The Drake

The Drake Hotel in Chicago is a grand old hotel... I like it a lot except that the Internet blows. We have Ethernet in the room as well as Wi-Fi but it so slow it's like dial-up. It's been driving me crazy for days.

Chicago Sights

We went to see "Blue Man Group" this evening. I recommend it... what a blast.

No Produce Thursday

Sorry for the lack of produce blogging tonight. I'm traveling in Chicago. Here's a leftover shot from last week I didn't use.

Chicago Art

The MCA was between shows and had basically nothing to see.


The Art Institute had one big show I wanted to see... photography of Jeff Wall, but after seeing it I was disappointed. Not for me thanks. But as usual, the permanent collection overwhelms.



Yes, it's a monkey.

Tarmac Dawn

I was on a really early flight to Chicago this morning. It always seems that when I get off of a plane early in the morning I see something I want to photograph. Fortunately I always have my little Fuji in my pocket ready to go. I shot this in about 10 seconds before walking into O'Hare.

Another shot near Hillsboro, WV

This was taken a few seconds before the straight road seen below.

Mushroom in the pines

I like how you can see it has pushed up through the pine needles.

Anvil Head Cloud

Many thunderstorm clouds develop this typical anvil shape.

A bit of straight road...

... near Hillsboro, WV. A welcome respite from the curves.

Produce Blogging #96

Because Thursday night is grocery night!

More Snowshoe Wildlife

I like this one better than the bears. He looks like Jiminy Cricket to me.

Bear Post

Up here at Snowshoe, the staff don't seem to get too excited about bear sitings. They seem to be about as common as squirrels at home. We watched these two from the comfort of a balcony as they puttered around a construction site. Later, while having dinner at "Ember" we watched an employee chasing one out of the parking lot. I for one, was very watchful when returning to the car.

Snowshoe Mountain

I'm up here at Snowshoe shooting a job for two days. It's a ski resort so it's deserted. There are some mountain bikers around, but it's so weird being here outside of ski season. I recommend that you come up for a visit. You can walk right into some great restaurants and get seated immediately. So far, the Ember restaurant is my fave. Perhaps I'll post some food shots tomorrow. Right now it's late and I'm tired.

Riverton, WV

UPDATE: Luci pointed out in the comments that this is Brandywine, WV, not Riverton. Thanks!

Germany Valley, Part 2

Seneca Grasshopper

I shot this at the Seneca Rocks visitor center. I think that if you had Superman vision, you could have seen the grasshopper in the previous photo of Germany Valley.

Germany Valley

I drove back from Virginia via Route 33 across some of the most scenic areas of West Virginia. I stopped at an overlook and took this panorama of Germany Valley. This is composed from 4 different shots. Click the photo to see a much larger version.

No Produce Thursday

I almost forgot this was Thursday. I'm on location in Virginia... so, no grocery shopping this week. Here's an extra shot from last week that I didn't use.

Mystery #79

Do you know what this is? Post your guesses in the comments.

Oh, Shenandoah...

... blah, blah, etc. I'm working in the Shenandoah Valley the next couple of days. I hope the weather holds up.