Ramp leading to the Generations Lounge at Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
I’ll be posting things in random order just because I am randomly processing photos!
An old column still is the centerpiece of Generations Lounge at Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
On our way back from Bardstown, KY we stopped by Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg. They recently opened a new visitor center that I wanted to see, and of course their bourbon is pretty tasty. Wild Turkey is the name of the distillery and their flagship product, but the good stuff is called Russell’s Reserve, named for the three generations of the Russell family who have been making fine bourbon since 1954. In fact, the Wild Turkey distillery traces its roots all the way back to 1855.
Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
We booked late, too late to get a tour of the facility, but not too late to have a tasting. Perhaps the next time we’ll have a little more notice and get to complete the tour. In the mean time we got to enjoy some refreshments and lunch in the Generations Lounge.
Generations Lounge at Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KentuckyWild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KentuckyFeeling thirsty. Generations Lounge at Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KentuckyGenerations Lounge at Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KentuckyWild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KentuckyWild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KentuckyWild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
We got to Bardstown a day earlier than we anticipated. So what do you do with a bonus day in Bourbon country? You taste wine, of course!
Kentucky does have some pretty decent wine, it seems that Chambourcin and Cabernet Franc grow especially well here. So of course we picked up a few bottles. 🙂
We did stop by the Jim Beam Distillery, although they were not open. It’s still very scenic place and one we have enjoyed visiting in the past.
A Humorous Way to Convey A Serious Message. Black Sand Basin Yellowstone National Park.
I’ve finally finished sorting and processing my photos from our Yellowstone & Grand Teton trip in May. They can be found at my Adobe Portfolio site, along with photos from many of our past adventures.
Grand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
One of the most popular spots in Yellowstone National Park is the Midway Geyser Basin. It is so popular that if you arrive after about 10:00 (earlier in the summer!) you could wait for hours just to get a place to park.
Grand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkGrand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkGrand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkGrand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkGrand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkGrand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
With that in mind, Kathy and I decided to make a non-peak visit to the basin, early (-ish) one morning (my first photo was taken just before 8:00. Unfortunately that meant that instead of dealing with bunches of crowds, we ended up dealing with bunches of steam. As it works, the bigger the difference between the air temperature and the springs, the more chance for steam and fog.
Grand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkGrand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkGrand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
We knew this going in and decided that seeing it, even in less than ideal conditions, was better than dealing with huge crowds. It was still quite dramatic, and even though I didn’t get the “classic” Grand Prismatic Spring” shot (in reality very few people do get the classic shot, and to get it you kinda have to be there in perfect conditions, preferably in an airplane!), we were happy to have gotten there on a nice day with plenty of sunshine to show off the rainbow of colors.
Grand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkBoardwalk at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkBoardwalk at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkBoardwalk at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkBoardwalk at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkOpal Pool at Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
After our morning visit to Midway Geyser Basin we headed on down the road to Fountain Paint Pots, another popular spot. That lot was starting to fill up when we got there, and by the time we got back to Midway the traffic was already starting to line up for the parking lot. But that’s a story for another day. The lesson though is that timing is everything!
Excelsior Geyser Crater. Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkExcelsior Geyser Crater. Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkLeaning Tree. Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkMidway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Vortex generator at the Miriam P. Brenner Children’s Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina
I just purchased a new tablet and am hoping to use it for some of our upcoming travel in lieu of a laptop. Of course that means figuring out how to get photos from my camera to the tablet, then getting them from my tablet to my blog. I’ve used Fuji’s mobile app before but it sucks, so my best choice is to use a card reader, which I had never tried on a tablet.
Earlier this week we visited Greensboro, NC with our son and grandson, visiting the Miriam P. Brenner Children’s Museum. I took a few photos there and along the way. 😉
Train arriving at the Greensboro Amtrak station in Greensboro, North Carolina
Since I don’t want to confuse my workflow too much, I want to be able to selectively choose photos from my memory card and only import the ones I want into Lightroom Mobile. That process worked great. One weird thing is that when I plugged the card and card reader in, my tablet set up a folder scheme as though it was going to back up files to my tablet. I’d rather not have it do that but haven’t figured out how to turn it off!
