Wow. The last few days have been insane!
Highlights:
3:30 am start to film Mt Rushmore at dawn. That was truly spectacular watching the first light of day shine across the president's faces.
Filming Buffalo hearding.
40 oz mugs of beer in one bar. Another where there are litterally taps on every table!
More food than I thought I could eat.
Right - airbourne again in 10 mins. Must dash!
Friday 22 July 2011
Sunday 17 July 2011
Ready to go
Today we finished up rigging all the kit, tested everything and did a brief but brilliant flight around Crazy Horse - which is this rather epic stone carving of the indian chief. One day its' going to be a massive statue of the fellow riding a horse. But apparently they've run out of money...
The heat in this part of the world is staggering. A solid 35 degrees yesterday, which is fine if you're at the beach, but a killer to work in. Oh well, tomorrow should be fun flying around in a plexiglass greenhouse! Might have to get the shorts out.
Food finally beat me at lunch time. 4 eggs, 4 bacon, 4 hash brown and FOUR pancakes with syrup. Dinner plate sized ones. Those on their own would have been enough... I'm going to be coming home rather fat at this rate!
Saw a wild Chipmunk, and found one of the best driving roads in the world. If we have a day off, I may have to rent a car just to go and drive it... it was staggeringly good!
Real work begins tomorrow....
The heat in this part of the world is staggering. A solid 35 degrees yesterday, which is fine if you're at the beach, but a killer to work in. Oh well, tomorrow should be fun flying around in a plexiglass greenhouse! Might have to get the shorts out.
Food finally beat me at lunch time. 4 eggs, 4 bacon, 4 hash brown and FOUR pancakes with syrup. Dinner plate sized ones. Those on their own would have been enough... I'm going to be coming home rather fat at this rate!
Saw a wild Chipmunk, and found one of the best driving roads in the world. If we have a day off, I may have to rent a car just to go and drive it... it was staggeringly good!
Real work begins tomorrow....
Saturday 16 July 2011
Rigging Up
What a hot day! In fact so hot that it reached 100 degrees (America works in Fahrenheit - I've no idea what that is in Celsius but it's darn hot). And we spent all of it inside a hot aircraft hangar.
But the good news is that the setup is complete. On the first day! And, amazingly, everything worked the first time I turned it on. Which is also a first.
I ate my first buffalo today. Well not a whole one, I had buffalo steak sandwich for lunch. Delicious. And then for dinner, just to be different I had a 14 oz beef steak. 14oz is 400 grams. Yes, nearly half a kilo of steak. And I ate every scrap! At the rate I'm going it'll be a miracle if the helicopter takes off!
Tomorrow we get to meet our pilot, roger, who is a Vietnam veteran with over 16,000 hrs of flying time!
But the good news is that the setup is complete. On the first day! And, amazingly, everything worked the first time I turned it on. Which is also a first.
I ate my first buffalo today. Well not a whole one, I had buffalo steak sandwich for lunch. Delicious. And then for dinner, just to be different I had a 14 oz beef steak. 14oz is 400 grams. Yes, nearly half a kilo of steak. And I ate every scrap! At the rate I'm going it'll be a miracle if the helicopter takes off!
Tomorrow we get to meet our pilot, roger, who is a Vietnam veteran with over 16,000 hrs of flying time!
Friday 15 July 2011
A day of rest
Fresh from a good night's sleep (and I slept right through to 7 - which is 2pm UK time) I woke up excited about one of America's greatest inventions: Breakfast. Or at least their take on it.
And by that I mean waffles. Oh yes. Waffles in America are the food of the gods. I could eat them every morning and every night and never get bored. So I had one, covered in maple syrup. And then for good measure I had three sausages, scrambled egg and chips. Mmmm.
After this we set about doing a bit of shopping. I bought cargo pants, some new trainers, and a baseball cap.
Shortly after I got my American phone working, thanks to a charming AT&T sales assistant named, I kid you not, Cartier. Not Carter. Cartier. He was a 18 stone man.
We then headed south, past Mt Rushmore (i'd put in a pic, but I figure the ones we'll get over the next few days will be somewhat more impressive) and are now in the tourist trap, ahem I mean town of Custer. Custer, oddly, is full of Ukrainians. In fact, 3 out of 3 waiters we've had so far have been Ukrainian.
The evening was rounded off with a bout of mini-golf and a Steak. Fun time. The real work begins tomorrow...
And by that I mean waffles. Oh yes. Waffles in America are the food of the gods. I could eat them every morning and every night and never get bored. So I had one, covered in maple syrup. And then for good measure I had three sausages, scrambled egg and chips. Mmmm.
After this we set about doing a bit of shopping. I bought cargo pants, some new trainers, and a baseball cap.
Shortly after I got my American phone working, thanks to a charming AT&T sales assistant named, I kid you not, Cartier. Not Carter. Cartier. He was a 18 stone man.
We then headed south, past Mt Rushmore (i'd put in a pic, but I figure the ones we'll get over the next few days will be somewhat more impressive) and are now in the tourist trap, ahem I mean town of Custer. Custer, oddly, is full of Ukrainians. In fact, 3 out of 3 waiters we've had so far have been Ukrainian.
The evening was rounded off with a bout of mini-golf and a Steak. Fun time. The real work begins tomorrow...
Thursday 14 July 2011
Return of the aerial filming camera tehcnician!
So what an odd place to find myself. I'm on a flight over to the US of A as I write this and it dawns on me. I'm about to go on a bit of an adventure. And it's to a part of the States that few people rarely see (telling the emigration officer I was going to Rapid City was met with disbelief).
Having spent a day in London going through all the kit, it's all coming back to me and I'm pretty confident it will all be alright on the night. That's not to say I'm not somewhat nervous - who knows how much I've fogotten in the two years 9 months since I last did this!
Arse! I've now remembered the THIRD thing I've forgotten. This one perhaps the most serious. Aunty Clare's travel kettle (which I have kept and used several times since my last trip). Damn. I'm condemned to a month of tea made through a coffee percolator or evil american instant cawfee. Oh well. I will live.
Alongside this I couldn't find my Letherman (this is the most useful tool a man can ever own. It does everything (like a swiss army knife), but it's made of pure steel and actually works. And there's my Nintendo DS (which I've barely used since the last trip). Hey ho.
In many ways it feels like a miracle I got here at all. I was leaving things very much to the last minute - and then got invited to Top Gear with only a few hours notice. Being the rational man that I am I immediately cancelled both of yesterday's meetings and went to Top Gear instead.
Due to these antics I had three hours sleep last night, and spent the rest of the time flat out trying to get everything done. I arrived at Heathrow with half an hour to spare. I'm surprised I'm not asleep right now. I slept through take off - but I've been awake ever since. Very glad to have a new battery in the laptop (the old one was well past its sell by date). And now the adventure is due to begin!
South Dakota is the state we are filming on this journey. The only thing I know about South Dakota is that it's the home of Mount Rushmore. That really is all I know. Looking at the flight map I am now over The Northern-most reaches of Canada, and will be arriving in Chicago in just under 3 hrs.
How very exciting!
---
Evening update. Now really deep in Cowboy country. I got a beer at the bar attached to our Hotel before bed, and sat outside on the terrace. The two snippets of conversation I overheard were:
"I don't mind him huntin' deer but I told him if he does bring it home in meat packages. I'm an animal lover so I don't like seein' em hurt."
"He's had two extra calves, so it's going to be a good year for him"
Yeehaw!
Having spent a day in London going through all the kit, it's all coming back to me and I'm pretty confident it will all be alright on the night. That's not to say I'm not somewhat nervous - who knows how much I've fogotten in the two years 9 months since I last did this!
Arse! I've now remembered the THIRD thing I've forgotten. This one perhaps the most serious. Aunty Clare's travel kettle (which I have kept and used several times since my last trip). Damn. I'm condemned to a month of tea made through a coffee percolator or evil american instant cawfee. Oh well. I will live.
Alongside this I couldn't find my Letherman (this is the most useful tool a man can ever own. It does everything (like a swiss army knife), but it's made of pure steel and actually works. And there's my Nintendo DS (which I've barely used since the last trip). Hey ho.
In many ways it feels like a miracle I got here at all. I was leaving things very much to the last minute - and then got invited to Top Gear with only a few hours notice. Being the rational man that I am I immediately cancelled both of yesterday's meetings and went to Top Gear instead.
Due to these antics I had three hours sleep last night, and spent the rest of the time flat out trying to get everything done. I arrived at Heathrow with half an hour to spare. I'm surprised I'm not asleep right now. I slept through take off - but I've been awake ever since. Very glad to have a new battery in the laptop (the old one was well past its sell by date). And now the adventure is due to begin!
South Dakota is the state we are filming on this journey. The only thing I know about South Dakota is that it's the home of Mount Rushmore. That really is all I know. Looking at the flight map I am now over The Northern-most reaches of Canada, and will be arriving in Chicago in just under 3 hrs.
How very exciting!
---
Evening update. Now really deep in Cowboy country. I got a beer at the bar attached to our Hotel before bed, and sat outside on the terrace. The two snippets of conversation I overheard were:
"I don't mind him huntin' deer but I told him if he does bring it home in meat packages. I'm an animal lover so I don't like seein' em hurt."
"He's had two extra calves, so it's going to be a good year for him"
Yeehaw!
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