Vermont has more covered bridges per square mile than any other state in the United States. An official covered bridge is not determined by age, but the method on how it is built, by trusses and a covered slanted roof. I have always had a fascination with covered bridges and although I had grown up in Connecticut I had never walked across one this piece of Americana.
Covered bridge in Woodstock Vermont
Last week I crossed this off my bucket list when I visited Woodstock Vermont and walked across Middle Bridge. I had another surprise as we took the scenic route down Rte 106 and found this picturesque bridge over a small creek.
Covered Bridge south of Woodstock Vermont
The most famous bridges are those of Madison County in Iowa, so I really didn’t need to travel far from Nebraska to find covered bridges, but there is something special, romantic, and mystical about covered bridges in Vermont.
Connecticut is where I grew up, however I took the scenery, trees, beaches, rivers and streams for granted. I’ve lived in the Midwest for thirty years and although I love everything about the Nebraska, I do miss the the easy access to water.
In New England the Connecticut River takes center stage. It is the longest river in New England and flows from New Hampshire and empties into Long Island Sound. It serves as the state boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire and is 407 miles long.
Farmington River in Connecticut in the Winter
Out of the over 50 tributaries of the Connecticut River I spent many summers during high school tubing on the Farmington River. Even in Connecticut there is white water to navigate to give the challenging adventurer an adrenaline rush. The Farmington River Tubing Company provides a 2.5 miles ride, complete with tubes, lifejackets and a ride back up to your car. Can’t find white water in Nebraska. Tubing in Nebraska is more like a lazy float trip.
I’m spending a few days in Connecticut on family business and thought I would take the opportunity to get some photography in at the same time. Obviously the river in February is a little cold and nope, I’m not going to take the polar plunge and even test the water temperature.
Every first Saturday in October a certain tunnel in Nebraska fills with music. I’ve heard about it, my kids have told how awesome the music is when it reverberates in your ears, but I never witnessed this phenomenon until this year.
It is the tunnel at the start of the Harvest of Harmony parade. What else did you think it was? Over the years I’ve sat at the reviewing stand and various points along the route. Last year I took video of them coming “out” of the tunnel. But being IN the tunnel is awesome!
The sound is amplified and reverberates off the concrete walls. The Elmwood-Murdock band was entry #185, so I had plenty of time to watch, listen, and enjoy other bands.
The 71st Harvest of Harmony parade, held in Grand Island Nebraska is one of the largest marching band competitions in the country and in 1996 broke a Guinness World Record for the most marching bands in a parade.
My daughter playing the quads
This year the Elmwood-Murdock High School band was one of 93 bands from across the state and received a 3rd place out of 25 bands in their division. In years past they have received second place and even came home with the 1st place trophy in 2009.
In Nebraska we march in 30F weather
The weather is anything but predictable and Saturday was no exception. Bundle up was the key to staying warm, as the spectator above was sure to do. The parade starts at 8 am and ends three hours later.
The full parade is not only broadcast live on the Grand Island NTV/ABC television station, but they post videos of each band on their website in a yearly directory going back to 2008. In 2009 the Elmwood-Murdock marching band took first place in Class C and third overall.
The last view of the last parade of my kids high school career
My daughter (rt) with a friend
Seniors being silly. I will miss these kids. (I won’t say which is my daughter, so cute huh?)
At the end of the parade the buses take the schools to the stadium for formal photos on the bleachers. It’s a tradition for a senior photo, my favorite is the “goofy” pose. Yup, this is how the kids really are, in their raw form.
Band Moms, Cindy and Tracy
Yes, I’m a band Mom. I have literally chased the band down the parade route at many events. I’ve done it for years, from Washington DC to the Nebraska City Apple Jack festival. You take video, take pictures, run ahead, dodge people and baby strollers, and zig zag down the sidewalk, all while juggling a camera and try not to run out of breath. This time I only chased them a few blocks, found out I’m getting too old to chase bands anymore.
So I leave the next few years of following the bands to my friend and fellow blogger Tracy (Nebraska Wheatie). Her daughter is also a senior, but she’s lucky to have one more still in band. Yes, we both chase bands, this year I was only 5 feet behind her as we ran through the tunnel. Her husband Jim saved my hide by noticing my cell phone which bounced out of my coat pocket. THANKS JIM!!!
So while I will miss watching band performances, and yes I shed a few tears, I will NOT miss the chase. It’s been quite the journey.
Fun Facts about the Harvest of Harmony Parade and Band competition.
First Harvest of Harmony was held October 20, 1938.
8 Schools marched in the first parade: Grand Island, St. Paul, Ravenna, Gibbon, Scotia, Central City, North Loup, and Broken Bow.
The parade was originally named the Central Nebraska Music Festival. Changed to Harvest of Harmony in 1946.
The 1st Harvest of Harmony Queen was Pelorice France of Gothenburg.
St. Paul has the most candidates named Harvest of Harmony Queen with 8.
21 bands performed in the 1948 parade.
In 1996, 130 bands marched in the parade “A Guinness World Record”
For this edition of #FixitFriday I’m going through my favorite photos from last summer and in the process reliving my Block Island dream trip.
Seems an appropriate way to end a summer, reliving last summer, laying on a beach and relaxing exploring the island of my youth. Most of the time the skies were overcast and cloudy, good when avoiding a sun burn, but I found it a difficult photography challenge. The result of the cloudy skies were flat and drab. Although I reworked them a bit in Photoshop CS2 I still didn’t get the result I was after.
