The Cody Nite Rodeo

Day four of our journey ended in Cody, Wy. We were taken aback when we discovered that Cody was a very difficult town to find an available hotel or motel with a vacancy. We eventually found what passed for a motel, but I think they borrowed beds from the jail display at the Old Trail Town. When we asked why rooms were so scarce we were told that Cody, the “Rodeo Capital of the World,” had the Cody Nite Rodeo which was held every night June 1st through August 31st. That was all my cowboy cousin needed to hear. Since …

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Photos from the Beartooth Mountains and Chief Joseph Scenic Highway

After leaving Red Lodge we headed on towards the Beartooth Mountains. Since I had not been driving and had never visited this part of the country, I believed my cousin when he told me we were in the Tetons. It wasn’t until that night, when I brought out a map that I realized where we really were. Shortly after crossing the border into Wyoming we found ourselves on the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. There was no question that as far as scenery was concerned, our trip had just been bumped up a couple levels. A viewing tip; try using the …

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Little Big Horn and Red Lodge Ales

Day four of our journey began in Miles City and a beautiful morning. The storm clouds looked fantastic and made for great photos. As we headed across on I-94 I spotted a sign for the Little Big Horn battleground, so we made our first detour of the day. The signs were not very accurate, but due to another u-turn we soon came upon it. One thing my cousin and I both noticed was how solemn people seemed to be there. As we came into Billings my cousin asked if I had even been inside a Cabela’s Sporting Goods store. As …

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Camden’s first party

I went to my first baby shower today. My son and his wife are bringing a new life into this world. He has a lot of things going for him from the gate. Parents, a big brother and a very large extended family that will love him. On top of that, he will be a 7th generation Californian. That is pretty cool. Anyway, today was the baby shower and here are the photos. Back to Camden’s Party Pics Back to Camden’s Party Pics

Sights along I-94 in North Dakota and into Montana

Day three of our road trip found us in Fargo, ND. I have to admit, my preconceptions of North Dakota were completely off base. For some reason I expected ND to be flat and treeless (was told the state tree was the telephone pole). It was actually a very picturesque state with rolling hills. There were tornadoes and thunderstorms in the area so we naturally took time to photograph the cloud formations. Along the way we stopped at Frontier Village and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We crossed over into Montana at days end and spent the night in Miles City. …

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Minnesota and the Mississippi River

These photos are from Mirror Lake, WI and throughout Minnesota. We started off the day by visiting Mirror Lake. With that name we figured it had to be pretty picturesque. We were not disappointed. We then headed to La Crosse, WI and had lunch at Hooters. Ashley and all the girls were great fun and loved the Travelosity gnome, who has been hanging out lately. After lunch we cruised along the Mississippi River to Minneapolis then headed west on I-94 towards Fargo, ND. We stopped at the Round Barn Bed and Breakfast, where they gave us an extensive tour of …

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Milwaukee and the Wall of Death

Back in May I met up with a cousin I had not seem in 25 or 30 years. Today we headed off on a cross country road trip. He arrived in Valpo last night. Tanya took us to dinner at Gaucho’s Brazilian Steakhouse for a sendoff with a full stomach. Our first stop was Milwaukee where we stopped at AJ Bombers to try out a special burger they had. It was okay. After lunch we headed over to the Harley-Davidson Museum. There was a Wall of Death set up in the parking let, so Brett and I went over and …

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4th of July, Indiana style

Since 2008, my girlfriend Tanya has been having a 4th of July party here in Valpo. Since she knows how much I enjoy barbecuing and blowing things up, I have been in charge of the grill and the fireworks. These photos are from our 4th Annual 4th of July Extravaganza. Good food, good company and fireworks makes for a great day. Thanks to Tanya for taking some of the firework photos for me. Back to 4th of July Photos Back to 4th of July Photos

Preparing for the 4th of July

There is one thing about Indiana, besides my girlfriend, that keeps bringing me back and that is the ability to buy and shoot off fireworks. I am not talking about the “safe and sane” Red Devil variety, but rather the good stuff provided by Phantom Fireworks. I am not saying I spend a lot of money there, but they send me a Christmas card every year. I got the house in Valparaiso in July 2007 and started doing fireworks shows that same year. It has become tradition. These photos were taken on the days leading up to the 4th of …

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Photos from the Special Olympics of Porter County fundraiser.

Saturday, July 2, 2011 was the Special Olympics of Porter County fundraiser, Livin’ it Up! Tanya has some friends that were the organizers of this event, so I decided to come to Indiana early to photograph it. They had a cutest baby contest and a dog show, along with live musical entertainment and fair-style food offerings. The night ended with a fireworks show. Unfortunately, we had a lot to do so was only able to go for a while, but it looked like a nice family affair that raised some money for a deserving organization. Back to Livin it Up …

Photos from the Special Olympics of Porter County fundraiser. Continue »

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