And were back with the second (for those that are not versed in French) and final part of the Phoadtography series from our Wisconsin/Michigan trip back in July of 2012.  We’ll likely close out the month with the Year End Summary post  since I’m trying to pull together a larger than normal effort for next month’s blogging entries although it might make it to February if some loose ends fail to come together in the next couple of days.  Meanwhile let’s stay on topic and get right to the latest set of shots of things that caught my attention while Linda was flying down the road.

The first shot is really more of nostalgia for me.  My brother Ron invited me along to one of his ski trips while I was in college – sometime between ’85-’89 with big bet on the late ’88 time frame.  That date solely based on an odd memory – on that trip I rode up with some of Ron’s friends from college who were still in grad school at the time.  I met them for the first time on that trip and then realized one of them was in my LISP programming class.  That realization came after noting one of the students was in a full suit – not uncommon for the higher level classes since a lot of the days were spent interviewing with companies that come onsite to recruit.  This was not what caught my attention – he still had all the tags on the sleeves and the temporary stitch that holds the coat tails together was still intact.  I was chuckling to myself when I realized I knew that guy – never got a chance to warn him after class so sure hope they overlooked that at during the overview.   But I digress (a lot).   We actually went skiing at Big Powderhorn where this shot was taken.

Three things I remember from that trip.  The cops pulled over the car I was traveling in and let the driver off because he found out he was an Illinois grad and that was where the cop took his training – Go Illini.  Secondly, they rented a condo at the top of the mountain – the ski lifts/tickets were at the bottom and the ONLY path down was to go down blacks – that was rough going seeing as how I was not at that level at the time.  And third Ron and I spent most of our time enjoying a run called Smoke which was a pretty challenging run down  through the lift poles – on reflection, the things I tend to remember are rather strange.  Anyway, we ended up driving past the entrance and figured I’d capture the moment – think that dude would look more cool with a Stormy Kromer?

Thought this was a pretty interesting coal/ore train model, complete with a clever set of rails which brought the cars out of the grass.  Nicely done although for the record, the caboose seems disproportionate to the rest of the train cars.

Okay, here’s a test – which one of the following is the best investment, the most capable and versatile machine for all your construction/digging needs…

Hit the jump to see the answer and see the rest of the images in this Phoadtography set

and the answer is… the  Cat machine of course  – the others just a waste of good capital (caution, author may be a tad biased).  The sight of all these competing machines on the same work site is what caught my attention – typically you see a dominant vendor which represents the best Dealer/Marketing in the area along with a scattering of competitor products just to give the owner some purchasing leverage – someone took this concept a little over the top – feel sorry for the operator that has to be skilled in all the nuances of the different product lines.  Thinking they just picked up the Cat and now simply in the process of selling the other inferior products.

Speaking of which .. here’s a great deal!  By the looks of it there is plenty of life left in this D40.  Note, this one is fairly old based solely on the Cat emblem – this was our old logo before it was changed to having a “triangle up our A”.  Linda and I were working at Cat when the logo below was still being used – it represents Cat’s market share (on the left) versus our competitors at the time.

I threw in this shot due to how risky it was to actually get.  We were busy driving down a two lane highway when we spotted two Sandhill Cranes walking off by the treeline.  Linda was willing to circle back so I could get some shots, but hanging out on the side of that busy road was probably more dangerous that it was worth.  No worries now, they’re in the tin!

Apparently, their bulls are raging made complete with fire burning eyes.  Think this might be due to having their legs hacked off at the knees.  If you are curious, I think this was a mailbox holder.  Clearly inferior to my latest project (link here).

We’ve seen the following done with bulls.  We’ve seen the following done with pigs, but this is the first I’ve ever seen this done with elk!

If you have ever hit a deer with a car, the following shot should horrify you.

Holy crap look at the size of that deer bringing death and destruction to all those cars.  Anybody got a bazooka laying around?  anyone?

First off, I’d like to say for the record that the structure in back is NOT a lighthouse, but definitely more of an appealing outlet name than say “Three Mile Outlet” or “Cherry Noble Mall”

This shot made me laugh.  Linda is the Scenic Photographer in the family and I usually leave those shots in her capable hands (although if she keeps encroaching on my area of expertise I’m going to slap that wide angle on and go to work at the next National Park we visit .. just saying).  The reason it made me laugh is this was taken from a car traveling probably 65 mph and it looks better than all my attempts at photographing that bridge while stationary.  A little cloning to remove that out of bounds marker and we’ll be in business.

