First Real Snowstorm

We had our first real snowstorm over the last couple of days. Here's a picture of the shapes the wind made in front of our door.

And here's a picture of the snow on the driveway after I busted through with the snowblower. To put the height in perspective, the intake on the front of the snowblower is 22 inches (that's about 56 centimeters) in height. That means that this drift was up to my chest.

Socks

Here are a couple of recent pictures of our family dog Socks.

DC - National Cathedral

In Washington DC is the National Cathedral, an impressive cathedral that could have come out of the old world. I had to use a very wide-angle lens to get most of these outside shots.

 Here are a couple of inside shots.

This famous stained glass window includes a piece of genuine moon rock.

It's definitely worth the effort to see for those who enjoy this sort of thing.

DC - Vietnam Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the more famous memorials in Washington DC. It includes a statue of three soldiers, who are looking towards the wall.

The famous wall contains the names of those missing and killed in the war. The sheer number of names is overpowering, and it's very sobering to remember that each of these names was a real person, with family, and hopes and dreams like all of us. These aren't statistics, and I can't think of a memorial that more powerfully brings home the impact of war.

Immediately after this last picture, the skies opened up with a heavy DC storm and we got out of the rain as quickly as we could.

Again, it's impossible to properly thank all those who have served their country, and especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Garden of the Gods

Earlier this summer I hiked around Garden of the Gods with a friend, but instead of staying in the most popular areas we went a little further aside. Here are some pictures from that hike.The day started overcast and gray.

The area is dry enough that cacti grow next to the trail.

The clouds started to lift and the day became lovely.

You can see the various layers of rock that were uplifted and twisted.

These last couple of pictures are of the Siamese Twins formation.

Chicago

My wife and I just got back from Chicago, where we went for a couple of days to celebrate my father's 75th birthday. The whole family met up there, including my father and his wife, along with my brother and his wife and kids. It was a very enjoyable celebration, and I'll have some pictures from there to post over the next few weeks.

Here are a couple taken from our hotel room, downtown on the Miracle Mile. We were on the 42nd floor so had some nice views.

And skipping ahead to the last day of the trip, here are a couple from the Chicago Marathon, which ran right by the hotel. I couldn't believe how many people were running, and some of them had great costumes.

DC - Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum in Washington DC is spectacular for those interested in these things, with plenty of dinosaurs.

There are also displays from other countries, such as this one.

Here is the Hope Diamond.

And they even have meteorites.

This is one of the must-visit museums in DC.

DC - Lincoln Memorial

Here are some pictures of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, from our summer vacation.

This one is taken between the two rows of columns that form the entrance.

A couple of nighttime shots give the memorial a different feel.

There had been a re-dedication that day so there was still some fencing around, visible in this picture.

Jones Park & Loud's Cabin

I wanted to get all the way up to the aspen meadow, further up the Seven Bridges Trail than we went on last Saturday, so I went back on Wednesday (on a rare mid-week day off work). This time it was just me and the dog. Just past where we turned around last time is a scree field; it looks like the trail may end but it continues. This photograph is looking back at the scree after crossing it.

After turning right on a side trail just before crossing a stream, you come to Jones Park, a large meadow of aspen trees. They had already turned yellow, although the previous week's weather (and the wind on the day I was there) meant that a lot of the leaves had already blown down. Nevertheless it was a uniquely beautiful spot.

Finally I crossed into the next valley and climbed a little further, finally coming to the ruins of Loud's Cabin. I'd make sure I had a topographical map with trails, or somebody who had been there before, as there are a lot of little trails in this area.

This was a little over 6 miles round trip, and made for one of the best hikes of the year.