Photos

Kennedy Space Center

  • Vehicle Assembly Plant

    This building is where every NASA space vehicle is assembled. Again, the picture does no justice to the height of this building.

  • Seaside Bunker

    Looking out into the Atlantic, one of the main launch platforms would have been behind me. According to our guide this little bunker was used to house sensitive equipment for detecting electricity in the air, as lightning is a grave threat to launches.

  • 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.

  • Crawler

    One of NASA's two land crawlers, currently being outfitted for SpaceX missions.

  • Birds!

    That's the last of the space pictures, I took a few quick shots of birds outside my hotel a few days later on the same trip.

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

Oktoberfest 2013

  • Locking horns
  • Whiteface Lodge

    Deck of the Whiteface Lodge, at the foot of Little Whiteface and Whiteface mountains

  • Yodelers

    A group of 3 yodelers and their alphorns, these instruments were traditionally used for communicating mountaintop to mountaintop in the past.

  • Ticket

    My "Cannon" and my ticket.

  • Olympic Ski Jumps

    Not the best photo, but I think it came out alright considering the range was about 12 miles.

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

  • Overgrown

    Tree blocking a doorway.

  • Transformer Gauge

    The guts of the transformer were missing, probably stolen by copper thieves.

  • Outside

    The office/bathroom is inside this building, and the first building in the album is visible through the trees in the background.

  • Abandoned Excavator's Engine
  • Garage Door

    Outside view of another building showing the decay of the area.

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!