The World's Only Corn Palace

Just when you think you have seen it all (think I have used that line before), you roll into Mitchell, South Dakota and discover the world's only Corn Palace!  Wow!  It's an "a-maize-ing" place!

The first one was built in 1892 to showcase crops grown in the area.  Over 3,000 bushels of milo, rye, oat heads, and sour dock are tied in bundles and attached.  Over a half million ears of corn are sawed in half, lengthwise, and nailed to the building following patterns created by a local artist.

Above is a shot of us in front of the Corn Palace today.  As you can see, I had a an audience as I shot this one.  And in the background is the world famous, Corn Palace.  Yes, those images are all made of ears of corn!

Above:  Check out the detail.  Yes, those are ears of corn.  The Corn Palace is known around the world as a folk-art wonder on the prairie of South Dakota!

Today, the Corn Palace not only welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, it is the center of community activity hosting basketball games, stage shows, trade shows and a variety of activities.
Here are more pictures from Mitchell, South Dakota:

If you like corn, you will love the town of Mitchell.

The interior of the Corn Palace is actually a functioning arena, with a full basketball court and stage for shows.

Above:  Kathleen and Tere' stand in awe and marvel at the corn cob art on one of the outside walls of the Corn Palace.

Above:  Every photographer needs a great assistant.  Here is mine.

At the end of our time in Mitchell, we decided to have a cup of java at the Jitters, a Main Street Coffee House.  The coffee was good!

Tomorrow we will be back home in Cedarburg.  It was a great trip!  I have a lot more pictures to post.  Will consider whether or not it is worth the time based on feedback from my "blog followers."

Let me know if you want to see more, or if this was more than enough,

All the best,

Captain Ken

Cattle Drive in Wyoming

It's been a while since I've updated the blog.  I will backtrack a bit as I have some neat pictures of a real Wyoming Cattle Drive.  We were driving out of Jackson Hole and thought we had seen all there was to see (and there was quite a lot) when we came upon a truck with a huge sign indicating cattle on the road ahead and that we should slow down.  Wow!  They were not kidding--it was a real cattle drive with real cowboys!  Check out the pic's:

We slowed and then pulled over to the side.  I hopped out to take a few pictures and observed one of the cowboys heading back to pick up a stray.  After he had gone into the field and flushed out the stray, he followed on his horse.  Unfortunately, as the horse hit the pavement, he slipped and his legs came out from under him.  First time I ever saw a horse fall down.  Fortunately  the horse and the rider both got up, unharmed.  The shot below shows the stray heading up the road while the cowboy collected himself.

Yes, they were real cowboys.  And a cowgirl, too.

Next post will cover our visit to the Corn Palace.  Check it out.

Captain Ken

Jackson, Wyoming

The Suburban clawed its way up the Teton mountain range and we rolled into Jackson Hole with the brakes smoking - it's quite an amazing place.  Took these next two shots from the top of the pass, looking down into Jackson Hole (click on a photo to enlarge it):

It's getting late so I will just post a few pictures.  The town is very upscale and the shops were so appealing that we spent all of today "shopping" and eating and drinking.  Here are a few shots for your enjoyment:

Had a great steak dinner at the Gun Barrel Stake and Game restaurant.  We'd highly recommend it!

Mountain Home, Idaho

Rolled into Idaho from Oregon around 4pm today.  We experienced some beautiful country in eastern Oregon.  Ran into hail and snow the last couple of days, but it usually only fell for 15 or 20 minutes at a time.  We were traveling at higher elevations - three to five thousand feet-and did not see any real accumulation other than in the higher mountain areas.  Took a few pictures, of course, but have yet to work on them.  Here is a shot taken at the visitor center in Idaho on the Snake River - right across the border (click on the photos to enlarge them):

We were on part of the Oregon trail as we closed in on Idaho.  The girls had to push the wagon over the border.

And as always, the photographer's assistant was with us, . . . 

The temps had gotten up to about 55 degrees here.  We were in the high 30's for most of the drive in Oregon.  I have not updated the blog in a while so here are some pic's from the last few days we spent in Oregon.  This first one was taken on the reservation in the Deschutes Recreational area.  It is the Deschutes river:

I liked the fenceline shot above - this is what a lot of the country looked like.

