Epic Status Photoblog

We went camping at Rock Creek State Park near Kellogg and Newton.

 

 

Ken busted out the slack line to test everyone’s balance.

 

 

 

 

Abe found a pair of “Antlers.”

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting findings along the nature trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After patiently waiting for them to align at the right moments, these random kids made decent subjects.

 

 

I needed a foreground object to place against the sky colors.  Unfortunately it was chow time and the sun was setting fast.  Ben and Abe became victims of chow face syndrom.

Greatest Hits, Nature, Outdoor, People, Travel

More candid street photography from our trip to Chicago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiking the concrete jungle.

 

 

Help a brother out.

 

 

Spare change, please?

 

 

 

All business…

 

It’s just my job.

 

 

 

 

Street Photography, Travel

Millenium Park: What a great idea.  An all in one park with attractions for people of all ages to do and see, and it’s free.  This park gets utilized, what a concept.  Ahem, attention parks and rec board.  Empty green fields are great for throwing balls around, but why not build something for the rest of us? Any medium sized city should aspire to have parks this lively on their own scale.  Free multifunctional lively outdoor meccas.  Space, function, art, substance.

 

I know I could have gotten some killer shots with all the action here but I was trying to avoid conflict as I had no kids of my own there.  I’m getting used to the photographers role as a terrorist, pervert, and invader of “public privacy.”

 

 

Yes, a horizontal column of water spitting from his mouth.

 

 

 

 

 Cloudgate, aka The bean

 

 

 

 

The concert area (Pritzker Pavilion) is a little overkill, but Chicago is large enough to support it.

 

Travel

 

 

 

 

 

Travel

We officially have a favorite bar in town.  Within the loop area of Chicago there’s a English pub/restaurant called Elephant & Castle.  They have a decent number of imports on tap.  It’s a very relaxed place and with plenty hotels nearby there’s probably as many tourists as locals in here.  We stopped in here to rest our feet a few times during our trip.

 

 

 

 

 

Travel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel

Some photos taken during our use of CTA L-Trains in Chicago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a Hawkeyes game in town.

 

 

 

Fifteen minutes later we were in the lovely (heavy sarcasm) Englewood area of Chicago.  What a moment to remember that was.

Travel

Still in Chicago, we ventured down to the Navy Pier area.  Of the hundreds of “must see” attractions in Chicago, Navy Pier is up there in the top 5 most popular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our seagull friend visited for a while, we shared some popcorn with him.  I realize it’s no cold mushy worm, but that’s all we had for him.  It turned out he loved the stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greatest Hits, Outdoor, Travel

The Metra train drops all the suburb dwellers off at Union Station in downtown Chicago, IL.  Even for a city known worldwide for amazing architecture, Union Station is still breathtaking to see in person.  These pictures do no justice to it’s scale or beauty.

 

 

Buildings, Travel

Each day we rode the Metra Milwaukee District West Line (Chicago Union Station to Elgin/Big Timber) from the suburb of Itasca into Chicago.  We avoided traffic congestion, outrageous parking fees, and enjoyed the sights of Chicago more.  On the other hand we had to wait for buses/trains, coordinate times for transfers from Metra to CTA L trains, and do tons of walking everywhere between.  To me it’s a toss up as to if it’s better to drive or use mass transit for vacationing in Chicago.  As the third largest city in the United States, getting around town isn’t the simplest of matters no matter what you choose.  If you plan to use buses at all, choose bus stops carefully so you don’t end up waiting on the street in any of the roughest areas of Chicago, as we accidentally did in Englewood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This guy struck up a conversation with me after noticing my camera.  This photo was taken in stealth fashion before we even talked.  He’s from Elgin and works as some form of internet consultant for up and coming businesses.  I had a real hard time grasping the nature of his business, it sounded hard to explain.  Real nice guy though.  Mostly we discussed my photography habit and internet related topics.  

 

 

Don’t worry about me, just taking pictures of the magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These poor people have to go to work today.

 

 

 

 

Travel

Now we’re at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.  I didn’t take many photos here, it’s a museum you know.  I was amazed at how my perception has changed since the few times I went here as a child.  This place used to seem at least 5 times bigger than it was this visit.  Surprisingly it hasn’t changed as drastically as I thought it would in all these years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many kids will recognize mom and dad, the TV set.

 

 

 

There are 10 people in the world.  Those that understand binary and those that don’t.  Yes, a room where 1’s and 0’s fly all over the floor and walls.  Geeky, but I can’t say I wouldn’t do this to a room if I had the time.

 

I’ve always been fond of  these simulated old main street exhibits.

