the camera didn't make it but the pictures did

Yesterday was a great day. I was SO exhausted from four days of not sleeping that I finally got to sleep. The kind of sleep where I am out like a log and wake up a few minutes before the alarm feeling refreshed. My stomach stopped hurting and I was able to keep down a hearty breakfast of fruit loops.

We started off in a crap potato field in the beginning of the day to get a shot we didn't get the first day and started the drive to Ridgway. W.O.W. It was so so very beautiful the drive. Red mountains, big lakes, fields, amazing. We grabbed coffee in the town of Gunnison which looked very cool and continued to Ridgway. Stopped once more for lunch at the True Grit Restaurant I'll write more about later, drank the largest beverage known to man and proceeded up the hill to the ranch where we were filming a scene with some sheep.

I don't think I've ever seen a place so beautiful. It was like New Zealand, which works out cause that's the place it was supposed to fill in for. I mean seriously, we were expecting to see little hobbit holes and the rockies as the background...damn. Since my rental car was both transportation and office it had to stay up the hill and not head down to where we were filming a scene with some sheep since the computers that had the footage were sitting in there copying files and couldn't be moved so I missed that gloriousness. But I did get to sit and rest for awhile and enjoy the wonder that was this place. And it smelled like Christmas.

We headed down the hill to a field area with horses and got even more bug bites. In this magical misery we called wrap and everyone was so happy. I don't think I've ever been on a job with so much camaraderie. I think being in the trenches builds us all up. If we'd have been in a traditional job where everyone did their own thing, we'd never have bonded, never even talked to each other. But here we were and these kids did not want to stop being together. We all had giant margaritas dinner at a Mexican place and headed back to have beers in the lobby. Well everyone had beers. I spent my time trying to finish the one margarita I had which was the size of three. Then we kicked ourselves out of the lobby and hung out in the patio telling stories and jokes and being general dumbutts who had 6am flights. I cannot believe how much beer boys can drink.

While we're inside I get a text message from our DP who is trying to check in and can't because... our 6am flight has been cancelled! So during portion #3 of me sitting with everyone drinking in the lobby again but a smaller group I'm on the phone with our travel agent re-booking flights for our four boys. One of them was with me in the lobby and could not have been happier to have a later flight because he could continue drinking. I went to bed at 2am.

Today I was planning on leaving at 6am but I'm gonna see these kids off on their later flight and then hit the road to Boulder. It was a great shoot. A lot of fun and a lot of challenges. The only problem has been my weak body. Haven't had a decent meal since the 2nd night and can't shut my brain off to sleep.