Updated website!

After 15 years with Yahoo! Small Business I have parted ways.  The company has become such a fiasco in management that it's a joke.

The final straw for me was when I had to change my password at Yahoo!'s suggestion due to the company being hacked.  I was unable to log into my email one day and Yahoo! said my account was secure and hadn't been hacked. I had been unable to login to my website management for a couple months.  When I would hit the button to change the password I was redirected to a blank page at ATT.com.  I would then login to Aabaco Small Business website (yet another connection to Yahoo!) and still could not change my password.  I looked for over an hour to try and figure that out and finally found a phone number that actually went to a human after many buttons being pressed on the phone.  The lady in India did not know what to do and told me to call AT&T to get a password reset.  The phone call with Yahoo! took an hour and five minutes for no resolution.

I call AT&T next and get connected to a lady again in India, except this time it sounds like she works at a daycare.  She had no idea what I was talking about with changing a Yahoo! password.  She kept asking me for my account number and I gave her my AT&T account number and then the Yahoo! Account number.  No go.  No idea.  She had no idea they were connected to Yahoo! and didn't know what to do.

I hung up in disgust and called GoDaddy to talk to them about transferring my domain.  I got a guy in Arizona that spoke English and was enthused about his job. He said any time I call, 24 hours a day, I would get somebody in Arizona or Iowa.  That was great news.  They got me transferred away from Yahoo! and set up with my same domain and email and everything.  I called them several times for tips and questions that I had and each time they were extremely helpful.  And I can log in and everything works!

Good riddance Yahoo! I understand why your business is going down the tubes after all these years.

So now the website got a refresh and I am still working on the galleries but have been very happy with GoDaddy and everything they have done to help me.

Published in more Books!

I'm continuing to be published in various books and wish to thank the various publishing firms such as the National Geographic Society and Britannica Educational Publishing among others for purchasing my photos.  Below are the books with the title, author and publisher.

Peyton & Eli Manning in the Community

Matt Anniss

Britannica Educational Publishing

New Perspectives on HTML, CSS, and XML, Comprehensive

Patrick Carey

Engage Learning

Quiz Whiz 5: 1,000 Super Fun Mind-Bending Totally Awesome Trivia Questions, Volume 5

National Geographic Society (U. S.), National Geographic Kids

National Geographic Books,

Fundamentals Of Fire Fighter Skills

Iafc

Jones & Bartlett Publishers

What's Great about South Carolina?

Rebecca Felix

Lerner Publications

How Did They Build That? School

Matt Mullins

Cherry Lake

Continual Downsizing...

Most people, when they decide to start the RV life, start small.  And get bigger and bigger.  You know what I mean.  They may start out with a small trailer and work up to a class C motorhome then a class A coach, relishing in the room each upgrade gives them.

Then there's me.

In 2009, after a few years of thinking about, and looking at RV's, I found a beautiful Class A diesel pusher in Tucson, Arizona while on vacation out there.  Again, we were just (kind of) looking for the fun of it, not really thinking that seriously.

I saw a Fleetwood Providence 39 foot coach with a Caterpillar C7 diesel engine.  Tan, 3 slide-outs, loads of room and fun to drive.  This RV dealership was in it's last death throes before going bankrupt though I didn't know it at the time.  After 2 days of negotiations I got them down $40,000 from the asking price and we proceeded with the deal.  We went to 23 different states with that RV.  We towed our Chevy Suburban behind us all over the country and had a blast with it.  We named her Tumbleweed.  We  towed a race trailer for a couple years also going to sports car races for some weekend racing action.

Times change, of course, and a few years later we were not traveling as a family in the RV as much.  There was traveling, but more flying and hotels than anything else.  So the Providence went up for sale.

Problem was, I still loved the open road and traveling around the country, especially out west.  I decided to trade the Providence in on a Class B RV. I got what I paid for out of the Providence and downsized to the van. Class B's are van based RVs that are usually based on a Ford, Chevy or Mercedes-Benz chassis.  I had my eye on a Winnebago ERA conversion on a Mercedes Sprinter platform.  It would be perfect for my photo trips since the whole family was not coming on the road anymore.  It had a 3.0 liter turbo diesel engine that gave me about 20 mpg on the highway compared to the 5 or 6 on the big Providence.  Plus a galley kitchen, small bathroom with shower, etc.  Many more trips were taken for photo shoots in Tumbleweed Jr.

Well now I have decided to downsize even further.  The van is sold to a nice couple in North Carolina and I am going truck camping by living out of the back of my trucks camper shell.

Why? Many times out west I wished I could go down some of the roads that were too much for an RV but now a 4x4 truck.  After being in Moab last summer I really got to thinking about that even more.

You see, I don't really camp.  I use my RV's as mobile crash pads basically.  I like to explore the open road and shoot photos.  I don't like to sit in one place very long.  I find it boring to just sit by a fire and cook out beyond one evening. And it's even more mind numbing to drive a few miles from home and sit in a campground for a weekend.  So I don't need much.  It's great to have all the nice things of home but for travel sometimes it's just all about the adventure.

