New member, Don Peterson

[Don Peterson]

Hello, I am Don Peterson. I have done a lot of tent camping and pop-up trailer camping, but I recently bought a Jayco Jayfeather LGT 26S travel trailer which I am anxious to get out and start using. I plan to travel a lot of the summer with my dog Geordy, who is a loveable, rascally, and LARGE (130 lbs) Golden Retriever. I will be heading out west from Northeaster Illinois through Colorado and Utah, and then turn South to Arizona where my mom and two of my brothers live, then loop back home to the Chicago area along I-40? that's the plan anyway.

I am currently enrolled in a photography program at a local junior college. I will graduate in June and plan to use my photography skills while on my road trip this summer.

I love hiking and exploring and, of course, making photographs, in all types of natural areas. The travel trailer is to be my base of ope

 

[Ron]

Welcome to the RV Forum Don Peterson.  Congratulations on the new travel trailer.  There are lots of Photo opportunities here in the west.  Begining 1 May this year we will be having a Forum rally in Moab Ut.  Lots of Photos to be taken there.

Pleaase feel free to ask questions and join in discussions.

 

[Tom]

Hi Don,

Welcome to the RV Forum. You'll be in good company here - lots of nice, helpful folks, and a lot of combined knowledge and experience to share. Conversely, a lot of folks can learn from your experiences.

Care to a upload a photo of the Jayfeather to share with us? To do that, when you've typed your message, click Additional options below the message window, and click Browse to find the photo on your computer. When you're done, just click Post and your photo will appear as an attachment to your message.

Enjoy the RV Forum and the great group of folks here, and feel free to ask any questions, join in the discussions, or start a new topic of your own.

 

[Steve CDN]

Welcome to the RV Forum Don!  Glad you joined us.  Several of us are interested in photography, so your experience and expertise will be welcome.  We'll be looking forward to seeing your work and to hear about your upcoming trip.

 

[Jim Dick]

Hi Don,

Welcome to the forum. We have a few photo nuts here. Perhaps you'll be able to give us some tips when you graduate. Some of us will be trying to capture the world of Moab in May.

 

[Don Peterson]

I changed my "name" from PhotogDon to Don Peterson, which is my real-life name. When I signed on to the RV forum, I assumed that you needed to use a unique user name, and I have found that Don Peterson is often in use by someone else (go figure.) Anyway -- although "PhotogDon" is definitely unique, it kinda sticks in the throat -- and I feel more comfortable using my actual name. Hope I am not causing too much confusion.

I am happy to be a part of this group of RV enthusiasts... it seems like a lively group with varied interests; not to mention considerable knowledge about these interests.

Don

 

[Ron]

Thanks Don. Several of us use our given names here.

 

[DonJordan]

Hi and welcome to the RV FOrum, Don.  Most of us here use our real names so you fit right in  ;D.  There are all sorts of photography nuts here from rather accomplished experts to those like me who try hard but take a lot more duds than keepers  .

 

[DougJ]

Hi Don,

I too prefer straightforward names, although some roll of the tongue more easily than others.

In your case the simple Don seems to ring true.

Ciao,

Doug

                            as in DougJ
                                                              and the J is for Jardine (easy to remember, rhymes with sardine) 

 

[Don Peterson]

As far as photography goes,? I think that one of the benefits of this digital age is that you can take a ton of pictures, find the one or two that work, and toss the rest -- and there's no evidence! Nobody has to know how bad they were! With digital, there is no muss, no fuss and no throwing away useless prints that you paid a small fortune for. It's a win-win situation.

I have heard from professional photographers though, that they also take quite a number of shots before they get the one that actually gets published -- although I would probably be proud to be able to claim some of the stuff they throw away.

Don

 

[Jim Dick]

Don,

I entered a photo contest last year at our RV community in Florida. The judge for the contest held a seminar at a wetlands area. He said he would be happy to critique any photos we had the day he judged the contest. I took in several of mine. While he was doing the critiqing of mine and others, another photographer asked me how many pictures I had to take to get the dozen or so I had on display. I thought for a minute and then said about 400. He said that's about right.

To get really good photos one must spend an awful lot of time taking pictures that most of which, in the end, will get thrown out. I agree I would love to have some of the "bad" photos the pros thow away.

