One of the things that really struck me about the midwest was how far you could see without seeing anything but grass, snow fences and (sometimes) wind farms. This is just one of the many roads we traveled and happens to be in Wyoming. I could have taken many photos like this but it would be hard to tell them apart. 😉
He turns up in the most unexpected places. This time in Old Town Fort Collins! 😉
One our stops in Kansas was at the Oz Museum in Wamego. Kansas=Oz, right? It was a very well-done museum, with lots of movie and book memorabilia as well as displays documenting various scenes and characters in the movie. While I knew that the movie was based on a book by L. Frank Baum, I didn’t realize that the tale was actually comprised of a series of 14 books. Now I’m going to need to read them all!
As I’ve been doing, there are a few highlight photos here in this post, and anyone interested can see more at this link: Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas.
Kathy & I visited the Dream Car Museum in Evansville, Indiana on our recent jaunt through the Midwest. Here are a few photos from that visit. For anyone who wants to see even more car photos, I’ve added a gallery in Adobe Portfolio with an expanded selection.
This morning, Kathy & I spent time walking around the grounds of the historic Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. It’s a beautiful old building but unfortunately is closed to the public. We chatted with the caretaker there who told us that a group is negotiating with the University of Chicago to take over management of the facility as an educational center. The telescopes are being used as part of the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network.
The observatory evidently became less relevant to the university due to declining interest in astronomy as a college subject and increasing competition from other observatories. The university has been attempting to sell the property for many years with no success, and it is hoped that a non-profit organization will be able to take over management of the facility in the near future. It’s an interesting story if one wants to learn more.
I sent a postcard earlier but have now processed a few of my photos from our visit to RMNP. We were only there for a day, it was a Saturday, happened to be a free admission day and the colors were starting to get good. So we were a little “over-peopled” but had a great time regardless. As much as I love our Smoky Mountains, there is something about this vast Colorado landscape that keeps calling me back. That, and a chance to hang with our good buddy Monte! 😉
I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation where I have pulled off the road to take a picture, taken a handful of pictures, gotten back in the car and driven off without being passed by another car, in either direction!
As an added bonus, below is something else I’ve never come across before!
One of the things I had been hoping for during our visit to Colorado was a glimpse of some of the legendary “Gold Rush” of Aspen trees in their fall splendour. While there are parts of the state that are “better” for Aspen, I knew that there should be enough of them around Fort Collins to make the effort worthwhile.
We spent today along the Cache La Poudre River in the Poudre Canyon. The Aspen were starting to turn, and there were a number of places where the color had just about reached their peak. Combined with our visit to RMNP, I’m very happy with the returns from our efforts.
Tomorrow it’s on to northern Wyoming and some drastically cooler weather. After seeing 70s and 80s here in Colorado, we’re looking at 40s in Wyoming and Montana.
While our friends, neighbors and relatives have been sweating out a late summer heat wave in Charlotte, here in Colorado Kathy & I have been treated to mid-70s temperatures with beautiful skies and low humidity. We took full advantage on Thursday when we headed out into the countryside with our pal Monte Stevens.
When we headed out we had no idea what we were looking for or where we were going, but I think we found it! Overall an extremely productive and rewarding effort. Hoping to get into the high country and chase some fall color over the weekend before heading north to Montana, where it is supposed to snow. Yikes!
