I recently found a backup of my old computer's hard drive and all of these photos of my hitchhiking, train hopping, and vanlife trips! I've got such fond memories of this time. This is how "The Nikon Kidd" started. I wasn't a professional, I didn't know how to use a camera, and I certainly wasn't shooting weddings. Those things would come later.
These photos were taken with my phone, then a Nikon D3300, and then a Pentax Spotmatic film camera.
Headed west through Kansas. The sky got really prettyHad to pull over to see the wind turbines!I parked in downtown Boulder and walked straight to the FlatironsTurns out you can just walk up themDriving through Rocky Mountain National Park was beautiful. I wish I had a heater in the van....Headed deeper into the RockiesElk?Very prettyWalking up Flat Top MountainBoiling water at 11k feet.route 66A very rare and beautiful rainstorm in the desertThis place smelled so good after the rainMy first photo of Ese! I found her being given away on craigslist. She was so scared right here 🙁New Mexico DogEse was afraid of everything and I needed to get her away from the city. We headed to the desert and started to get to know each otherEse starting to get comfortable with me!Made it from the southern tip of California all the way up to Santa CruzSomewhere along the California coastCool rocks if you're into that kind of thingI found the biggest hill in San Francisco and tried to drive up it. The van wouldn't do it lolMorning fog rolling in over the San Francisco BayHeaded up the Pacific coast in a VW RabbitI loved this place. I waited several hours for a ride and the gas station here and during that time several of the locals came out to play music with me. This was Westport, California.Love these vibesVW bus rides are the bestRides in the back of trucks are funI went most of this trip without a tent for weight reasons. When I hit the pacific northwest I decided it was definitely time to get one. So much rain!Camping in Forks, Washington was amazing. The forests are so beautiful and old there. No I did not see any vampires 🙁Hoh RainforestMade it to Tacoma. The sunsets there are beautiful.This is my buddy from SpokaneMaryhill, WashingtonA good illustration of the struggles homeless people have. Presumably you are supposed to donate to that Union Gospel Mission box over there. Unfortunately many church charities are terrible at getting people what they actually need.I put a pin in every place I played music for tips.Met Chuck who rode with me from Washington all the way back to Minnesota, where he was fromFlat tire on the interstateDang exhaust rusted offThe "incident" I had a guy pull out in front of me, which messed the front suspension up really good. After this happened, I went to walmart, bought a backpack and sleeping bag, and then set out on foot with what I could carry. This first pack was WAY too heavyGary Indiana was a weird place to start a hitchhiking career.Stopped by to see a friend in Detroit!Made a stop in Arkansas so Ese and I could get baths!Decided to hitchhike through Virgina and stopped at this really cool festival for a few days. It was a ton of fun learning mandolin with some of the best.Trying to figure out where the train stopsAfter hitchhiking back home, I got a job back at Walmart for a while, bought a real camera, and set back out. This trip started after a 24+ hour bus ride to Florida to meet a trainhopping friend.After the first train ride I was so dirty that I decided to clean up with a shower in this hotel room. I felt kind of like a failure. Like I was giving in to convenience too easily.It's meThis is Raleigh, I think?Asheville, North CarolinaI found an abandoned factory to stay in while I was here. Looks sketchy, but I got all the old trash cleaned up and made a nice home for a while.Ashville is great for meeting other street performers. There's such a great culture there. This is YuliI was on a radio show with Abby the Spoon Lady!The legendary Billy Scribbles (The Banjo Player)Billy and Banjo Mitch singing about lightnin' bugsThis is a document I searched for a long time. The Crew Change is a guide passed around from hobo to hobo that lets you know how and where to catch trains as well as where they're likely headed. It's forbidden to post it on the internet. I've got the first page here just to discourage people who might see this and try to hop trains. They can be extremely dangerous if you don't know the basics.Headed north to see the rainbow gathering in the black hills of South Dakota.The Fat Kids Kitchen at the Black Hills Rainbow GatheringThe camping cooking setup I aspire to recreate every dayChilling on the skynetHanging out on the Skynet, which is a giant cargo net that the Fat Kids suspend from the trees while camping. It's a great place to chillLauren painted my mandolin!2015 Hitchhiking Gathering!One of the people who picked us up hitchhiking decided to come hang out with us at the gathering.Met this dude, Noah, on Reddit/Squat The PlanetPretty rideMt RainerEse perfected the trainhopping faceEse likes to dig little holes to sit in while we wait for a rideFor a while I had some chalk and a "draw on my van" invitation. Somebody finally took me up on it.After the gathering I caught various rides to Whitefish Montana to hop a really special train.What is a Citroen 2CV doing here??End of the road for me I guess lolJust a goat at the fire station. Idk
