June 28th - 14:14

Title: June 28th - 14:14 Medium: Super-8 film Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Resolution: 2880 x 2160 File Type: H.264 Codec / MP4. Comments: After watching the purple haze clouds in the stormy night float away. We waited for the tornadoes to simmer and the rain to let up on the down pour. We made it back home to Sandy to pick him up from our cross-state detour to see a few iconic landmarks and parks. I was nervous that there was a tornado tearing through that part of town! Everything was cool at the schoolhouse we were lodging at. It was a home straight out of Smallville. We took the freeway through Nebraska and were waiting to cross into Kansas. I stopped at a gas station and we ran into someone who suggested we go see Car Henge that was pretty close by and it was their main attraction. I couldn't believe it! We were in the same town of this American homage1 to Stone Henge, using nothing but steel cars. The sun was over our heads and the cars were sprayed with a matte grey finish. It was more of an art piece than it was an attraction in my opinion. It felt manicured and curated to where the cars almost did not feel real. Like as if they were just sculptures and not cars at all. When I thought about "Car Henge" I thought rusty old American Cars stacked in a lot. And realized what we came to see was almost like a zen garden like back in Japan. The car arrangement in the stone henge motif carried the whimsical joy. The fun of it all. To see something weird in the middle of nowhere.... I made some double exposure photographs and we picked up on the trail to our next stop. Mushroom Rock State Park in the heart of Kansas. There was no one there when we got there. We waited in the parking lot for someone to arrive. And a half an hour later some one did. Patiently waiting for the right moment and the right approach. I started to get the camera gear ready and also walk the trail. I was starting to make photos of the Mushroom Rock a few minutes before the family walked towards us where we were standing. I said hello and asked them where they were from. How did they find this park too? Were they local? It seemed like the best question to ask at the time. Melissa & Kary's Nephew introduced themselves and I shared about the project. They agreed to have their portrait to represent Kansas on this lovely day. It was a lot of fun and memorable. I was transported. It felt like I was in a Winnie The Pooh adventure from my childhood. Celebrating friendship and kinship, a sense of adventure into mother nature. A lesson for every story. Creating art and playing in the park with the magical mushroom rock.