Dragon Boat Racing - 07/13/13

Each Drag Boat raced to the beat of a different drummer.

Not knowing most of the teams, I just called this the blue team.

Each team member must row together if they want to be effective. Posing for the camera is optional.

Normally I'd call this the yellow team, but my friend Ray is one of the rowers. This is the Miller/Coors sponsored "Dragon Brew" team. No dragons on their shirts, but who needs a mascot as long as you've got the strength to win.

While the rest of the team is hard at work, Ray takes a refreshing break.

Notice his co-worker glowering at him.

When the real race begins, it's every team for themselves.

It's going to be close. Who's going to win?

It's my blog, so I can say what I want. Would you believe me if I told you Miller/Coors was number one?

Truthfully, they came in second place.

Ray enjoying his second place medal along with one of his co-workers.

Milwaukee - Beauty and the Buildings

A perfect combination of Beauty and City.

The U.S. Bank building in the distance. 

I used to work there, it'll always be the 'First Wisconsin' centre to me.

Kind of hard to see, but there is a pond between the trees and the buildings.

You can see some of the reflection in the pond here. Another great example of Beauty and the City.

A great place for an early morning jog. I need to get involved in this again.

Beautiful Trash

R.a.n.t. of week of 05/19/13

The world is truly a beautiful place. It doesn't take long after opening ones eyes, before you find something wonderful. Granted, it can be harder and harder to find true beauty without philosophizing the wonders of cement, but it can be found. An anthill on the sidewalk, a squirrel running up a tree, pretty flowers in a well kept lawn helped by bees, and so on. But nothing really compares to a scene of tranquil serenity as an open field, a grassy knoll* or a densely populated forest. Fortunately, most cities, even in large ones, make sure to retain some form of ecological beauty. Where I live is no exception.

But now we come to a problem. What if, despite the best intentions of the city, the park is trashed. How might that happen you might ask? Well, no. You probably aren't asking that, are you? I'll bet you know the answer as well as I do. People are pigs, and realistically that's giving pigs a bad name. People have no consideration or appreciation for beauty. One of my local parks I visited recently was sadly really trashed. As I strolled along, there were several park officials walking around trying to pick up trash. I wonder how awful the park would look without their maintenance. One of the hardest places to pick up trash is the shoreline of the pond it seemed. Walking around the pond, I noticed trash practically dotted the shoreline. How upsetting and distracting. People have no pride any more.


* Unless (of course) people are shooting from said, grassy knoll.

Muskego Park - Enjoying An Autumn Day

Enjoyed a nice walk in the park on Saturday. Most of the colour in the trees had fallen already so I looked for beauty in other places.

 The carpet of fallen leaves is cool, and fun to walk on. Listen to the crunch as you take each step.

 

A few leaves are stubborn and hang onto the branches for dear life.

'Autumn Leaf', fall. Do not be afraid.

I will recite some lyrics to capture your beauty.

Looking up to view a few coloured leaves, I found this guy staring at me.

With the coming of the setting sun, the trees lit up in orange radiance.

Okay, so I'm a sucker for a sunset. Just look how it enhances the horizon!

If the sky was orange like this all the time I'd LOVE it. Except it would stop being special.

On second thought, I'd hate if the sky was always this orange.

 

The day has come to an end. 

The sun is gone, the fun is done.

Thanks for sharing my day with me.

Wyalusing - Random Photos

 Hard to capture a decent photo of a hummingbird.

 During one of the trails, several people thought this looked like Abe Lincoln.

 From the top of one of the hills, overlooking the trees below.

 High atop the hill, over the rocks can be seen the Mississippi.

 Cramped and narrow this road is. That's the road for me.

Somewhat an eye-soar in the beautiful landscape. Still, it's impressive.

Wyalusing - Sunset Over the Mississippi

 Enjoying a sunset.

 The Mississippi River is calm and beautiful.

  

The sky has been lit up by the suns final light.

The Sun is super red. Almost looks like another planet.

 

Slowly the sun dips beneath the trees...

 

... just before it disappears on the horizon. Good Night Wyalusing!

 

Bonus Photo!

Wyalusing - Picture Rock Cave Trail

Entering the Picture Rock Cave Trail

 Found a lot of fungus on the way.

 A recent lightening strike hit this tree.

 Lots of different levels on the trail.

 

 This is Picture Rock Cave

 

 A small trickling stream from the small trickling waterfall.

 If you look closely enough, you can see the small waterfall.

A few of the recently fallen sand rocks. I was practically watching erosion as it was happening.

Wyalusing - The Thing I Hate About This Vacation

R.a.n.t. of week 09/02/12

 Going on vacation is always a lot of fun. DUH. Yet the last day is usually filled with cleaning or preparing to head back home. Having to leave is always the worst part of the trip, that also goes without saying. The rant of this week is slightly different though. As a precursor to my rant, let me explain what I did this weekend. For the past few years I've been invited to a group camp site. We have dorms and a fully equipped kitchen, so it's kind of a camping "cheat". But at the end of the day, I'm comfortable with that, especially when everything else is essentially done outdoors, and it's in a fantastic state park. What makes the weekend even better is having other families to share the experience with. If someone wanted to go on a trail, usually there were a small group willing to go. If someone wanted to just relax under a tree, or play a lazy board game, there was always someone willing to join you. Certainly there was also the option of going off on your own, which I did several times when I wanted to just go for a quick jog in the morning, or do some photography shooting. At one point I even trailed a group who went out onto a trial without me. It was fun for me as I took pictures to show them later. Well, now that I wrote it, I guess it does sound kind of creep

So what do I have to rant about? Sounds like a great time, right? Maybe it has something to do with currently being single and most of the time alone. Growing up, I came from a large family of two brothers and three sisters. Can it be, now that I'm much older I miss being around people? Obviously, being at work isn't the same thing. But to be with a group of friends as close as family, it's hard to want to leave. I guess what I'm trying to say is I miss being with people, especially while on a vacation where the majority of my closest friends and family are. Doing so likewise brings a lot of happiness and joy. So when it's time to leave, there is a double let-down of the vacation being over, as well as having to leave the group of friends I've been able to associate with for the past few days in a relaxed and beautiful environment. Hopefully we'll do the same thing again next year. I'm already starting to count down the days. Does anyone know the best way to store unused marshmallows for a year?

The Park

A tranquil place to take a walk.
See the beauty in the trees.
As we stroll we like to talk.
And hope we don't see any bees.

We continue on to see the flowers,
and spot a boy who likes to fish.
A park can have such awesome powers,
to bring about your every wish.

At some point we should all retire,
and get away from work or flat.
If beauty is what you desire,
the park is truly where it's at,

J.A.Scott

Mitchell Park Domes - Tropical Domes

This may just be my personal opinion, but the tropical dome is the best dome at Mitchell Park. You never know what sort of flower you're going to find. What's your favorite dome? What's your favorite display? Leave a comment below and let everyone know.