Chicago

It's always fun to travel within a new state and check out other cities. In May, the Flickr group met up at the Bloomington/Normal train station and took a ride into Chicago. We must have walked about 4 miles that day, which is only bad if you're carting around heavy camera gear and battling the worst allergy attack that the daily recommended dose of Clairitin is not even phasing. I ended up with a raw, red nose from too much sneezing, tired feet and a card full of images which I'm only now getting to:

Home

We are home again! Arrived back into town last night but didn't make it to the Peoria fireworks show as I was too tired to consider driving again. Those last 100 miles were looong, especially with two bickering pre-teens in the back seat. I almost dropped them off in Missouri and kept driving.

Spent the day weeding the veggie and flower gardens and roasting some green chiles that I brought back with me from New Mexico...


The Husband and I grilled them till the skins blistered then we let them sit in a paper sack for a while. The skin comes off easier this way. After we peeled them, we stuffed them into ziploc bags and stuck them in the freezer. I've got a few set aside for making chile rellenos...yummy! I brought back a banana box full of chiles (for $12.50!) but shared half with a friend. We still ended up with quite a few, which should hold us for about a year then I'll have to make another run out there and pick up some more.

While out and about in town this afternoon, we heard from a lady at Mennards that Eureka was having their fireworks show tonight so we piled into the truck and headed out that way. Eureka put on a fantastic show with possibly the best finale I've ever seen. It was well worth the drive and the hassle of finding a place to park. The town shoots off their fireworks from the middle of a lake, which makes for some pretty reflections:






These were taken with my new camera. The Husband surprised me with the Nikon D300--total shocker--for my birthday last month. I've been playing with it ever since, mostly while I was on vacation. It's taken a little getting used to as it's a big step up from my little D50 and all the buttons and settings I was used to have been moved around and expanded. Eventually it's going out with me for a full test run...just not sure where yet!

Lonfellow's Bathtub

You know, sometimes I get so caught up on taking a picture from what I think is the best angle that I forget that moving just a couple more inches one way can make the picture even better.

This pic was taken in the Big Room, which is the bottom-most room in Carlsbad Caverns. The guide who stopped to talk to us said this place is called Longfellow's Bathtub. I can see why:



As I picked up my tripod and took two steps forward to go check out the next place, I noticed the view here had changed pretty dramatically:


I really like this second angle much better than the first.

Well folks, this is probably all I'm going to post regarding Carlsbad Caverns. I'm leaving the beautiful southwest (and family and friends) and heading back to Peoria in the early morning. I've missed the Husband, my bed and my laid back summer routine. I'll see you on the other side!

Carlsbad Caverns Highlights

The Whales Mouth, appropriately named don't you think?

The Devil's Spring

I didn't do this one justice. My wide angle lens was not wide enough to capture the height of this statue:


I need a wider lens.

Carlsbad Caverns Highlights

I've been visiting family in the southwest for the last month, gaining weight on all that great Mexican food and working on a tan. I hadn't realized how transparent I'd become till I came here. Bring on the Vitamin D!

One of the best parts of being back here is getting to revisit some of my favorite haunts, one of which is Carlsbad Caverns. I hadn't been there in about ten or eleven years. While not much has changed in the wonderful world of stalactites and stalagmites, the Caverns now allow flash photography. I was even able to use my tripod on the trails for some long exposure photos.

The hike down is a steep 1 and 1/4 miles long. It's taxing on the knees and calves but very well worth it if you can manage it. Another 1 and 1/4 mile trail takes you through The Big Room at the very bottom of the cave. You can access the Big Room via elevator but then you'd miss all the other stuff along the way.

This is the main entrance to the cave:


This is the view of the main entrance from inside the cave, albeit a little skewed but you can see the cave trail and handrails at the bottom:


The cave is a balmy 56 degrees year round. It was nice walking into it from our hot, 94 degree day.

More to come!

Out

Check out my guest post on Dave's blog. It was fun writing for someone else's blog! Thanks for the opportunity, TD!

If you landed on my blog from Dave's, well thanks for stopping in! I'm currently back in the desert southwest on a short trip to see friends and family. The next pics you'll most likely see are from this area so stick around if you've never seen the desert before.

Swamp

Last one of the Starved Rock series. This was a swamp we ran into on the way back to the millions of stairs we had to climb to get out of the canyons:


I love swamps. We don't have many of those in the desert so I tend to enjoy them a little more than the average person I think.

Final thoughts about Mathiessen State Park and Starved Rock:
1. Be prepared to walk/hike. The walk into the canyons is far, far easier than the walk out. There are hundreds of stairs involved on the way in and out. Out is just uphill. You will get winded and wind up sore.

2. Take your oldest, most comfortable pair of shoes when you go. Your feet will get wet and muddy. And, if you decide to shimmy down fallen trees, so will your behind. Count on it.

3. If you've lived in this area forever but have not visited, shame on you. Every place I've visited there was well worth the hike and is definitely a must see place. Go now!

McDreamy

Or is it McSteamy?

Coming Right At You

At least it seems this way from this angle. I didn't get wet though.


This was the last canyon we visited.

By the way, you can read my guest post on Dave's blog today.

What can I say?

I loved these falls:

Through the Fish Eye

Dave let me borrow his fish eye lens for a little bit. I had a blast viewing the falls through it. It certainly adds a different perspective to everything:


That's Dave in the foreground. I wasn't that far above him but the lens makes it seem like I was. Needless to say I've added this lens to my wish list. I can't justify the cost right now but one day...

Waterfalls

I believe this is the same fall as the one pictured the other day, just a different angle:


This one was fun to explore.

I keep on fallin'

I loved this fall. Too bad I can't remember what canyon it was in. I have swiss cheese brain. I tend to forget things I don't write down.

Over and Under

Ran into this bridge while trekking out of Owl Canyon a little ways:


It's a neat bridge to cross over.