life is fast

Los Angeles. the B. the sun.
all could have been sooo easy. cruisn'. chillin'. enjoyin'.
then I got a phone call at 4.30 am from my german rep dagmar. a job is confirmed. have to fly out to europe asap. now all is even better !!! hey, a quick flight over to germany and I even have the chance to see my family and hang out for a bit.
chillin'. enjoyin'. no complaints here !! in the meanwhile the B. will be serviced and then parked at a friend's place ( thanks Rhona ! ) until I am back. it might sound crazy, but I am really happy and can't ask for more. this is only the beginning of a year long journey. the journey in time and space across the USA.

night paintings

all "picture paintings" done in darkness. the lights in the back are from a truck.

crossing the mojave desert

only few cars pass when one drives through mojave desert at night. this actually is just one car.

when I started at 3.30 am to head towards LA it was still 100F/ 37 C ! wide open windows, clear sky , half moon, loud music , almost no cars and the mojave desert in front of me ..... wonderful. trusted the B. to bring me there. and the B.sure did ! when I passed by in Los Bernadinos the B. did spit out another belt .. so I had to replace that, otherwise the engine is overheating. had a spare one with me of course and after 45 minutes we were on the road again. the B brought me that far without any mayor problems and I know there wont be any in the future. nevertheless the B seems like to have a cold. carburetor is clogged. So I will have this replaced this week. Nice treat ... very well deserved.

desert does have water

perfect information when driving through the desert.


empty beach at colorado river near Needles


...was here...


crystal clear water.

starting early to avoid the heat in the desert seemed to be a good idea. only sometimes you just want to get lost in time . the whole idea of a road trip, right ? the B. runs sooo smooth and cool so no need to rush. spent some time in Williams and Seligman. bought an extra carb kit in Kingman for a small touch up on carburetor later in LA. then left for the desert, of course way to late. so the 83 miles to Needles/California were pretty extreme. Thought it would be a good idea not to drive on when temperature is 116 F/46 C at noon time. would be better for the B. to rest and go at night. well, to be honest the B. didn't have a problem at all, in fact the B. did run totally perfect and seemed to enjoy it. the one who had problems was the driver ! it was like driving towards a huge blow dryer. very hot air right in the face from everywhere. so I checked in a Motel in Needles and cooled off a bit. realized that Needles has a huge water sports community at colorado river! found the most beautiful beach with crystal clear water I have ever seen on a river ! and yes, desert does have beautiful waters.

scenic is only a word

wonderful to drive at dawn


early morning shadow


the B. approaching Monument Valley


leaving Utah behind

scenic, this word can't describe how it really is or how it really feels when one sees this amazing landscapes.... started at 5 am in Moab this morning followed by a thumbs up of a truck driver at gas station. no more questions asked... drove south. sun rising and chilly. saw 4 deers chatting ON the road, 2 horses literally graze on shoulder of the very same road, two suicidal gophers trying to get hit by the car while screening the scene , and -no kidding- a huge spider crossing the road. I saw it from far away in full speed approaching. phew. I think it was the size of my hands. passed monument valley. unbelievable beautiful and touching as always. and then pure desert again in Arizona. indian country of Hopi and Navajos. after 7 hours I arrived in Flagstaff. looked for a motel and repair place. wanted the B. to get new rear shocks and some pro looking at my flasher and water gauge issues. found super 8 motel across from goodyear repair . got a discount at motel due to repair at auto shop. brilliant. now the B. is ready to cross the desert tomorrow morning. 5 am. and I am ready for a drink.

monday morning on road going west

little details ...

somehow my blinker / flasher system went nuts.. worked perfectly fine last night and now its acting very funny. with Mike's help here we at least could locate the flasher relay which we thought might be the cause . before that I checked the light bulbs and wires ( as far as I could follow them.. ) went to the local checker auto parts and got something similar , now all is fine except for the one front light.. i might have damaged it when i put it back in ... these little things are keeping you busy for the whole afternoon...

early or never.

saturday sunset on Moab


me and Eugene on La Sal mountain loop road overviewing castle valley. I think in the back that must be the Barracuda.


the driver. the local . the munich guy.

no better way to spend a sunday early morning. there is this photographer friend of mine from munich with whom I photographed some extreme action stuff in the 90 ies . Eugene lives in Munich and we haven't seen for over 6 years. but of course we met in Moab / Utah yesterday !! what are the odds ? took some test drives into the La Sal mountains with the B. of course and had time to catch up . finally. this morning at 6 am he helped me to get some rare images of horses in the first morning light and later on with this crazy cool outdoor maniac Stephen whom I met here. so taking pictures with the 4x5 large format camera and driving the B. in this beautiful landscape... epic ! nothing can beat this on a beautiful sunday morning out here. now back in the cafe for some food . starving again..

da driver drives again

barracuda and sleeping bag


barracuda guarded by "rascal"


barracuda in the morning in front of love muffin cafe / moab

wow. back on the road again ! returned to MOAB / Utah after 4 weeks in the so called "real world" and believe it or not it is kinda strange. feels like parallel universe. beautiful out here ! so first thing I checked the B who was sleeping in Ulla's garage and all is cool. well to be fair we first had a chilled wine and some thai food . I was starving after the long trip.. then started the B and it rocked right away, drove smoothly. ready to roll again. this morning back to love muffin cafe on main street in moab and people I don't even know said: "hey the barracuda is back !" they knew about the whole story already ... man, life is indeed beautiful ! the next days I will head west aiming for Los Angeles to meet some friends there next week. but first a muffin called "dirty knuckles". insanely delicious.