Welcome ...

It is my honor to welcome you to the photo blog for Barbara and Richard's Great Cross Country Adventure or BARGCCA. Hmmm. Let's try that again ... Barbara and Richard's Big Ol' Drive Across America or BARBODAA. Not too hot either. In any event, there will be plenty of time to go back later and tidy these things up. For now, let's just get started. I will be acting as your virtual tour guide as my Mom shoots back photos from the field. Hope you enjoy.

July 7. Hittin' the open road ...



This looks like an inauspicious start ...



Chicago, I-90 and a rain storm. Can't say I would have left home for this.
Let's hope the scenery improves ...



I mean, honestly, I can see this on I-95 any day of the week ...



Ah, this is a little better. LaCrosse, Wisconsin. And look! A bike. Nice bridge, too.



OK, now comes the good stuff. Here is the Mississippi (I did that without spell check, by the way) the night of July 7.



We are definitely not in Chicago anymore. Nor Kansas for that matter. These are the mean streets of South Dakota. Shouldn't there be tumbleweed?



July 8, with the Missouri River in the background.



Stay tuned, tomorrow promises badlands and big faces made out of rock.

The Badlands

Here we are on July 8 and in the Badlands. I hope we get pictures of the 4 foot tall prairie dogs, those things look to be the size of bears.



And on to the park.



Here's a little feature we are going to call, "The other end of the lens."



Someday we may see the images being created. Or they may be found on a memory card twenty years from now. A toss-up at best ...



Okay, last one for now ...



This is a great shot. Look at those clouds. Who knew such things existed on the moon.



And now for the obligatory Four Guys on a Mountain shot. Is that Eva Marie Saint hanging off of Teddy's Pince-Nez?



Time for your close-up Mr. Washington.



Yep. Really here.



Stay tuned, next time we blow off a little steam.

The Black Hills

Here is The Needle's Eye. If you can get her up there, I'm sure a camel would pass through just fine ...



We do the research, so you don't have to ...

"One of the first business establishments, the Big Horn Grocery, started in 1876 by Jacob Goldberg, literally began as a tent set up on what would later become Deadwood's Main Street, and survived through the 1980s. Goldberg's Grocery, as the Big Horn came to be known, is today recognized as Goldberg's Casino, in the same location, but having been rebuilt many times over."



July 10, Deadwood, SD. Self(s) Portrait, of sorts ...

On To Wyoming

Home of Buffalo Bill Cody, Jackson Pollock, Dick Cheney and hot springs!





If Shakespeare were here, he may have said, “Give every man thy ear [spring], but few thy voice.”



Old Faithful was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to receive a name. Here it is in 2008 on July 12.



That's all for now. In the spirit of today's locations I leave you with this nugget of wisdom from cowboyway.com. "When you're throwin' your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else." Happy trails, everybody.

When We Last Caught Up ...

with our travelers they were checking out geysers. Now, everyone is back home. But for our purposes, we will pretend we are heading to Jackson, Wyoming, home of the world's largest ball of barbed wire. On the way, we get our first look at the Grand Tetons. Grand, indeed!





And for those of you who don't find point and shoot cameras versatile, here's some in-camera-processing you may remember from your darkroom days. Yes, our good friend sepia tone. Personally, I kind of miss inhaling the chemicals needed to get this effect back in the day.



While the buffalo and his friend are impressive, I'm fascinated by the enormous wreaths made out of antlers. That's some brutal art.

Shadows

Another theme post. This time around, silhouettes. This one is my favorite.



I like the contrast in this one, the result of in-camera black-and-white processing. The tree branch in there is great.



And the walking stick makes this one a keeper.



Next time, back to the mountains, arches and possibly an enormous balancing rock.

Meet The Tetons

Here's an incredible landscape from July 17. Looks like a painting.



Moving closer in, we get an amazing look at some natural rock formations. It sort of looks like nature's take on Easter Island.



Needs no comment. Okay, a short one: Stunning.



Even the wildlife is in awe.



So long for now from the home of the Teton glacier ... Smile!

Arches National Park

Today we are near Moab, Utah in Arches National Park. For those scoring at home, these images were captured July 18 and 19. The park's lowest elevation is just above 4000 feet. It is the home to over 2000 natural sandstone arches and other wondrous ... wonders.

Here's one now. The Balanced Rock. It's the size of three school buses. I'm assuming the long ones, not the short. 43 rock formations in the park have collapsed since 1970. This one has been holding steady for the past couple thousand years. But according to the National Park Service, the faster eroding Dewey Bridge will eventually cause the rock to topple.



Here's another look ...



The Double Arch was used as the backdrop to the first scene of an Indiana Jones movies. It is also the rare arch, according to Wikipedia, that was formed by water erosion from above rather than more typical erosion from the side.



Hey Look! It's the Schoolmarm's Bloomers! No, no ... it's the Cowboys Chaps! Indeed it is those things, and the unofficial Utah state symbol. The Delicate Arch. Gotta tilt your head a little on this one ...



Remember those dreary highway shots from Chicago many posts ago? This is what a road shot should look like.



Last arch. Don't know the name of this one, but these are some cool shots.



Love the composition. You get drawn right down the path and through the arch.



We are going to finish our Arches National Park tour with one of the Courthouse Towers. This is the Tower of Babel. Amazing, in any language.



I believe this is the penultimate post. See you next time to tie up the loose ends.

End of the Road

We have reached the end of our journey. Nothing left to do but ride off into the sunset.



Let's do it again next year ...



Happy Trails!