Photos

Kennedy Space Center

  • Saturn 5, second stage
  • Command Module
  • Lucky Shot!

    A gull dive-bombing to catch a fish, at the moment of impact. Took quite a few trys to capture this!

  • Facility Panorama (Click the full-size image for a better view)

    A panorma with a view of several facilities. The location this was shot from was formerly a public viewing area for space launches, but has been deemed too dangerous since then.

  • Off topic - Stone Ball

    Instead of a boring fountain, the center had a map of the cosmos carved into a 2 ton granite sphere, suspended and slowly rotating on a water base. With enough force you could spin it a different direction!

Last November, I had the opportunity to visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, while visiting relatives living in the area.

Oktoberfest 2013

  • Tribute

    A tribute to soldiers of a local division in WWII, a gift from Italy.

  • Trails

    Facing north, a good view of the ski trails connecting the two mountains.

  • Lake Placid

    Facing west, the view of Lake Placid from the mountain.

  • Yodeling

    We met our yodeling friends from earlier, they were demonstrating how sound from their alphorns could be bounced off other mountains and heard echoing. Very neat demo!

  • Summit

    A short distance from the gondola drop-off, the peak of Little Whiteface.

Every October, the ski resort at Whiteface Mountain has a small Oktoberfest. Traditional German music, food, beer, and demonstrations are featured, and many local vendors come to show off their homemade crafts.

This is the first time I've gone in many years, and the first time I went being older than 21! It's a ton of fun and is definitely worth checking out if you're in the area during the skiing offseason.

Exploring Benson Mines

  • Ore Silos

    Rusting silo between concrete silos for holding iron ore. It looked like there was more machinery on top of the silos that had rusted away and collapsed.

  • Office Building

    One of the few two-story buildings, with major fire damage inside.

  • Safety for All
  • No Entrance

    Back door to the machine shop.

  • Abandoned Excavator's Engine
Benson Mines is a long-abandoned iron mine near Watertown, NY. The mine was shut down in 1978 and the buildings and have been completely abandoned ever since. Abandoned man-made structures are my favorite to take pictures of, so I couldn't resist exploring!