For fun I imported a few files on to my tablet, processed them on my tablet and let them upload to the cloud. I cheated a bit by outputting them from my computer, and my next step will be to refine the tablet outputting in order to do it from there. I’ve done that before and it’s not a big deal.
So far so good. 🙂
Sculpture outside the Miriam P. Brenner Children’s Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina
Sapphire Pool at Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Imagine our surprise when we read that a “hydrothermal explosion” had occurred at Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone on July 23. We had visited just two months prior, and the news photos of the devastation were incredible. All of our tour guides had joked about how Yellowstone sits on a huge underground volcano, and “you never know….” It’s well known that violent eruptions can happen at any time, and sometimes they actually do. Yikes! Fortunately no one was injured, and damage appears to be mostly limited to the boardwalk. And of course the size and shapes of several of the pools were dramatically altered.
Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Our visit was in an evening and the sky was overcast. As a result a lot of the colors are quite muted. But the various colors of the pools and the surrounding bacterial mats are quite evident.
Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National ParkJewel Geyser at Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National ParkBacterial mats add interesting colors and textures to hot pools and geysers. Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National ParkBacterial mats add interesting colors and textures to hot pools and geysers. Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National ParkBacterial mats add interesting colors and textures to hot pools and geysers. Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park
And gnarly trees! 🙂
Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National ParkBiscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone River from Inspiration Point. Yellowstone National Park
Kathy & I visited Grand Canyon twice during our visit to Yellowstone. The first time was on our own, and we got there before 8:00am to avoid the crowds. We use the term “Nooners” to describe the people who start showing up to tourist locations around the time we are leaving. Yes, I know there is another connotation for that word! 😉 In a place like Yellowstone the Nooners start showing up and filling the parking lots by around 10:00am, in some places even earlier.
Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River from Artist Point. Yellowstone National ParkUpper Falls of the Yellowstone River from Upper Falls View. Yellowstone National Park
The canyon and the waterfalls are spectacular in any light, and we managed to get quite a few photographs, especially on the north rim where you could really see the topography. One of the things I particularly liked about the north rim is the gnarly trees growing out of the rock cliffs. They made for interesting subject matter and I’ve included just a sample here.
Yellowstone River from Inspiration Point. Yellowstone National Park
As we were leaving the Artist Point area, someone asked me if I knew what time the rainbow happened. It must have been obvious from the look on my face that I didn’t know anything about a rainbow. Silly me – a failure of research!
Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River from Artist Point. Yellowstone National ParkLower Falls of the Yellowstone River from Lookout Point. Yellowstone National ParkLower Falls of the Yellowstone River from Artist Point. Yellowstone National Park
Fortunately, we returned the following day on a morning photography tour aboard one of the yellow buses. Our guide knew exactly when the rainbow would occur (about 9:40am, just in time for the Nooners! 🙂 ) and positioned us in the right spot. Not knowing when the peak color would be I made over 100 frames in order to end up with about 6. The one posted here is the only one I’ve processed so far but is typical of the others. Interestingly, the first day we visited was overcast, so we might not have seen the rainbow that day anyway!
Yellowstone River from Inspiration Point. Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone River from Inspiration Point. Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone River from Inspiration Point. Yellowstone National Park
Because it was a photography tour and not a Tom & Kathy journey, the tour only stayed long enough to capture the rainbow and didn’t travel the north rim at all. It was off to another photographic destination! I’m glad we saw the rainbow, but also glad to have visited the canyon on our own!
Tom with Mark Graf at Marine City Fish Company in Marine City, Michigan
Since my last post was a bit of a bust, I thought I’d post this to rev things back up. When we were in Michigan I caught up with this guy. Had dinner with Mark and his wife at a nice seafood restaurant in Marine City. I’m much taller in person…. 😉
