Zephyr

 

This is Amtrak's California Zephyr coming out of the West Portal of the famous (at least to rail fans) Moffat Tunnel, in Winter Park, CO. I froze my feet standing in the snow to get this shot, but it was so worth it! We saw several trains going thru the tunnel, which cuts thru the Continental Divide between Rollinsville, CO and Winter Park- six miles tunneled thru solid Rocky Mountain stone. Used mainly for freight by Union Pacific, the Zephyr also comes thru twice a day on it's trip between Chicago and Oakland/San Francisco.

Snow!

Real snow.. I get to see it! Oh, blog, I feel so guilty for ignoring you for the last month. I promise it wasn't on purpose, it's just that I've been REALLY busy at work and haven't had time to fritter away on posting. BUT- I'm headed to Colorado tomorrow. And my camera is coming with me. So you will finally get some love. Will you still love me back?

Cheers, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas...

God Saved the Queen!

Outside, at least- Queen Theater, Downtown Bryan, TX, cosmetically restored and all it up! Now the inside needs work- more info (and to donate) at www.downtownbryan.com.!

Rita

RITA, one of FIFI's four Wright R-3350-23 and 23A turbosupercharged radial engines, at rest at Easterwood Field. Her sisters are Mitzi, Betty, and Ingrid. (Rita Hayworth, Mitzi Gaynor, Betty Grable, and Ingrid Bergman are my guesses for the namesakes.)

FIFI

Fifi is the only flying B-29 Superfortress left... a grand old dame! The Commemmorative Air Force brought her to Easterwood Field in College Station a couple of weeks ago. So now I have seen a B-17, 24, 25, and 29, all up close and personal.

Peek

Colorado State Capitol, Denver, CO

Arch

Taken from MIX bar at the Sheraton Downtown, Denver, CO.

Travel by Train

Union Station, Denver, CO; taken with my iPhone camera.

Coronation

The Queen has been crowned! The Queen Theater in Downtown Bryan, TX is currently being restored to it's former glory. An important step in this process is the restoration of the crown, which had been removed- it's now back and rotating again. You can see the restored crown here.

The Other Foot...

I am currently teaching a photography class for twenty college freshmen.  I have talked about the "rules" of photography, and how breaking them is defintely OK- a new angle in a photo may open up a new way of looking at the subject, and give you a fresh perspective.  Extrapolating that, it can be applied to life too- which is an important lesson they will be learning in college (I hope!)  We had an outside day last week, and they had three areas to photograph.  They were to send me their favorite from each of the three areas, and I have been blown away by their work- I have some talented students!  And I learn as much from them as (again, I hope) they do from me- fresh perspective, a new angle...

Penny for your thoughts...

Sully statue, Academic Plaza, Texas A&M Campus

Magnolia Pod

From my magnolia tree... it's about to burst open with pretty red berries and a new generation of trees. IF the birds leave it alone. BIG IF!

Paddlin' Like Hell...

Oh, blog, I have neglected you over the past couple of weeks... and my followers too. I am so sorry about that. It's the crazy busy time of year for me at work, and I have been crazy busy as you might expect. Please forgive? I'm hoping to have some new photos to share soon!
About the title- we have two new colleagues in the office, and are working on getting them all the resources they need, and training to do the job. They are awesome. One of them told me last week that I make it look easy- my response was, "I'm like a duck- calm on the surface but paddlin' like hell underneath!"

Infinity

I know you are, but what am I? For Andrea... she'll get it!

Bridge Over Muddy Water

With apologies to Simon and Garfunkel... Mississippi River bridge, St. Charles Parish, LA

Contrast

Light and shade, land and water, blue and white, over and under...

Crossing the Mississippi

Mississippi River Bridge in St. Charles Parish, LA; one of seven river crossings between New Orleans and Baton Rouge (I know, we crossed them all on our last trip to NOLA!)

No Parking Any Time

Gilchrist at Munson, College Station, TX. Black and White print, hand colored (all those leaves and vines were PITA, but I like the way it turned out.)
From the way-back photo archives, when I was still shooting film and had darkroom access...

Come Sail Away...

Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me....

Seattle, WA

Mesto Cesky Krumlov

Roughly translated, "Town of Cesky Krumlov", which is an amazing town about an hour outside of Prague, Czech Republic. Like stepping back in time...

Love Birds

So sorry to be late posting this... in tribute to the recent wedding of two friends, Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan and Emily Jones. Hope you guys have many, many happy years together and get all the babies in the King Cake! ; )

Jackson Square, New Orleans, LA

NOLA

Headed to my favorite city this weekend for a weddin'...

Time...

...is on my side... waits for no man...and time again... to make the donuts... is running out...after time...

Arbor

Oh, that water looks so nice and cool....
Wakulla Springs, FL

555

Galveston RR Museum, June 2011

Railway Express Agency

I love, love the way the colors pop in this photo, the play of the blue paint, the orange rust, the white lettering. The darker rust at the bottom right suggests something a little sinister eating away at the car...

L&N Baggage/Express car, Galvestion RR Museum, June 2011

Before and After

Before Hurricane Ike- Semaphore, Galveston RR Museum, 2004

 

After Hurricane Ike, Semaphore, Galveston RR Museum, 2011

Sky Blue, Blue Sky

Screaming Eagle

MoPac Caboose, Galveston Railroad Museum (can you guess where I've been recently?!)

Rock Island Rust

Brake

Hand brake on a railcar, Galveston Railroad Museum

Red Red Red

Double Vision

6-6-44

Sixty-seven years ago today, this flag, along with the flags of other Allied Nations, waded ashore on the beaches of Normandy with the soldiers of the Allied Expeditionary Force and kicked a little ass.
D-Day- June 6, 1944.

Around the Bend

Grand Canyon Railway, somewhere between Williams, AZ and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon...

Bumps on a Log

Turtles sunning, Manatee Springs, FL

Water Tank

Jefferson, TX

STOP

Vale St., Jefferson, TX

Switch

Nevada Northern Railway Yard, East Ely, NV, May 2009

Railroad Crossing

Prayers go up...

I know I have posted this photo before, but I am posting it again because I am praying hard for two friends.

Lodge

Lodge, Wakulla Springs State Park, FL

Yin and Yang

Wakulla Springs, FL, spring bed

Missing Link...

Marshall, TX

Mississippi Queen

Natchez, MS

Diamonds are a girl's best friend...

Well, this kind of diamond for this girl, anyway... (SP/Katy diamond crossing, Elgin, TX.)

Keystone

The Pensnsylvania Railroad's famous keystone logo on their workhorse engine, the GG-1 (one of the most beautiful locomotives ever designed, in my opinion...)

Ribbon Rail

Hearne, TX

Santa Fe

I love the colors in this photo, especially how the red and yellow pop against the blue. Happy Friday, y'all!