And, even with a nice RV I still like to hit the motels and hotels, the older and more historic the better.  When the family would come along they preferred a nice hotel anyway. So that's even more reason to not need a fancy rig to live in right now.

Of course, my thinking might all change again in a few years. I can see myself getting into a 4x4 van down the road to have more room for my older self but still go off-road.  Life changes and sometimes it's time for something a little different.

The Beauty of Moab, Utah

The Natural Beauty of Moab.

There's much to see and do in Moab, Utah but one of the best things to do is to slow down, take a break from activities, and look around at the natural wonder around you.

Dead Horse Point State Park.

Balanced Rock inside Arches National Park.

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.

Castle Rock (as seen in many old western films).

Colorado River.

Been busy lately with the usual agency stuff going on.  But one fun, different thing lately is opening a booth at a new business called Upscale Junk and Antiques.

This antique mall is quite different that the others around Indy.  It really is upscale!  Just walking in for the first time you realize it is a different establishment.   When I visited for the first time I saw a lady I knew from the camera shop over the years.  When we started talking she suggested that I get on the wait list for a booth to sell my work.

I immediately thought it was a great idea as I love retro and antique items and could sell both my work and antiques.  A space opened up in January and I was able to move in during the middle of the month.  It's been a blast.  And I love walking around the place every time I go in to see whats new.  You really need to visit!  It's located at 23478 US 31 North, Cicero IN 46034.  It's just south of 236th Street and US 31 on the west side of the highway.   Be sure to buy something from me at booth #31!!  But look all around because all the booths are top notch, this is not a flea market but a great place for interesting finds.   Interior decorators should love it.

www.sauterphoto.com     www.nostalgia-art.com

Corinth, Mississippi; A great southern town

Alcorn County, Mississippi Courthouse

 Corinth, Mississippi is a wonderful old southern town rich in Civil War history.  Walking the streets is a mixture of lessons in history and going back to Mayberry USA.  Friendly people, lots of historic sites, all the amenities you need and a high dose of southern charm.

This was the site of the headquarters for Confederate General Albert Johnston from April 1-4, 1862 and after he was killed in the Battle of Shiloh his body was brought back here to lay in state on April 7, 1862

Borroums Drug Store is the site of the oldest soda fountain in the state.

Biggers still has the classic 60's Radio and TV sales sign hanging out front.

 

Biggers is a full service old fashioned hardware store.

This old ghost sign is on the side of the community theater.

The garden house of the Oak Home.  Used in the Civil War as the headquarters of Confederate General Polk during the war.  In 1866, Mrs Thomas Quincy Martin bought the home and it has been occupied by the family ever since.

The Generals Quarters Inn is in the top ten B&B's in the state.

The 1871 Cumberland Presbyterian Church is now used as a chapel by the United Methodist Church.

A great old ghost sign on the side of an abandoned service garage.

Reuse of a 1930's Buick dealership.  Cool to see the old art deco sign still on the building.

The Corinth National Cemetery where Union and Confederate soldiers are buried and still being used for burial of veterans today.

www.sauterphoto.com

www.nostalgia-art.com

The Bus Stop

 

I was heading south on US43, also known locally as Andrew Jackson Highway, in rural Tennessee last week when I went past an old building that made me instinctively put my foot on the brakes.  Luckily there was no one behind me as I scrubbed off speed rapidly and was looking for a place to pull over and turn around.  While my beagle, Ruby, was hanging on for dear life I turned right into an Amish furniture parking lot and positioned myself to get back across the highway and back to the building.  I thought it was an antique store but it turned out to be a store that was antique, if you know what I mean.

Ruby and I got out of the van and started to look around outside.  When I came around to the front porch I saw the "Closed" sign on the door.  Oh well.  I took some shots out front and the door opened up.  "C'mon in, I'm closed, but help yourself," said the owner, Mike.

I walked back in time when Ruby and I stepped inside.  Mike, a gentleman in his 60's, told me it was his granddaddy's place that he started in 1942.  Mike has reopened it after retiring from the Army (Special Forces) and the State Department. It still serves as a Greyhound Bus stop that the local Amish in Ethridge use when traveling.  The only modern thing in the place was the computer system for Greyhound to print the tickets!

We talked for over an hour about his granddad, the store, Ethridge, the Amish, his service in Vietnam all the way to Iraq, and beagles, since Ruby was sniffing her way around the store.  Turns out he grew up with them.  Too make a long story, short...this place is a must see if your into old signs, automobilia and nostalgia.  Mike's a great guy to talk to and the store is a time capsule.  Places and people like this is what I love about being on the road.

 

 The soda fountain, not in use anymore but still there.

 The jukebox still works and spins records.

 The TV even works.  It was playing the Andy Griffith Show. How appropriate.

 The ticket window for the bus stop.

www.sauterphoto.com

www.nostalgia-art.com