Durango

Double-el has an eye for the surreal.


She got the chance to focus it at an extraordinary thrift store in the corner of the little shopping center north of the Budget Inn.

With Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Costello.

Her fascination with the culture's ability to convince women they need to look a certain way prompted us, decades ago, to do a show (at my gallery) called Poodlemania. Poodles, womens' canine equivalent, require coiffuring. And pussy, or even better, pussyass, really needs sparkling-blue eyes. All this from the masters-of-pedophilia; with downcast eyes she's ever-ready to do his bidding.

Then there was this Radiant Cat.

Bought & Paid for by the Durango Herald.

You're ready for ennything iffn you gots yer meat an' yer paintbrush.

A cute video for you gun enthusiasts...(WARNING - Writer & Director is a Double-el)

https://youtu.be/4T41M7cCqsU










Acerbic kulchur-critic. Have you ever SEEn anyone so smug?!!!

At Jean Pierre's (Double-el)

And after months of hunting, I found my five-dollar hat at the Humane Society Thrift across from Walmart. (Note gusseted pantleg.)

Photographer Jake Quinones is a contributing editor to Overland Journal. He took the photo below on Sept 15, 2014. I was camped on the Taos Steppe when Jake came by scouting destinations for his tour company, New Mexico Backroads.  Although barely 9:00 in the morning, when Jake proffered a Santa Fe Brewery stout, I set my spliffoes (the poochy part from whence cats' whiskers protrude) and proceeded. It served as the blog banner for several years. (Mentioned by Mark Johnson in Comments.)

I still had Eggbert, my 1999 Chevy (Suzuki) Metro hatchback.

Overland Journal - Gear Guide 2017

The latest issue is on the stands....of Barnes & Noble, that is. Other than a few "stores" they're the only place to buy it off the rack.

This is only the second Gear Guide Issue I've seen and I was pleased to, yet again, see how differently these folk do things.

There's a great article that begins like a review of a BMW F650GS. As you're reading along you may find yourself wondering about where a guy who would exclaim, "Great giddy ants....!" might be from. Checking the byline, I surmise "Lisa" is, perhaps, female. Come to find out, she and her husband have been overlanding on motorcycles for years and writing about it.  

On page 109, Southwest guide and photographer Jake Quinones describes the "build out" of his 2012 Jeep Rubicon. The image below was taken in 2014 when he stopped by my camp on the Taos steppe just south of the Colorado line. As you can see, I still had Eggbert then. The photo served as my blog banner for over a year. 

I especially like the line in the article titled: The Archeologist's Backpack (p. 89) where Mr. Bass, the owner of the rig, says about his "groover," "This has become the single most important piece of gear in the van besides the corkscrew." 

Take note, this magazine isn't for folks who open bottles with their teeth....even if they can.

Jake Quinones & Black IPA

I had arrived late to the Taos Plateau and was too tired to drive more than a couple miles off the highway on the rough little dirt road. It'd been a peaceful night but here it was, hardly ten a.m. and already TWO cars had gone by. Where were all these people GOING!! So when Jake Quinones, guide and photographer from Las Cruces, pulled over and stopped, I was ambivalent. But, since I was already standing, I figured I'd try and act civil; I walked over and said hello.

When he offered a beer I hesitated. I mean, some people take offense if you're not enthusiastic about their Bud Lite, don'chyaknow? And since I only drink stout...it seemed a risky moment.

Black IPA....a stout by any other name.

  
But I get ahead of myself. I was sitting there with my pants unzipped, belly done-lopped over and no shirt...like a huge frog on its pad, enjoying the morning and thinking about breakfast when I heard the THIRD damn vehicle approaching!! I zipped up and delivered my best military salute as it trundled by. Unlike the others, this one was proceeding at a stately pace. 

Soon, I heard it coming back. Ambivalence, when anticipating company, as prev mentioned, is my usual response, but artists and guides are always welcome. As we talked, the conversation turned to libations and he mentioned a brewing company Michelle Cook had recently discovered. She had tried their Imperial Java Stout and I had agreed it "qualified."

The Existential Dilemma - Photo by Jake Quinones

So when he produced a black can with nothing more than the Zia symbol and the company's name I recognized the provenance. It claims to be an IPA, but that's just fad-pandering: it's a stout. And a good one at that, even in Colorado.

His photographs have been included in numerous publications; most recently in The Most Dangerous Stagecoach Ride in the World: Butterfield Route in the Fall 2015 issue of Overland Journal. At the time, with some awareness of my appearance, I was reluctant to be photographed, but this has since become a favorite.