Lake McConaughy – Nebraska’s Largest Reservoir

Lake McConaughy, Nebraska.

We’ve driven I-80 in Nebraska many times between North Platte and the Interstate’s beginnings west of Ogallala. Our usual goal is Albuquerque by the end of the day, so we don’t have much time to stop. This summer, though, we were only going to Colorado Springs to our family reunion. We could spend a little time in Nebraska rather than just driving through. Last week, we visited Sutherland Reservoir near Sutherland, Nebraska just off I-80, west of North Platte. The next stop after our visit to Sutherland was near Ogallala. Lake McConaughy is a large reservoir of some 35,000 acres or so. As with Sutherland Reservoir, the recreation area is a secondary function. In this case, the project, built in the 1930’s employed about 1500 people during its construction.

Dronie Sunday – 20 October 2019

Moorhead, Minnesota.

The Red River forms the border between North Dakota and Minnesota and is one of the few rivers in the country to flow north, its headwaters begin at the confluence of the Ottertail and Bois de Sioux Rivers near the city of Breckenridge, Minnesota. From there it meanders northward separating the two states until it leaves the United States near the border crossing just north of Pembina, North Dakota. It finally terminates at Lake Winnipeg, the fifth largest lake in Canada.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge – Candid

For this week’s challenge, Ann-Christine asks us to share candid images, shots captured when the subject is unaware they are being photographed. She writes, “So, this week I thought we would go for candid photos of people or animals“. You can read her challenge and view her submissions here. The genre truly captures real life, not some stilted, posed performance for posterity. Looking back through my collection of images, I don’t have a lot of candid shots, but as it turns out, I have more than I thought. In the opening example, a model train exposition allowed me the opportunity to capture this gentleman in steady concentration as he works to repair a section of track.

Sutherland State Recreation Area – Acres of Outdoor Activities

Sutherland, Nebraska.

We were on our way to Colorado and the Steiner family reunion, an event we look forward to each summer. Coincidentally, this route is well known to us as it covers the first day and a half of our annual trek south to Arizona. A long day’s drive to North Platte, then I-80 toward Colorado then New Mexico to Albuquerque. From there, it’s another seven hours to Buckeye. We seldom have had time to visit locations in Nebraska unless we are going to stop to visit our friends in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Since the reunion was near Colorado Springs, we decided to explore some of the sights along I-80 in Nebraska. This post features the first of three stops between North Platte and Ogallala.

Cellpic Sunday – 13 October 2019

Baltimore, Maryland.

I know there is some political discord on the topic of Christopher Columbus and his “discovery” of the new world. Indeed, seven states and almost 60 municipalities have changed the focus of the holiday to honor the native people living in the New World when Columbus and his three ships stumbled upon it while looking for a trade route to the orient. I am not going to get into an argument about whether or not the day (October 14 this year) should be renamed Indigenous People’s Day. Though it would appear that I somehow “honor” Columbus because I “gave him a halo.” That was an unintended consequence of putting the sun behind the statue so I could get a better view of the front of the sculpture. That saved me a walk back to the site in the morning when the sun was on the other side of the sky.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Fill the Frame

This week, Patti Moed shares some examples of “filling the frame” to bring the subject up close and personal. Hers are examples of shots that are improved by the technique. She writes, “This week, we invite you to explore filling the frame for Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #66.  You can include images of buildings, people, objects, and/or elements from nature.  Feel free to include shots of the same subject before you filled the frame and after you filled the frame.” You can read her entire challenge post here.

Jamestown Kite Festival – A Quarter Century of Fun

Jamestown, North Dakota.

In late spring, several cities in North Dakota hold kite festivals. One of my Civil Air Patrol colleagues mentioned a kite fest held near Garrison. The Sky Fest Over Ft. Stevenson sounded like a great way to spend a Memorial Day weekend visiting an area of North Dakota I’d never seen. I made plans but as things go, a conflict came up that precluded our visit this year. The Sky Fest is North Dakota’s largest kite festival, so I will have to plan for a future visit. In the process of looking up information about kites and kite festivals, I discovered that Jamestown also has an annual kite festival.