Photos

Kennedy Space Center

  • Space Shuttle Atlantis

    The retired Space Shuttle Atlantis. 'Murica!

  • 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.

  • Entry

    Right at the entrance, we were greeted by an array of rockets used over the years. The specific names of all the models escape me, but the largest one is the legendary Saturn 5 model - the most powerful machine ever built by man.

  • Crawler

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

  • Saturn 5 Rocket Base

    The business end of a decomissioned Saturn 5. Walking the length of this rocket takes minutes! 20 tons of fuel per minute would flow through here.

Last November, I had the opportunity to visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, while visiting relatives living in the area.
Fri, 01/17/2014 - 10:11
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Oktoberfest 2013

  • Olympic Ski Jumps

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

  • 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!

  • Tribute

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

  • Horn artwork

    Very pretty!

  • Trails

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

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.

Thu, 10/17/2013 - 09:47
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Exploring Benson Mines

  • Safety for All
  • Workshop

    Inside another building, some sort of workshop.

  • Overgrown

    Tree blocking a doorway.

  • 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.

  • Machine Shop Roof

    Outdoor view of the first building, the roof on this side is nearly rotted through. Most of the buildings were built with cinderblock walls, metal trusses, and wooden roofing.

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!
Tue, 10/01/2013 - 09:26
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