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.All Trips / Florida / North America / Southeastern USA
Space View Park, Titusville, Florida
Situated on Florida’s east coast, 15 miles from the Cape Canaveral launch pads, is the small town of Titusville. Titusville sits on the Indian River and has a lovely park on its waterfront called “Space View Park”, wherein we stopped while making our way to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for some bird-watching. The park is a lovely shaded spot with some wonderful views towards the Kennedy Space Center and, to our delight, had a great monument to the earliest American astronauts, the Project Mercury team.
I was a schoolboy during the great era of space travel that President Kennedy’s challenge spawned in the 1960s. “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do other things not …
California / North America / Southwestern USA
“Pic of the Week”, July 6, 2018: Flying A Service Station, Truckee
I’ve previously discussed my visit to the small town of Truckee, which rests on California’s eastern Sierra Nevada slopes and which you can read about at this link. The town has a nicely preserved historic core, with lots of buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
My favorite building in Truckee was this old Flying A Service Station, which brought back memories of many like it I’d see when I was much younger, under a variety of banners like Texaco and Sinclair’s. Most of these old buildings have been torn down and replaced by large self-serve fueling outlets, each with an attached convenience store. These new structures may be efficient but they lack the intimacy …
Tagged Flying A, service station, Truckee
.All Trips / Eastern Canada / North America / Nova Scotia
Lunenberg, Nova Scotia: A UNESCO World Heritage Site
While I am not a fan of the provincial capitol of Halifax, I really enjoyed the rural landscapes of Nova Scotia, especially the many colorful and picturesque fishing villages along the coast. The most interesting coastal community we visited was Lunenberg, situated about 90 km from Halifax. It has rows of tidy well-kept homes, nice churches and shops, and a lovely waterfront. Canadians best know Lunenberg as the birthplace of the Bluenose, a racing ship which graces the Canadian dime.
Lunenburg’s history has long been entertwined with the sea. The first mention of an European settlement around here was in the early 1600s, which was a simple Acadian village. The British saw the value of the …
Tagged Bluenose, Coast, Lunenberg, UNESCO World Heritage Site
.All Trips / California / North America / Southwestern USA
Truckee, California
Situated slightly north of Lake Tahoe and a little west of Reno, I’d driven past this small city on route I-80 many times. But it was not until this past summer that I actually stopped and explored it. The day of our visit was dry and hot and the sun intense as it can only be at high altitude, the heat draining our energy; still, we took our time, stayed hydrated and enjoyed visiting Truckee.
The town’s original name was Coburn Station, after one of its saloon keepers. It was renamed ‘Truckee’ after a Paiute chief named Tru-ki-zo. This friendly chief greeted the first Europeans migrating to California and legend has it that he rode toward them yelling, “Tro-kay”, Paiute for …
Tagged railroad, Sierra Nevada, Truckee
“Pic of the Week”, June 22, 2018: Views of Lake Tahoe
Lovely Lake Tahoe! It has been described as the “gem of the Sierras” and it’s hard to argue with that.
Its statistics are impressive. Lake Tahoe is situated in the Sierra Nevada mountain range at 6,225 ft (1,897 m) and straddles the California/Nevada border. At 1,645 ft (501 m) deep, it is the second deepest lake in the United States — only Crater Lake in Oregon is deeper at 1,945 ft (593 m). It holds more water than any lake in the US, excluding the five Great Lakes.
And the scenery is spectacular. As are the hiking opportunities around the lake!
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance)
Jun 21, 2018
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“Pic of the Week”, June 15, 2018: An Interesting Shed, Gold Hill, Colorado
My eye was drawn to this old shed situated in someone’s back yard in the historic mining town of Gold Hill. The town is not far from Boulder, is charming and visiting it is much like stepping into the past.
I have to admit, I would love to own a shed like this, wheels, bed frame, antlers, ads and all!
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance)
Jun 14, 2018
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“Pic of the Week”, May 25, 2018: The Flood Memorial, Grand Forks
I’ve previously discussed how flat the great plains of central North America are. Like the Amazon basin in South America, when there is flooding of a river over its bank the flat topography lets the water spread a far distance before there is enough contour change to stop it. Obviously this can do a lot of damaged in populated areas.
The Red River, which flows through Minnesota and North Dakota on its way into Manitoba and on towards Lake Winnipeg, is one of the dominant rivers of the plains. It seems like the Red floods every few years and usually a small flood can be reasonably managed. But there are rare springs when the elements combine to make flooding particularly severe, …
May 24, 2018
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“Pic of the Week”, May 4, 2018: Reclining Connected Forms, CityCenter
Who would have believed that Las Vegas, in its ongoing transformation, would become a center of fine public art? Certainly not yours truly, at least not until recently.
This is especially true at the $10 billion CityCenter, where part of the master plan included $40 million to purchase some world-class pieces. One of these is by English sculptor Henry Moore, a work called Reclining Connected Forms. It is one of several similar-styled pieces by the same artist found around the globe.
Here are some specifics: Crafted between 1969-1974 of Roman travertine marble. A massive piece measuring 10 x 17 x 7 feet. It is thought to represent a baby wrapped in its mother’s embrace.
You can find this work between ARIA Resort …
May 3, 2018
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