Berlin Fair, the day before

Today is set-up for the Berlin Fair. It rained most of the day, and there's a big storm setting up for tonight & tomorrow...but I was able to bring in a few photos to enter for the Photography contest. The rides are ready, but the fairgrounds are nearly deserted.

Back to Paper Goods Pond

All those miles behind us, and we're back at Paper Goods Pond, which has it's own ineffable beauty.

Raindrops

Our reputation as the Drought Busters remains intact. Although the sun broke through on a few occasions, it rained most of the time on the last leg of our journey home. I took advantage of a break in the clouds to snap this shot of a rain-spotted leaf from a tulip tree in our campground in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

I-80 in the rain

We are the Drought Busters. We camp; it rains. It started raining even before we left the desert (6th wettest day on record as we passed through Albuquerque) and it's been raining ever since. We've got long days of driving to get home in time to get back to work, so this view of I-80 is about all we see.

Indiana

I love Indiana. I can't explain why. I just wish I lived here. Today, we were detoured off I-70 when it was shut down after a fatal accident. We were delayed for over two hours--but as we crawled along on the side roads along mammoth semis, we got to see lovely towns like Cambridge & Dublin. I fell in love with the latter. This is what I could see out of my passenger side mirror. With views like this, no wonder we stayed calm and just appreciated being stuck in a beautiful place.

St. Louis, Version 2

I just downloaded a new app, VintageScene. I like what it did to yesterday's shot of St. Louis.

St. Louis

We're back to the reality of urban congestion and blight. I snapped this through the windshield as we navigated through the tangle of highways in St. Louis.

Llama & Pig

A real llama and a fake pig share a pen near an Indian craft shop in Oklahoma. Processing was done with TiltShift Generator and PhotoGene.

Oklahoma

After driving through record breaking rain in Arizona & New Mexico, we arrived in Oklahoma, where the sun was setting behind newly plowed fields of red earth. I used TiltShift Generator to focus attention on the fence.

New Mexico

It's been a tough traveling day as we turn back east for home--incessant rains and a steady uphill slope that required Bob the truck to be in second gear. I was only able to get off two shots of this bluff at a rest station in New Mexico. I used Picture Show to make it look like one of the old photos on display at the various visitors' centers & small museums.

Grand Canyon

Well, since that worked, here's the Grand Canyon shot from a few days ago:



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Take 3

Ok, lemme try a lo-fi version...

Painted Desert, Attempt 2

I had a bad feeling that wasn't going to work. I'll give it one more shot.

The Painted Desert

I first read about the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert when I was eight or nine years old, and I yearned to see them. I'm 57 now and finally accomplished that dream. I was so excited about it that the ranger and the staff gave me a Junior Ranger patch. This is the Painted Desert in late afternoon.

Utah desert

OK, I'm giving up on the Grand Canyon photo...I'm going to try today's from the Utah desert. If if doesn't work, then something must be wrong with the BlogPress app, because I have a strong signal here at our campground in Arizona.

Grand Canyon

At last I seem to have good Internet access, so here is Take 4--the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, yesterday's photo of the day.

Grand Canyon, Take 3

Ok, photos not posting from here...I'll try again tomorrow.

The Grand Canyon, Take 2...

The Grand Canyon.

BlogPress is giving me a hard time tonight & won't let me publish a title. This is the Mojave Desert at Mounties.

Zion, Take 2

Sluggish Internet access sometimes prevents photos from uploading.

Zion Canyon...

...seen through a waterfall.

Bryce Canyon

There simply are no words to describe this place...and even photographs don't do it justice.

Sept. 16: Southwest desert

The desert of Utah, just west of the imposing San Rafael Reef.

Canyonlands

Canyonlands National Park

Delicate Arch: September 12

Arches National Park

Moon: September 11

No Internet access at the campground here in Moab, Utah; so I'm playing catchup. This is the view from our campsite in the evening.

Foothills

We're camped in the foothills of the Rockies. Here's a view from the campground, touched up just a bit with Iris PhotoSuite.

Solitary

One feels solitary under the vast sky and open spaces of what was once the prairie. To our Eastern eyes and minds, it is both awe-inspiring and unsettling. Here the sun sets in Kansas behind tonight's campground in Russel. Processing was done in Iris PhotoSuite.

Foreground

The foreground is what attracts the eye in this photo of the lake at our campground in Illinois this morning. I cropped out a distracting branch and added a bit more contrast using PhotoForge.

Open

Take 2

Open

A sailboat scuds across the open waters of Buckeye Lake in Ohio. Minimal basic processing was done with PhotoGene.

Perspective

The view as we drove through a tunnel in the Alleghenies looks like a classic lesson in perspective. Yes, that IS the light at the end of the tunnel you see!

Open

As we were driving on our first leg of our trip to Utah, John was beginning to get tired, so we pulled over to a rest stop. A church group was offering free coffee and refreshments. They were a warm and open group of people--we gave two of them a tour of our camper.

Semtimental

Summer is waning, and with a long grim New England winter ahead of us, the last few days before Dairy Queen closes makes me feel sentimental. Our last child just left for college. DQ reminds me of balmy evenings after a soccer game or just deciding to have a cold treat on a scorching afternoon. I used Iris PhotoSuite to give the photo a nostalgic tone.

John

This is John, my anam cara--Irish for the friend of my soul. Recent empty nesters, we are dealing with it by embarking on a 3 1/2 week camping trip to southern Utah. It will take us about a week's driving each way, and we'll have a little over a week to spend at Arches, Canyonlands, Zion and Bryce Canyon. Good thing we're good traveling companions!

We're planning to leave on Sunday. I'm hoping to be able to post my photo-of-the-day, as well as to keep up with all the wonderful work of my fellow Virtual PhotoWalkers.

Poverty

Graffiti is emblematic of poverty. Framing was added in Lo-Mob.

Isolation

The garish lights of a gas station late at night. Processing done in PictureShow.