This group shot was taken in the John Day area, where a treasure trove of prehistoric fossils (bones and plants) have been recovered.  It is a huge park area with a very nice visitor center.  For more information check out their website at:

http://www.nps.gov/joda/index.htm

Tomorrow we'll head to Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho.

Seattle Washington

Kathleen and I arrived in Seattle, Washington on Thursday the 29th of April.  It was great to see Jon and Katie who live here now.  They have been showing us around town and on Saturday we headed over to Bainbridge Island on the ferry.  Apparently Seattle has the second largest ferry system in the world and it is pretty neat.  Here are a couple of shots of Seattle taken from the ferry:

We had brunch at a small cafe on the island, called Nola's.  The food was outstanding and unique.  I enjoyed my first plate of scrambled eggs with three succulent fried oysters on top - my mouth waters as i think about it.  The cafe also features six different types of Bloody Mary's.  Here is a shot of Katie and Jon at Nola's:

The island has a couple of towns, or shopping areas and we drove around, did a lot of walking and generally enjoyed ourselves.  Kathleen and Katie got new hats at the local farmer's market:

Above:  Katie, Jon and Kathleen

Being an island, there were lots of harbors and marinas to explore.  There is a strong Scandanavian influence on the island and it was reflected in the towns:

After a wonderful day on the island we headed back to Seattle via Ferry.  Had to get ready to go out to dinner at a nice Greek restaurant - we have been eating well!

Today is Wednesday, So This Must Be Astoria

We decided to stay in Astoria an extra day.  Lot's to do around here and we managed to do a bit today.

Above you see a panorama shot of the Columbia River, with the Rt 101 Bridge in the background, on the left.  The weather was weird today, with rain and sun alternating and at times visible on opposite sides of the river.

These ships are docked along side the Columbia Maritime Museum - an outstanding facility and well worth the ten dollar admission fee.  Kathleen and I enjoyed it, especially all the video of the raging water at the mouth of the Columbia - and lots of stuff on the Coast Guard and their rescue craft.

Astoria was once the salmon canning capitol of the world.  The museum has a nice display of labels once used here.  Here is a shot of just a few of them:

The museum also explains the importance of the Pilots, who help guide ships across the treacherous bar and up the Columbia River.  Here's a shot of a pilot boat heading out:

If you are a fan of Lewis and Clark, you will find much to satisfy in this area of the country.  We visited Fort Clatsop, where Capt. Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their Corps of Discovery spent the winter in 1805-06.  It was named after the local indians, the Clatsop's.

At one of the highest points in the city of Astoria is the Astoria Column.  It's 125 feet tall atop Coxcomb Hill and you can climb all the way to the top via internal spiral staircase.  There is a great view from the platform at the top.The outside of the column is covered with artwork - a form of artwork known as Sgraffito--fourteen 25-foot long scenes representing the triumphs, conflicts and turning points of the Pacific Northwest.  The picture below shows a bit more detail of a section of this artwork:

 One other thing Astoria is known for - it was the site of the filming of the 1984 classic, "The Goonies!"  We drove up to the house featured in the film.  Took a picture to share with you:

At the foot of the gravel drive leading up to the house, you will find this sign:

They actually seem to enjoy having folks come by to see the house, but don't want the car traffic.  Once you walk up the steep gravel drive to the unpaved street you will see why.  There are actually about four houses up there and there is not a lot of room to turn around.

Finally a few more shots of the river and the Rt101 bridge.  There is quite a lot of shipping on the river, including cruise boats.  A Norwegian cruise boat was docked close to our hotel.  Never did find out where it was bound when it left around 5pm.  Here are a couple of shots of the sunset and a freighter going under the bridge.  Note the rain in the background.  I took this shot from a position just in front of our room:

Well, got to hit the rack now.  Have quite a few more pictures to share, but they will have to wait.  Tomorrow we drive to Seattle.  This should take about 5 hours or so from Astoria.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISSA!