12:15am, July 21, 2009, status: still designing a remote control coffee table. no reason.
Hollis is getting his Alaska on, he's a dynamo, and it's getting crazy ... maybe. He caught us up to date in a couple of emails. I am still trying to grasp the full range of what he is trying to say, but I think I get it.Email #1 : "Off the grid"
a week or so later ...
Email #2 : "So, ... I think the problem was that I was drinking so much that I didn't ... have my camera ".
His email then veered off into incoherent ramblings of a man apparently possessed with the idea of nude wrestling a grizzly bear. Why nude? He didn't say, and is that even the weirdest part of that anyways? I have heard of gold fever, but this was seemingly a no win situation. You know, he has only been up there for a few weeks. Hopefully the grizzly fever wears off a bit.
The bartender told him that Alaskan legend says, if you kiss the bear paw they keep behind the bar, and then do a shot, you will have good fortune in finding a bear the locals call Frankie. Now, this sounds weird, but considering I have kissed a dead toe while drinking at the Sourdough Saloon in Dawson City, Yukon, I can actually believe it. Or, it could be a total rouse. It's crazy like that up there.
Hollis was told that after kissing the bear paw, he must walk alone for two days into the wilderness. Frankie will meet him out there. Hmmm, visions of Into the Wild have filled my brain, and I am also reminded of a story of an acquaintance who went 'moose hunting', and simply disappeared for 6 years.
But, this is what his trip is all about, the unknown, adventure, and wherever the photographs take him. A bar, a car ride to 'nowhere', a fishing boat to somewhere; where will he be next?
The Drink Toque, helps you slay Coors Lights and 2.5 ounce shots in an Alaskan bar . . . wait, wait, wait, they drink LIGHT beer in Alaska???
(I wonder what all those bumper stickers say behind the bar? Also, mental note: I like colourful straws. Buy some.)
Moose Attack looking right at home in an Alaskan bar.
So, Hollis, uh..., are you going outside at all? Like, Alaska is a big place.
Over the next few weeks, we will be featuring the photographs from Nashville-based photographer Hollis Bennett (
www.hollisbennett.com), as he travels deep deep deep undercover between Alaska and Tennessee. He will be carrying a few Drink Toques to keep his tasty beverages cold and looking good. Follow along with us as we share his pictures, stunningly random thoughts, concerns about the reliability of his car, and so forth.
Safe travels Hollis!
Your friends,
The Drink Toque
