Photos

Kennedy Space Center

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Lightning Towers

    3 lightning towers designed to direct bolts away from the launch pad that they surround.

  • 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.
Fri, 01/17/2014 - 10:11
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Oktoberfest 2013

  • Base camp

    A better view of the festivities below. The line across the picture is the arm-size cable hauling our gondola to the summit.

  • Looking down

    Halfway up the mountain, looking down.

  • Olympic Bobsled Runs

    Another long distance shot at about 8 miles, the Olympic Bobsled run at Mt. Van Hoevenberg.

  • Yodeler Show

    Inside the Whiteface Lodge, the Yodelers teamed up with a traditional German band, DSB die Schlauberger.

  • 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.

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

  • Machine Shop

    Judging from the abundance of 440 volt hookups in the building, this likely was some sort of machine shop.

  • Office Building

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

  • Abandoned Excavator's Engine
  • 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.

  • Outside

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

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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