Christmas 2011

A star in between the branches, Christmas Eve.

Trees in silhouette at dusk.

Good friends, Barbara and Bill, before the
8 pm service at Holy Cross.

Welcome to Christmas Eve at Holy Cross Lutheran Church.

The "reason for the season"; the
birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Long view of the church sanctuary.

A closer view of the beautifully decorated church.

My Christmas tree - 2011.

Bill is carefully unwrapping a gift from Donna.

Yes! Uno's sounds good to me!!

Donna always has a sense of humor.
Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Rhode Island Visit

A rainy day in Newport, RI.

I'm here with Andre Agassi at the
International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport.

I ran into a few of my "tennis friends".
Valerie, Charlie and Bill!

The original grass court at the Hall.

A photo of Charlie before we are ready to leave.

Valerie and I must say good bye after a quick
couple of days of visiting.

Valerie's Christmas cactus has
a new home here with several other cousin cacti.

A close up shot of my new cactus.

Eagle Has Landed

The Perched Eagle has landed at my home!

Three years ago we stumbled upon Grizz Works
in Maple, Wisconsin, where Justin Howland had
created beautiful wooden sculptures.

His wife, Tara, contacted me about a Perched
Eagle that was three feet tall that they could bring
to me on their delivery trip/vacation out this way.
I so wanted this sculpture and Bill finally said I needed
to get this since I have wanted one for over three years!

The Eagle has landed! It is beautiful, very heavy
and fragrant of natural wood. I now have a wonderful
wooden sculpture from Grizz Works in Wisconsin.

Early Christmas Present

"Above the Aspen"

Colorado

I found this picture in a store called "Made in Colorado".

I saw it and said it was too expensive for me to buy.

A few minutes later Bill announced he was

buying it for me as an early Christmas present.

It is next to my bed and is the first thing I see

in the morning and last thing I see at night.

Thanks, Bill!

Vacation Videos

Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park.

Geo-thermal feature in Yellowstone. Click once to see video.


Mud pot in Yellowstone.


Redwood in Redwood National Park.


Another Redwood to view.


A video of Crater Lake in Oregon.


A view of Bryce Canyon National Park.


A parting shot of The Teton, Wyoming.

Hannibal, MO to Cumberland, MD

Downtown Hannibal, MO from Lovers Leap.

The mighty Mississippi River from Lovers Leap.

A dredging barge being moved up river.

A tug boat pushing nine barges of grain.

The muddy Mississippi River. Each day thousands of
tons of silt is deposited at the Mississippi Delta.

In the back waters of the Mississippi River
you can find acres of water lilies.

Detours can be a constant problem when
traveling. This dirt road was part of a ten mile
adventure. You should have seen the car afterward!

Get a load of this home made John Deere mail box!

I called my daughter while we were still in Indiana
to find out where the Louisville Slugger factory was.
She was able to look up the information and call
me back to tell us where to find it.

Paul Bunyan and the Jolly Green Giant would
have a hard time swinging this bat.
It is the largest bat in the world.

I loved this advertisement for the plate glass company.

Made in Kentucky, USA.
This is the label from the bat.

We found this pink elephant in Huntington, WV.
A father had this made a few years ago as
as birthday gift to his little girl.

Our last night out here in Cumberland, MD.
This is the last posting for our trip through
Middle America. We thank those of you
who have been following our travels.
Soon it will be time to think about
the next trip out to the west.
I close this segment with my new
favorite quote from John Muir:
"The mountains are calling -
and I must go"

Hannibal, MO

The changing landscape of Missouri.

We found a John Deere mailbox...

...on John Deere Road!

We stopped at a local winery for a few samples
and we made some final decisions and bought
a couple of bottles. I am standing next to
the outdoor wine tree.

Months after the flooding began, the Missouri River
has not returned to its banks.

This is the swollen Missouri River.

Tens of thousands of acres of crops have been
destroyed by the flood waters.

A corn field under water.
Water fowl now hunt where corn and
soy beans once grew.

On higher ground, corn grows and
people hide among the stalks!

Topeka, KS

The road leading to the middle of America - Lebanon, KS.

I am standing at the geographical center
of the 48 contiguous states.

This little chapel seats only eight people.

It was built to remind people to pray for America.

The pride of Cawker City is its ball of twine.

Bill decided to do his Alfred Hitchcock impression in
front of the ball of twine. It is 40' 3" around and
weighs 14,687 pounds. Bill is a little smaller!

Sadly Cawker City is faced with the same problem
as many small western towns. The only building
occupied in this block was the bank.