While approaching the main bridge in Mackinaw, we ran up behind this semi.  Linda calls it a serious case of OCD, but in reality I just happen to really like symmetry.  Seeing all these vertical objects all lined up caught my attention and though it was worth a shot.  The world just looks a little better when everything is lined up don’t you think?

Eventually Linda made it around the semi to reveal an architecturally rich scene.  I do have an affinity for bridges as most of the long time blog readers should be very familiar with.  Nothing is more perfect in the world than when engineering and art merge to create a stunning effect.  Probably a good time to point out that the middle lanes of this suspension bridge has gaps in the decking.  Not a big fan of that and has me second guessing whether I would want to run their bridge race (link here). Thought it would be cool when we learned about it while up there, but if it requires the runners to go on that metal decking then maybe not such a good idea.

How about another shot of the suspension system – very impressive… and not a bad shot either seeing as how it was taken through the windshield.

Noticed this interesting kite while walking around the shoreline.  The intriguing thing was this particular kite was really an embellishment to another kite which was a considerable distance up in the sky.  Couldn’t tell if this was on a swivel of some type that allowed it to clime up the string  or whether it was hooked on at a fixed point.  Regardless of how they pulled it off, it was definitely the best kite display I’ve ever seen.

No matter where we travel to, there is always a wide assortment of “odd things on roofs”.  Not sure what the reason is, but if the answer has something to do with marketing then it is working on me based on the mere fact I am always taking pictures of them.  Maybe “working” on me is a slight exaggeration when it comes to marketing since I’m not actually spending any money as a result .. just pressing the shutter.

Umm, you are not fooling me with that blue roof, that is definitely NOT water.

I feel sorry for whoever has to sit next to that middle window when eating at this cafe – “excuse me, can we have a table that doesn’t stare directly into a rooster’s ass?”

Of course you’d expect to see a cow on top of a semi-trailer – those babies can jump like 20 feet in the air in a single bound.  Never underestimate a cow in Air Jordans.  Admittedly, I did do a quick search on the net to find out if cows have horns thinking this scene may have been doubly odd – I may live in the country now, but most of my life was spent in a city.. Linda even had to inform me what a combine was when we first met.

oh, and yes, there are some breeds of cows that do indeed have horns.

Whenever we are in a new city (preferably the older ones) I always take the time to scan the rooftops and building ledges.  The reason is I’m looking for these.

You will be surprised at how many of these grotesques. you can find if you get to looking.  The older ones are usually more ornate and menacing looking.  It is also fun to locate gargoyles on the older buildings.  If you are one to confuse these terms as I used to, keep in mind that gargoyles are really architecture components intended to help displace water out from the building (and thus have water pathways through them that tend to release out through the front).  Grotesques are simply ornate embellishments as is clearly the case here.   Next time you are in a bigger city’s downtown, take a gander up and see what you can find (keep a hand on your wallet if you do this).  I know for a fact there are many in Vegas – someday I should post the ones I’ve found so far.

Umm, apparently this must mean something different where I come from since my understanding of them isn’t something you would need to make fresh daily….is the maple syrup used to get the dollar bills to stick?

Since we are on the topic of signs, how about this one..

For those without their reading glasses, take special note of “WARNING” and “KEEP OFF”.  Sounds pretty simple to me.  Now this sign happened to be taken at Sleeping Bear Dunes up by Glen Arbor Michigan.  We stumbled upon this place on our way back from Mackinaw and decided to stop in for a gander.  Remember those key elements of the sign?  well, notice anything odd about the following…

Clearly our education system is pathetic these days. I really only see one kid in that entire shot so surely they can all read.  Then again, this just might be another classic example of “all are equal but some are more equal than others”.    You know, like when Congress mandates a healthcare program for the serfs and excludes themselves.

Sigh, on that sour note I’ll call this a post.  Hope you enjoyed viewing the latest Phoadtography installment – I sure enjoyed seeking out the bizarre and interesting on our trips – sure helps pass those long hours of sitting in the car.