Epic Status Photoblog

We went to Dubuqe to visit relatives for the weekend.? If you can, own stock in a company that provides a service you like to use.? Because a relative owns stock in the company that owns Mainstay Suites, we received a 50% discount.? The? hotel room? was more similar to an apartment than a hotel.? It was complete with bedroom, full kitchen, a living room, and office area.? We paid the same rate? that Motel 6 on E 14th St. in Des Moines? charges.? That’s like comparing apples and peanuts.

 

 

 

Night, Travel

Where’s Waldo?? We got a more scenic camping site at Jester Park this year.? It’s a lot more popular over here on the edge of the lake, but I thought it was worth it.? I got to play with my super-wide angle lens some more.? The girls weren’t impressed when they learned that they’ll look fat if they’re towards the edge of the frame.

 

 

? Roots

 

 

Richard and Brad found some “walking sticks.”? Richard came charging up a path to the lake with his stick.? This family didn’t find our antics to be very funny.? After we were done trespassing on their campsite, they resumed their impressions of skits from the Lawrence Welk Show.

 

? Check out our walking sticks

 

 

Stephanie brought out the preschool posse for the day.

 

Time-out photo-shoot.? Great for kids that can’t stand still.

 

 

Sip and pass

 

? “Stop it, that’s my friend”

 

 

 

Time to cook some grub

 

? More Dave Hill affect.

 

Camping and Recreation in IA

 

 

Not much later, a few cop cars came down and swarmed a campsite a few down from us.? We felt comfortable again, like we never voyaged a few miles from the city at all.

Attractions, Greatest Hits, Nature, Night, Outdoor, Parties, People, Travel

I spent an hour or two driving around different parts of Saylorville Lake, trying to find photo ops.

 

Saylorville lake seems almost like a large pond to me, since you can see the opposite shore from anywhere.? Growing up in the Milwaukee area, we spent a lot of time at Lake Michigan.? I’ve been? to Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan.

 

 

This is the wildest I’ve ever seen the tides here.? The lake is probably larger at the moment due to the flooding.

 

? Wide angle affects and Dave Hill affect.

 

Plenty of land between Saylorville Lake and Des Moines hasn’t been sold out to developers yet.

 

View from atop the Saylorville Dam

 

 

The outlet of the Dam, where it becomes the Des Moines River again.

 

 

I still haven’t figured out how the water coming out maintains a height much lower than the river.? Unless it’s an illusion, the water rises maybe? 15 feet or so from the pipe to the river.? The sheer power of the water coming out is amazing.

Attractions, Greatest Hits, Nature, Outdoor, Travel

? Cherish forgot to reserve Saturday off from work, so we just came to visit Friday.? We? camped here at Jester Park on? Saturday night.? This was my first day with my new Sigma 10-20mm wide-angle lens.? As of last I heard, this is still the widest rectilinear lens available for any digital camera.

 

 

 

 

? Koombaya?

 

? Master chef Pee-Wee grills up some fish.

 

 

? Not really sure

 

Nature, Night, Outdoor, Parties, People, Travel

Or were they?

 

 

I’m sure there’s many country songs written about this pickup truck.

 

 

 

 

Cars, Holidays, Travel

Time to make a? fireworks run at the? Missouri border.? Once you get across the border into MO on I-35 and a little further, you’ll come accross a town called Eagleville.? It seems that this town only exists to sell fireworks to people out of state.? Many of the shops were pretty friendly, there must be stiff competition.? When you purchase a good amount of fireworks, they throw a ton of freebies in your bag as you leave.? Some of them are ok, but many of these free? fireworks? are duds.? Either the fuse is too short, the explosive mixture not rich enough, it stops early, etc.?

 

Fireworks World

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? Fireworks Outlet

 

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? Fireworks by the case load

 

? Shelton Fireworks.? This is a new building, the old one burned down.? If I remember right the fire was started by a cigarrette butt.? Notice the huge “no smoking” canopy above the doorway.? This time they went with metal construction also.

 

? Quite a big place they have here.? It felt like the Wal-Mart of fireworks stores.

 

? The long and boring ride home.? It was a beautiful day, possibly a little hot to be in a mobile sun ray collector with poor air circulation.

 

? Sunny Delight

 

? Grassy hillside somewhere between Des Moines and the Missouri border.

 

? Very suddenly it gets cloudy and stormy looking.

 

? The fruit of our effort.? Endless hours of fun to be had.

Nature, Travel

The crew went camping at Jester Park, one of the many camp areas surrounding Saylorville Lake.? It was pretty hot, but a lot of fun.? We had to deal with bugs, heat, entertainment, cooking, and sun in the morning.? We felt like true survivalists, struggling to be self dependant and stay alive.? No, not exactly.? We all brought food from home, listened to? MP3’s and satellite radio,? fogged the area for bugs, and stayed connected with everyone else via cell phones.? But still it was an adventure.

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Cooking dinner.

 

? Heather, Cherish, and Bonnie.

 

Pee-Wee, Richard, Steve, Josh, Me, and Adam.

 

Heather and Cherish?

 

The campfire layout.?

 

? Reflections.

 

Hung-over and tired, we wake up when the sun comes up.? Not because we’re morning people, but because tents have minimum ability to block sunlight and the resulting heat.? The green shelter with the screens helped keep bugs away while we ate.? The flys and mosquitos are real thick out there, and they are much more pesky than in the city.? Bugs are usually more active at sunrise and sunset.

 

? Going to the beach at Saylorville Lake near Jester Park.

 

A beautiful day to be at the lake.

 

? Pee-Wee is a leech tamer by trade.

 

You can’t cool off the outdoors, but you can kill? all living, biting? insects within? 100 ft with a bug fogger.

 

Photo shoot in the smoke trail of the fogger.

 

Playing various net games.

 

? Yaeger Bomb time.

 

Jayme forgot her shorts in the tent.

Attractions, Nature, Parties, People, Travel