Photos

Kennedy Space Center

  • Another Crawler

    Another one of NASA's land crawlers, hiding inside.

  • 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.

  • Space Shuttle Atlantis

    The retired Space Shuttle Atlantis. 'Murica!

  • Motor Closeup

    The business end of this rocket looks more like a tangled mess of tubes and wires, but its a very advanced and complicated machine.

  • 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.

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

Oktoberfest 2013

  • Summit

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

  • Lake Placid

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

  • Almost to the top!

    Nearly there! And an amazing view of the surrounding mountains.

  • 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.

  • Yodelers

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

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

  • Garage Door

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

  • 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.

  • Worker's Desk
  • Safety for All
  • Transformer Gauge

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

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!