Daaaamn, I need a haircut!

Because we had a professional photographer with us the entire time, our entire trip to Reno and then Oregon was documented in great detail. Along with being a very talented up-and-coming pipemaker, Steve Morrisette is an unbelievable photographer. All of these shots are his . . . unless he's in them. In that case someone is doing the "teenage girls at Spring break" move where everyone clusters together while somebody holds the camera out with one arm and tries to get the shot in focus. It's probably Jeff as he has a penchant for such things. Do enjoy the photos.

Here we are relaxing in the room the night before the show. The East Tower rooms were really fantastic--just renovated. The West Tower rooms have teal or pink velvet bedspreads . . . no really.

This is actually the view out our hotel room window. Not bad.

In this shot, I'm just tightening the thumb screws on collector Mitch Michaelson. He wound up buying the pipe only after I offered to throw in the extra layer of undercoating for free. 

Jeff and I approach pipemaking very similarly and have great respect for one another's work. He might even be the second best pipemaker in the US . . . 

Brad in his signature eight panel cap and me in my recently acquired "mop." Brad actually has these custom made by a milliner in London. Mine is made in celebration of the fact that my days of straight razor shaves and custom tailored suits are in the past. 

A snowy roller-coaster.

Mount Shasta

I try to keep things pretty sober, but the other guys are constantly engaging in some sort of tomfoolery. I'm not exactly sure what the hell we're doing here, but I'm confident it was someone else's idea.

In case space aliens ever decide to visit southern Oregon the owners of this lama farm have sent them these well wishes. The astute observer will also pick up on the subtle message of patriotism they're trying to send.

After about six hours of driving, we finally arrived at casa-Pohlmann.

Here, Jeff and I have set to work rearranging some of Brad's equipment for better efficiency. Please notice the floral china teapot in the foreground. We may be a coarse and rowdy bunch, but we're not about to have our tea from anything less than real porcelain. 

In this shot, I've just told Brad he's no longer my first-best-friend, but has moved down the list to my second-best-friend. Clearly, he's incredulous. 

One of the most important aspects of pipemaking is first creating the tools to do so with precision and efficiency.

Putting the final touches on our collective blowfish. After shaping, the piece will be marked and drilled. 

In the South, beer and guns go together like biscuits and gravy. In southern Oregon, I guess they go together like petruli and power crystals.

Working on my contribution to a blowfish set that Jeff and I are putting together.

Brad smoking a Cuban while shaping a blowfish.

Jeff planning his attack on a little lathe-turned billiard.

Brad popped a vintage tin of Dunhill Mixture #10, a wonderful full English that has been out of production for a couple of decades. One of the great things about being friends with old folks like Brad and Steve is that you get to smoke tobacco older than you. 

Damn . . . I need a haircut.