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.All Trips / Central USA / Colorado / North America
A Day at the Denver Museum of Science and Nature
My wife and I visited this Science and Nature Museum earlier this year while in the Denver area for our younger son’s wedding. I enjoy visiting science and natural history museums as I always see fascinating things and learn something new at each one, and Denver’s is a great museum! It’s affiliated with the prestigious Smithsonian in Washington DC.
Like all good natural history museums, this one covers a large variety of topics and has lots of displays spanning many subjects, with most focusing on Colorado (though many with a more global perspective). The museum is housed in a boxy 716,000-square-foot (66,519 m2) building and has more than one million items in its collections.
The roots of the museum …
“Pic of the Week”, December 7, 2018: Unbearably Lake Tahoe
An art form I enjoy, which has seen growing popularity these past few decades, is chainsaw carvings. As the name implies, the artist uses chainsaws of different size to work a piece of dried raw wood into the final carved piece. The carvings are often large and heavy. The wood is then generally stained or painted and sealed with varnish or polyurethane to protect the art.
While driving around Lake Tahoe this past summer — a beautiful scenic drive that’s highly recommended — we came across several homes on the California side of the lake that had some fine examples of carved bears. I thought they were quite good and stopped to get some photos. Not sure if all the ones …
“Pic of the Week”, November 23, 2018: Paradise Valley, Nevada
While on a road-trip last year, I drove through northern Nevada and came across a rather pretty place in the desert. Relatively green and lush, it was known as Paradise Valley. One of about a dozen places by the same name I’ve encountered in my travels and like the rest of them, visually striking. This was a place of horse and cattle ranchers.
Don’t know much about the region but it was worth stopping and enjoying the view.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance)
.All Trips / Eastern Canada / Food / North America / Nova Scotia
Halifax’s Seaport Farmers’ Market
Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market is the oldest continuously operating farmer’s market in North America, originating a year after Halifax was founded, in 1750. For over 250 years the market has sold meat and produce delivered from Acadian farms in the Annapolis Valley and elsewhere in Nova Scotia.
The Market has operated in several locations across the city since its inception, including within the Keith’s Brewery Building. In 2010 The Market moved into a converted warehouse along the Halifax Seaport and today hosts over 250 vendors!
Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market
We spent more than a day exploring the waterfront area and made several stops at this market. Our visit to Halifax was during the early fall so the produce available reflected the season — apples, peaches, plums …
Tagged farmer's market, food, Halifax, Seaport Farmers' Market
“Pic of the Week”, November 16, 2018: Halifax’s Old Town Clock
The Halifax Town Clock (aka ‘Old Town Clock’, or ‘Citadel Clock Tower’) is situated just beneath the old Citadel on a hill overlooking the city and its harbor. It has kept time for over 200 years and is considered one of the city’s iconic buildings.
The clock was a gift from Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (Queen Victoria’s father). Prince Edward was the Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in North America and was stationed in Halifax for about a year, ending August 1800. Upon leaving, the prince (who was obsessed with punctuality and found Halifax residents lacking in this regard) decided to give the city this timepiece.
The Clock was designed by Prince Edward’s engineer in 1801 and was crafted by the …
.All Trips / Arizona / North America / Southwestern USA
The National Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas — unlike any other
I’ve been to Vegas more times than I can remember. It’s always been a decent weekend getaway destination and is a good place to meet up with friends as it’s easily accessible, has reasonably priced accommodation and great restaurants. And if you want you can explore the desert, catch a live show, gamble, or go to a night club.
I’m not much of a gambler or a nightclub guy, but I do like to visit an interesting museum. The National Atomic Testing Museum (NATM) certainly is different than most and if you have an interest in science and military history, is well worth a visit. The museum opened in 2005 and is operated by the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation. It’s …
.All Trips / Eastern Canada / North America / Nova Scotia
Halifax’s Legislative Home — Province House
During my travels I often find myself visiting sites of government. Not sure why this is so because, as a rule, most governments really annoy me. Perhaps it’s because the buildings in which they’re housed are often grand and opulent and their landscaping beautiful, covering many acres of prime real estate.
So a visit to Province House in Halifax was a pleasant change from the norm. When we first spotted the building during our exploratory walk through the city, I thought it must be of some significance because it was old and looked important, but it is not at all large, occupying only a small city block. Perhaps, I thought, it was a courthouse or library? Turned out this was Province …
Tagged Halifax, Joseph Hose, Legislature, Province House
“Pic of the Week”, October 5, 2018 : Space Shuttle, “Discovery”
When the Space Shuttle program was discontinued in the early years of the Obama administration, museums around the world scrambled for the right to receive and exhibit one of the four remaining shuttles. It seems highly appropriate that one of these unique spacecraft should find its final home at the prestigious Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (located in Virginia, close to Washington Dulles Airport, about a half hour’s drive from downtown DC).
Situated in a separate wing of the Udvar-Hazy Center with other relics of space travel (including an especially an impressive collection of satellites), the Shuttle is one of the Center’s prized exhibits. The shuttle Discovery is parked so that you can walk around it …
Oct 4, 2018
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