July 2011 – Page 2

Sights along I-94 in North Dakota and into Montana

food, Montana, North Dakota, Photos, pictures, road trip, skies, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Travel, Travelocity gnome / 1 minute of reading / July 15, 2011

Day three of our road trip found us in Fargo, ND. I have to admit, my preconceptions of North Dakota were completely off base. For some reason I expected ND to be flat and treeless (was told the state tree was the telephone pole). It was actually a very picturesque state with rolling hills. There were tornadoes and thunderstorms in the area so we naturally took time to photograph the cloud formations. Along the way we stopped at Frontier Village and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We crossed over into Montana at days end and spent the night in Miles City. …

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Minnesota and the Mississippi River

Minnesota, Mirror Lake, Photos, pictures, road trip, Travel, Travelocity gnome, Wisconsin / 1 minute of reading / July 10, 2011

These photos are from Mirror Lake, WI and throughout Minnesota. We started off the day by visiting Mirror Lake. With that name we figured it had to be pretty picturesque. We were not disappointed. We then headed to La Crosse, WI and had lunch at Hooters. Ashley and all the girls were great fun and loved the Travelosity gnome, who has been hanging out lately. After lunch we cruised along the Mississippi River to Minneapolis then headed west on I-94 towards Fargo, ND. We stopped at the Round Barn Bed and Breakfast, where they gave us an extensive tour of …

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Milwaukee and the Wall of Death

harley-davidson, Milwaukee, Photos, pictures, Reedsburg, road trip, Travel, Wisconsin / 1 minute of reading / July 8, 2011

Back in May I met up with a cousin I had not seem in 25 or 30 years. Today we headed off on a cross country road trip. He arrived in Valpo last night. Tanya took us to dinner at Gaucho’s Brazilian Steakhouse for a sendoff with a full stomach. Our first stop was Milwaukee where we stopped at AJ Bombers to try out a special burger they had. It was okay. After lunch we headed over to the Harley-Davidson Museum. There was a Wall of Death set up in the parking let, so Brett and I went over and …

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4th of July, Indiana style

4th of July, geek good girl, Indiana, Phantom Fireworks, Photos, pictures, Valparaiso, Valpo / 1 minute of reading / July 5, 2011

Since 2008, my girlfriend Tanya has been having a 4th of July party here in Valpo. Since she knows how much I enjoy barbecuing and blowing things up, I have been in charge of the grill and the fireworks. These photos are from our 4th Annual 4th of July Extravaganza. Good food, good company and fireworks makes for a great day. Thanks to Tanya for taking some of the firework photos for me. Back to 4th of July Photos Back to 4th of July Photos

Preparing for the 4th of July

4th of July, geek good girl, Indiana, Phantom Fireworks, Photos, pictures, restaurants, Valpo / 1 minute of reading / July 5, 2011

There is one thing about Indiana, besides my girlfriend, that keeps bringing me back and that is the ability to buy and shoot off fireworks. I am not talking about the “safe and sane” Red Devil variety, but rather the good stuff provided by Phantom Fireworks. I am not saying I spend a lot of money there, but they send me a Christmas card every year. I got the house in Valparaiso in July 2007 and started doing fireworks shows that same year. It has become tradition. These photos were taken on the days leading up to the 4th of …

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Photos from the Special Olympics of Porter County fundraiser.

fundraiser, Indiana, Photos, pictures, Porter County, Special Olympics, Valparaiso, Valpo / 1 minute of reading / July 2, 2011

Saturday, July 2, 2011 was the Special Olympics of Porter County fundraiser, Livin’ it Up! Tanya has some friends that were the organizers of this event, so I decided to come to Indiana early to photograph it. They had a cutest baby contest and a dog show, along with live musical entertainment and fair-style food offerings. The night ended with a fireworks show. Unfortunately, we had a lot to do so was only able to go for a while, but it looked like a nice family affair that raised some money for a deserving organization. Back to Livin it Up …

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Photos from the Sacramento Delta

Buddy, central California, Dixon, Fairfield, geek good girl, harley-davidson, motorcycle show, Photos, pictures, Sacramento Delta, Stockton / 1 minute of reading / July 2, 2011

When I came back from Indiana, Tanya came with me. A good friend of mine was having a party prior to the Dixon May Fair Motorcycle Show & Swap Meet. He has been doing this party for many years, and this year I made a point of making it. Since he lives in the Sacramento Delta, we had to leave the day after we got home. I opted for the car over the bike and brought Buddy with. On the way to Dixon, we stopped in Fairfield at the Jelly Belly factory. Hot tip, Belly Flops. We had to go …

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Photos from Jasper County, Indiana

Indiana, Jasper County, Kouts, Photos, pictures, Tanya, Travel, Wheatfield / 1 minute of reading / July 2, 2011

These photos were taken at the Jasper County courthouse and various locations around Kouts and Wheatfield, IN. A couple days after I got back from my cross country road trip, I had to fly back to Chicago to attend a trade show. After the show, I drove back to Indiana to spend a few days with Tanya. Since I am getting ready to do another cross country trip, this time as a passenger, I decided to practice my photography at 65 MPH. Back to Jasper County Photos Back to Jasper County Photos

Photos from Route 66 – AZ and CA

Arizona, Beaver Street Brewery, beer, desert, Photos, pictures, road trip, Travel / 1 minute of reading / July 2, 2011

After leaving New Mexico, I decided it was time to head home. I hit a severe dust storm outside of Winslow. In fact, of all the storms I encountered in my three weeks on the road, this was the only storm that had a police presence to handle the driving hazard. I stopped off in Flagstaff, AZ to have lunch at the Beaver Street Brewery. Good food and great beer made it a pleasurable stop. I then continued into California in time to catch one of our fantastic sunsets. Back to Route 66 AZ and CA Photos Back to Route …

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Photos from Amarillo and El Malpais

desert, El Malpais, National Monument, New Mexico, Photos, pictures, road trip, Texas, Travel / 1 minute of reading / July 2, 2011

These photos were taken at Leal’s Mexican Restaurant in Amarillo, TX, then along Route 66 in New Mexico and El Malpais National Monument. I stopped in Amarillo, TX for a late lunch, early dinner. A local radio station ad piqued my interest, so I headed for Leal’s. The food was okay, but Southern California has the best Mexican food anywhere. As I continued into New Mexico I came upon a roadside stand outside of Laguna. While talking to one of the girls about the large rocks holding the roof onto her stand, she told me they were lava and that …

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