Great Falls, 1991 (2)

Taken on a day without much water, here's another shot of Great Falls, between Maryland and Virginia, scanned from a 1991 slide.

Scenic Weekends

Vintage Weekly

Merry Christmas!

To all my readers who celebrate it, a very Merry Christmas! Some houses in my town go all-out to decorate for the holidays.

These photos were captured last week after a fresh snowfall in extremely cold temperatures.

I love seeing these seasonal decorations each year.

And here's the obligatory unfocused art-shot.

Our World Tuesday

Pit Mine - Bottom

As part of the tour of the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, we went to the very bottom of the biggest open pit. The small openings are old mining tunnels which have been exposed by the massive excavation.

It's over one thousand feet (300 meters) down.

In this next photo notice the crack running up the rock face - it's a fault line, made very clear by the excavations and not something you'd notice on the surface. The truck gives a sense of scale.

And finally here's a wide-angle shot - the large trucks help the viewer to realize the massive size and depth of the pit.

I'll be taking a week off from blogging to spend time with the family over the holidays. Visit Our World Tuesday to see lots more blog posts from around the world.

Tired Laika

Camera Critters

Pets Forever

Saturday's Critters

Abstract Clouds

For Skywatch Friday, I thought I'd post this abstract set of clouds, seen earlier this year.

Pit Mine Hauler

Here are some photos of one of the haulers from a large open pit mine. For scale, look at the people.

Here's the operator's cabin.

In these photos it almost looks like a toy.

I was able to get underneath it.

Even its tires are much larger than a person!

Our World Tuesday

Great Falls, 1991 (1)

From 1991, here's a shot near Great Falls, which straddles Maryland and Virginia near Washington DC.

Scenic Weekends

Vintage Weekly

Nashville Skyline (2)

Here's another view of the Nashville skyline, from the other side of the city compared to my first photo; this one was taken near sunset. And yes, it is an intentional reference to an album my one of my favorite musicians!

Skywatch Friday

Pit Mine

In my mining explanations, I signed up for a tour of the active Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, an active open-pit mine.

It's a major employer in the area and it's impressive to see.

The haulers going up and down the mining roads are massive; I'll show you more details soon.

Our World Tuesday

Denver Fish (3)

Here's another of my series from the Denver Aquarium a few weeks ago.

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters

Palm Tree

I always love palm trees as I've never lived anywhere warm enough for them to grow. For Skywatch Friday, here's one from the Charleston area.

Cripple Creek Views

I've been showing some photos of the area's mining history. Here are views around the town of Cripple Creek, one of the main gold-mining towns. These days it survives mainly on legalized gambling - here's a view of the town itself.

It's situated in a very pretty, hilly area on the Western side of Pikes Peak.

There are only a couple of roads into town, but it's only a little over an hour from Colorado Springs.

Our World Tuesday

Grey Golden Gate Bridge (1998)

Scenic Weekends

The Weekend in Black and White

Vintage Weekly

Misty Swamp

Skywatch Friday

Theresa Mine

I don't have a lot of information about this mine, the Theresa Mine, in the Victor/Cripple Creek area.

It operated from 1895 to 1961.

The buildings are still standing but decaying. This is the change house.

At one time it would have been a hive of activity. Can you imagine getting in that cage suspended by one cable to go hundreds of feet underground?

Here is the hoist mechanism, still intact but I'd guess not functional.

I'll continue my series on local mining next week.

Our World Tuesday

Denver Fish (2)

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters

Yet Another Summer Sky

Today's high temperature: 67 °F (19.4 °C). Tomorrow night's expected low: 9 °F (-12.8 °C) That's quite a difference! For Skywatch Friday, let's look back to summer before it takes a break (it will be warm again by Sunday).

Independence Mill Ruins

Continuing with my series on mining, you may wonder what happens to all the ore that comes out of the mine. In the case of a large mine like the Independence, it's milled and the gold is extracted on-site. All that's left of the milling operation is ruins.

You can go inside the old buildings but in most cases there's not much left.

I still think it makes for some pretty photos.

Of course there are mountainous backdrops wherever you look.

That's all from this mine, but I've got lots more to come from this exploration of the area's mining history. Visit Our World Tuesday to see photos from many other parts of the world.

Alcatraz 1998

From a 1998 trip to San Francisco, here's a shot of Alcatraz. I bet you could get the same photo in 2016.

Scenic Weekends

Vintage Weekly

Nashville Skyline (1)

Skywatch Friday

Independence Mine Area

Surrounding the actual Independence Mine near Victor, Colorado are various structures in poor condition - this probably funneled water.

Here's another nearby mine, I don't remember which one.

And of course there are huge piles of tailings everywhere, frequently polluted with heavy metals.

Our World Tuesday

Denver Fish (1)

I have no idea what it is, but it's from the Denver Aquarium.

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters

Foggy Swamp

I recently spent a week vacationing in the southeast United States, and here's a Skywatch Friday photo from Charleston on a foggy morning taken near our hotel. There are lots more photos to come from this trip!

Independence Mine

Happy Halloween - here are some spooky photos of an abandoned mine to continue showing you some of the history of my part of the world. This is the famous Independence Mine near Cripple Creek. You have to be very careful walking around these old mines and stay on the marked paths because there are unmarked shafts and holes which can kill.

Approximately 200,000 ounces (5,670 kg) of gold was mined here.

It's also infamous for a 1904 cage mishap which killed 15 workers.

Our World Tuesday