 

[Don Peterson]

I was going to wait until the weather got warmer and sunnier before I took a picture of my Jayfeather to upload to the forum, but the way things are going here weatherwise, that might not happen until June. Last night it got down to 13 here. I wish that were a palm tree in my picture, but it is a somewhat anemic maple (I think.) At any rate, here's a picture of my unused LGT 26S. Can't wait to try it out. After next wee there is a week's break between quarters at school, so I plan to go somewhere in the area; maybe Starved Rock State Park, or a quaint little campground near Galena, IL called Apple River Canyon. I'm sure I'll have a chance to try out the furnace, but probably not the plumbing system, unless it warms up considerably. But at least I'll be able to get out and hike a bit and get some excercise with my dog.

Don

 

[Tom]

Great Don, thanks for sharing. What's the white stuff on the ground? Brrrr I feell cold just looking at it.

 

[DougJ]

Gosh Don, does that qualify as snow.  When I read the post I immediately imagined a minimum of a foot.   When we lived about 130 miles north of Quebec City, January temps were in the order of -40F and snow on the ground was often in feet.  The snow plows used to make a snow berm along out property line after which we couldn't see if an auto was parked in front of the house.

As for taking many pictures to get one that an editor would print--I recall those days.  I had my own aircraft and freelanced stories and pics on fly-ins and the like.  Although it wasn't my day job, I set it up a business, made sure that each year I showed at least a small profit after all my flying expenses were paid.  So for a small fly-in of private pilots I might shoot five or six rolls of K-64.

I do prefer the digital age where I can get a sense of the pic right after taking it.  If it's bad, I delete it right away even if I've still got oodles of room on the memory card.

Ciao,

Doug

 

[DonJordan]

Nice picture of your new rig, Don.  I feel guilty sitting here in Yuma, AZ in shorts, barefoot, and with all of the windows in our coach open to let in the balmy 71.8 degree evening air  ;D.  High today was around 90 degrees!

 

[Ron]

Nice Photo of you rig Don. Thanks for posting the photo.  Looks kind of cold there with the snow lying around.  We are dealing with 90F here in Yuma.  No snow here yet. ;D

 

[Don Peterson]

Actually, I don't mind the winter season for the most part, but generally when March rolls around I'm ready for my Spring to start showing itself, and that has not happened yet this year. Right now we should be having highs in the mid 40s but today's high will probably be only in the lower 30s. We actually don't get that much snow in the Chicago area, -- once in awhile we'll get a good storm come through that will drop a couple of feet of the white stuff, but it usually melts pretty quickly.

In the past I have gone winter tent camping in snow with my sons, and recently took my pop-up out for a few days in November. Although there was no snow, the temps hovered around zero in the evenings. The pop-up has no heater, but my 130-pound Golden Retriever, Geordy, makes for a comfortable bed-warmer and we stayed pretty toasty during the cold nights.

A couple of years ago we had to go all the way up to Ironwood, WI (near the Upper Penninsula) to find snow deep enough to cross-country ski. Attached is a picture of my friend Kathy on a snowy trail near Lake Superior (she's the little blue dot amid the snow covered branches.) The temps that day were 20 below zero.

But right now I am ready for spring and enjoying the great outdoors in my brand new "cabin on wheels."

Don

 

[Ron]

That llod likw cold.  I think I prefer the warmer weather.  (0/s is too high but we are forecast to be in the 80/s today and in the 70/s the all of next week.  THis is good.

 

[Don Peterson]

Ron,

I see that you are in Yuma now. I have never been to Yuma, but spent a little time in Tucson a while back. A few years ago, my brother and I and our two boys stayed at a campground just north and a little west town, the name of which escapes me. It seemed more like a horse campground to me, but we camped in tents. We had come to explore the astronomy facilities on nearby Kitt Peak and also to visit the Saguaro National Monument.

The thing I remember about the campground though, was the restaurant. It was in a rustic old building with a fireplace and air conditioning, and was a welcome relief from the hot desert sun. We ordered steaks and they grilled them over a mesquite fire in an outdoor bar-b-que pit. They were the best grilled steaks we had ever tasted, up to that time -- I kinda stole some of their ideas and now grill a pretty good steak of my own.

I'm going to try to get down that way again this year.

Don

 

[Ron]

Don,

Yes we wintered in Yuma this year.  Previous years we stayed in Brenda which is about 15 miles East of Quartzsite.  Haven't spent a lot of time in or around Tucson.  When we do go there we stay at the RV park on the indian reservation.

We will be starting our migration North to Montana in April stopping in Moab for the RV Forum rally there 1/may to 11 may.