 

Travel

The next few posts will show photos taken from our half week trip to Chi-town.  This post focuses on what we saw when we first arrived and between other sights in the Chicago area.

 

Nice hotels in decent parts of Chicago are extremely expensive.  We instead stayed out in the Suburb of Itasca and commuted via Metra trains to Chicago each day to avoid outrageous parking costs.  You get to experience the city a little more that way also.  After exiting Union Station in Chicago, this is the great view you’re greeted with.

 

 

 

 

Our cab ride back from the Museum of Science and Industry, taking the safe route around the ghetto.  On our way down there, having not prepared a route, we took the L train to Englewood where we waited on the street for 25 long minutes to transfer to a bus.  I wouldn’t quite suggest it.  The bus stop probably isn’t the most dangerous part of this Chicago neighborhood, but that wasn’t reassuring either.  You know you’re in a poverty stricken area when a street vendor exclusively sells used couch cushions and socks, and the citizens congregate on milk crates in the median of the road.  Needless to say, the camera was well hidden in my bag.  Come to find out, this is one of the worst crime areas in Illinois, with approximately 70 murders a year.  See the link above for statistics about lovely Englewood.

 

So the cab driver speaks English that is less than distinguishable, and we have to pay $40 to avoid waiting in the ghetto at sundown.  That’ll be just fine I guess.  Hopefully his night will be as safe as ours, driving cab here is Russian roulette.

 

 

This mans’ job is to monitor the printer on the stool, on the sidewalk.  Whatever you say boss.

 

Tons of Navy types running around the city, they must be docked nearby. Chicks dig uniforms I’ve heard.  Remember this if absolutely everything else fails.

 

All the tall buildings reflect light onto each other throughout the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why yes I am taking pictures of the back of your head.

 

Being the rebels we are, we crossed the street while the no crossing symbol was lit… after checking around for any signs of the FBI or CIA.

 

These two got on our Metra train at Itasca and got off at Union Station as we did.  Yes he tucked his long sleeve shirt into his shorts.  He can go straight from a meeting at the office to a walk on the beach with his lady.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Berghoff

 

Outdoor, People, Street Photography, Travel

Continued from PAGE 1.

These water misters were a necessity as it was blistering hot this weekend.

 

This tiger reminded me of our cats Conquistador and Shnookums who are probably in the same pose back at home.

 

 

The lion kept licking his chops.  Either we looked appetizing or he was expecting a meal soon.  You could almost see the saliva flicking off his tongue.

 

Not a shabby place to call home.

 

 

Everyone was amazed by a loose squirrel that was running around.  A couple people tried catching it as it sped by.  Probably not a brilliant plan, nope.

 

 

Here’s the photo opp we’ve been waiting for.

 

Who’s in the cage, us or them?

 

This guy kept licking the lady’s finger.

 

The girls patiently wait as daddy takes pictures.

 

This one didn’t like something about me.  He ran full speed across the yard and pounded with all his weight into the window I was at.  He became a blur due to my quick hip-shot reaction and his speed.  Check his eyes as he starred right into mine.

 

Hey, you got poo on your butt.  Uhhh, nevermind, just kidding.

 

Spectacular views

 

Animals, Attractions, Travel

Finally we made it to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo.  Omaha is a great place for a very short vacation on a whim.  No complex itineraries or transportation woes here.  If you’re very quick you can see a majority of the zoo in a whole day, opening to close.  You’ll likely want to spend another half or whole day exploring the historic Old Market area.

 

The animals run for cover and hide when we come around.

 

Strange birds

 

 

The desert decoration went well with the temperature this weekend.? It was about as hot as it was steamy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The underwater tunnel was really neat, unfortunately everyone else seconds that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Animals, Attractions, Travel

After driving to Omaha and spending the evening at the Old Market area, we were ready to relax back at the hotel.

 

There was an argument and some finger pointing.

 

 

A howdy doodie wave to you…

 

Mass confusion sets in…

 

Confusion occasionally ends with a good laugh

People, Travel

We stopped in Elk Horn, IA to check out their authentic windmill.  Elk Horn is the largest rural Danish community outside of Denmark.  In two years the small town raised $100,000 and recruited 300 volunteers to locate, purchase, move and rebuild a windmill.  This is what they found, shipped from Denmark in 1975.  Shipping across the ocean alone costed $8,000 USD.

 

 

 

 

Attractions, Buildings, Greatest Hits, Outdoor, Travel

Took some photos while en route back to Des Moines from Dubuque, IA.

 

 

 

 

Cars, Greatest Hits, Nature, Outdoor, Travel