One man's junk...

On a road trip through Jerome, AZ, I was lucky enough to meet this old guy — Don Robertson, owner of The Gold King Mine. His place is museum of sorts. A collection of rusted machine parts, broke down cars, mining artifacts and a menagerie of friendly animals. He said in an interview with the Arizona Republic, "This was what I was meant to do. I was put on this Earth to save this beautiful old machinery. This is the stuff that America was built with. There's no reason for it to be tossed aside or forgotten." 

Don Robertson, of  Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. 2009. Jerome, AZ. ©Jill Richards Photography

Phoenix magazine cover

Phoenix Magazine Cover. Prescott, AZ. June 2012.

Shot on location at Prescott Log Cabin Bed and Breakfast
Models from Agency Arizona

Holga: Marfa, TX

El Cosmico. 2010. Marfa, TX. ©Jill Richards Photography

Holga: Pacific Coast Highway

Waves crashing at Pfeiffer Beach. 2010. Big Sur, CA. ©Jill Richards Photography

Sunbathing at Pfeiffer Beach. 2010. Big Sur, CA. ©Jill Richards Photography

Pacific Coast Highway. 2010. Big Sur, CA. ©Jill Richards Photography

Holga: Natchez Trace

Windsor Ruins. 2010. Alcorn, MS. ©Jill Richards Photography

Holga: Rock City barn

See Rock City Today. 2011. North Georgia. ©Jill Richards Photography

Holga: Lake Pontchartrain

Fontainebleau State Park. 2010. Mandeville, LA. ©Jill Richards Photography

1st Regiment US Volunteer Cavalry

Toy Soldiers. 2010. San Antonio, TX. ©Jill Richards Photography

Holga: Holbrook, AZ

Rainbow Rock Shop. 2010. Holbrook, AZ. ©Jill Richards Photography

Pow Wow Trading Post. 2010. Holbrook, AZ. ©Jill Richards Photography

Holga: Outer Banks, NC

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. 2010. Buxton, NC. ©Jill Richards Photography

Glorious Pike Place Market

Gum wall outside Pike Place Market. 2010. Seattle, WA. ©Jill Richards Photography

Mixed medley cherry tomatoes. 2010. Seattle, WA. ©Jill Richards Photography

$1 Dhalias for sale. 2010. Seattle, WA. ©Jill Richards Photography

Wild caught sockeye salmon. 2010. Seattle, WA. ©Jill Richards Photography

Sexy Beast

Meat Market. Payson, AZ. 2010. ©Jill Richards Photography

Nectar of the Gods

Glorious Bourbon. 2010. Park City, UT and Versailles, KY. ©Jill Richards Photography

Rye and corn. 2010. Bardstown, KY. ©Jill Richards Photography

My Kind of Town

Population Census. 2010. Anatone, WA. ©Jill Richards Photography

Chicken on The Bayou

Chicken on the Bayou. 2010. Breaux Bridge, LA. @Jill Richards Photography

Here's my best Louisiana travel tip: Don't ever ask a Cajun where to eat. Instead, ask a Cajun where he would eat.

Gerald and Margie Latiolais

If you want the best boudin (boo-dan) and the freshest crawfish, then head to the first hole-in-the-wall you can find. Or do like we did and ask your new friends Gerald and Margie Latiolais from Breaux Bridge, LA where they would eat. Although their first reaction was to send us to the "best" seafood restaurant on the water, they soon realized we didn't want to dine with tourists. We went to the Latiolais' favorite restaurant, Chicken on the Bayou, located in a gas station. Our meal of boiled shrimp, crawfish, alligator boudin and fried chicken was easily one of our best in Louisiana.

Jack Contemplates the Dangers of Canoeing

Jack Goes Boating. 2010. Ely, MN ©Jill Richards Photography

Hooneymooners in Groovy Cars

Just Married in Gillette, WY. August 2010. ©Jill Richards Photography

Just Married in Detroit Lakes, MN. August 2010. ©Jill Richards Photography

Hello Real World. I'm Back.

Scott with the dogs at White Sands National Monument. 2010. New Mexico. ©Jill Richards Photography

  The honeymoon is over. Literally. My husband and I ended our yearlong honeymoon road trip in January. We counted more than 365 days spent together. Most of those days we were separated by only the center console of our Honda CR-V. We explored 36 states, drove more than 30,000 miles and slept in more Motel 6s than I care to admit.

Snorkel Nerd. Vieques, Puerto Rico. 2010

Enter the Real World. Jobs. Schedules. Alarms. Bills.

Scott is now back to work. And I am creating Jill Richards Photography, which for the past two years sort of ran itself — thanks to some pretty incredible clients. This year will be my first year of complete self-employment.

In the next month, I will unveil new branding and a redesign of my website. This is an exciting time.

The most daunting task ahead is editing, organizing and archiving a year's worth of pictures from our road trip across America. There are about 2,000 images in the first round of edits. My eyeballs might very well fall out of my head.

As I get through photographs from California to Maine and even Puerto Rico, I will share them here on this blog. Maybe these posts will give you the bug to hit the road on your own adventure. I highly recommend it.

Park City, UT in National Geographic Traveler

Main Street in Park City, Utah during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. 2010. ©Jill Richards Photography

November-December 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler. 2010. ©Jill Richards Photography

 

Moon over White Sands

White Sands National Monument. 2010. White Sands, New Mexico. ©Jill Richards Photography