Amen.
What are we planning for 2020?
Well, Rider and I are going to be slowly working our way to Texas starting in February. If you know of anything special we could stop and shoot along the way, please let us know and we may consider it. At this time I only have a few places on our tentative time schedule:
One; Tombstone, Arizona. No explanation needed. ;-)
Two; Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. When I was young, my family drove between Texas and California every year. One of the stops I remember was Carlsbad Cavern. I wonder if it will appear the same to me as I remember?!
Three; Big Bend National Park, Texas. I have never been, and can’t wait to see the cliffs by the river in person!
We will be traveling the I-10 stretch as to avoid bad weather since we are traveling late winter, early spring, so please keep that in mind when sharing locations of interest.
Texas, here we come! Looking for blue bonnets and longhorns…and distant relatives. Yep, we have been studying our genealogy and have a few distant cousins to meet. For those who might not know, I am a native Texan and have lots of relatives all about the great state. We are looking forward to a no schedule trip to enjoy being wherever we are.
Rider and I are grateful for you following along with us and we look forward to sharing more of our trips and adventures with you in the future.
God Bless you and yours!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Love,
Carla and Rider (woof!)
To purchase any of our books, Click this link now! https://www.amazon.com/author/carlaephotography
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Please, leave a REVIEW! :-)
For anyone wishing to purchase a personalized copy of our book, please email; [email protected] and put in subject line: “Personalized Book” These special orders will be a little more $, as they will be printed with your name (or any name you request) along with a personalized note, on the first page of the book!
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PONY EXPRESS!
Howdy! Thank you for choosing to follow along with us!
In order to catch you up to speed, if you are just joining in, I want to let you know about my personal project. My faithful companion, Rider (a gorgeous Australian Cattle Dog) and I, have been traveling on an Adventure, for a few years now… following the Central Overland Pony Express Trail.
Carla and Rider at Round FortRound Fort is between Ibapah and Callao Utah. It is also called Canyon Station. The Pony Express Canyon Station was further West of here though... This rock fortress was built the year after the Pony Express had ended.
Currently we are working on a Photo Journal, that will be an Ebook, with our personal experiences on the road. I started this journey, due to a visit to Fort Churchill, with my family in 2014. I read how it was built to protect the Pony Express Riders and the California Emigrant Trail. I have always been fascinated with the old West, and that of course included the Pony. On that day, surprised to find such a fortress still standing, I wanted to know if there were more! The photos I have captured, of these gems in the desert, will be in a Photo Book/Coffee Table Book. There will also be some History of the Stations, Station Keepers, Hostlers and the Riders.
Very naively I started this journey with the thought that the Pony Express "Auto Route" would drive me conveniently near all the ruins... Well, that was silly, and now I know better!
Please continue to "Ride Shotgun in Spirit" with us as we visit Historical Places along the route, and visit many Museums that house Archives of the daring young, and some not so young, Riders of the Infamous Pony Express!
Occasional we will also share with you many of the other sights seen along the way while traveling through California, Nevada and Utah.
We have decided to stop the book and journey for the time being at Salt Lake City, UT for a couple of reasons;
- One) We have thousands of Photos with just these 3 States alone.
- Two) The History of the Riders is pretty much split as Salt Lake being the middle. Though geographically that is not so. The 2 Divisions that will be included in our first book, are at the most Western end of the Trail.
There are 3 more Divisions from Salt Lake City to St. Joseph Missouri. Lord Willing, we will make a book Two!
We are so blessed to have YOU to share this Journey with us.
THANK YOU!