Lightroom 4 has been wonderful, every time I open an image I wasn’t quite happy with I find I can correct or enhance. Even with a jpg file.
Lightroom 4 screen shot (click for larger image)
I always shot on aperture priority and as a result many of my images were underexposed. Not only did I open up the shadows and exposure in Lightroom 4 I also decreased the noise.
On the left side of the screen shot there are User Presets. Presets are saved adjustments you can use again for an image of the same type. For example overexposed images in bright sun is called “Dim the Summer Sun” or “Bright and Sharp” for an underexposed image. Once a preset is saved it can adjusted and resaved under the same name. Presets save time when you have a batch of images under the same lighting that require the same adjustment.
Below is the straight out of camera shot and the resulting end photo in Lightroom.
A year ago this month my youngest son left for Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and started 13 weeks of the most challenging accomplishments anyone can face. Becoming and earning the right to be come a U.S. Marine. At the
Across the parade deck hundreds of new Marines march in their platoons as the last maneuver they will complete before leaving MCRD full fledged Marines. The Marine Band plays to open the ceremony, the chaplain leads every one in prayer and then the parade of dress blues begin. This is my second Marine graduation, my oldest is also a Marine, but the tears of pride still flow just as fast and my hands shake as I hold the camera.
Marine Corps Graduation, San Diego CA
Marine Corp Chaplain leading off the graduation
MCRD, India Company, Platoon 3213, October 7, 2011 (son 6th from right)
My New US Marine, November 2011
Since graduation my new Marine has attended MCT (Marine Combat Training) in Pendleton CA, Corrections training in San Antonio TX, and is now back at Pendleton as his permanent duty station. Congratulations to my newest U.S. Marine, he makes me proud.
I found this draft sitting in my WordPress folder.In evaluating my stats in WordPress my US Marine Corps postings represent 20% of views. Very popular topic, but considering every parent of a new Marine searches the internet for every scrap of information they can find to learn more about the journey ahead, I can understand.
ISO 100, f/20, 75mm, 1.3 sec Canon Rebel XS (click for larger image)
My favorite waterfall photo, I’m so happy with it! Shot this photo at Devils Den State Park in Northwestern Arkansas on my Mother/Daughter camping trip. I climbed out on the rocks, quite a feat since I’m afraid of heights, and a flat rock acted as my tripod.
Only took two photos since the sun was going behind the trees and after looking at the results in the camera I was more than pleased. Being from Nebraska I don’t have much of an opportunity to practice with waterfalls. Now that my daughter will be going to college at University of Central Arkansas those opportunities will hopefully increase.
Editing notes: Almost none, opened in Lightroom 4, straightened a few degrees, adjusted white balance for a little more warmth, that was it!
During our Mother/Daughter college visit trip we camped out two of three nights, once at Stockton Lake Missouri and the other at Greers Lake in Arkansas. Bought this tent a few years back on a whim, it was on sale, but this is the first time we actually used it away from home. As long as I have an air mattress I’m fine. Getting too old to sleep right on the ground, back isn’t in the same shape as it was when I was a teenager.
I do have to say, we put up a pretty good tent. First night took about 15 minutes, had to look at the instructions, but the second night only took about 5-10 minutes. It’s not a “pop-up” tent, inserting poles and a fly cover are involved. Just make sure the stakes are in tight to keep it from blowing away in a stiff wind.
Camping in a tent
The last night of our trip we stayed at Greers Ferry lake at Cove Creek Recreation Area, 45 minutes northeast of Conway Arkansas, in the heart of the Ozarks.
Tent Area, Cove Creek Recreation Area, Arkansas
Our tent site was at the very end of this lane, right next to the lake. We had two neighbors in this whole area. The site manager showed us were to find free firewood and thankfully the “NO Burn Ban” had been lifted that morning so we could have a campfire.
The only inconvenience was having to drive to the bathrooms and showers. But both were modern and clean, which is a plus. Not that big of a deal, just have to plan your trips.
The Water was wonderful!
Cooking Brats over a campfire
Everything tastes better over an open fire. I asked my daughter, “Now, you don’t care if I cook these right on the grate do you?” (some people would insist on tin foil) “No, why would we do it any other way?” That’s my girl, she understands that we just “sanitized” that grill with 1000F fire (ok, it was hot)
Campfire by the lake
Yup, no better way to end an evening, curled up laying next to the fire right by the lake.
I have two sons in the U.S. Marine Corp, one stateside and one in Afghanistan and have come across a Twitter theme #WarriorWednesday. So I thought why not start a new theme and feature on my blog. I don’t know how long this will last, but at least until I run out of photos and images. So it might take a while.
This image was taken on Family Day at MCRD San Diego after the MotoRun. The new Marines change into their Service Charlies uniform, and garrison hat, or cover (Marines often refer to it as their “piss cutter”.) and then have their first five hour liberty to spend with their families on base.
If a recruit wears glasses or contacts they are issued standard-issue spectacles, S9s or commonly called or BCG’s “Birth Control Glasses” because they are so ugly that no girl will come near you. They have been a staple in the military and are tough, sturdy and just plain ugly.
Marines joke about them, raze each other, but they are just as much as they are hated they hold a certain affection amoung the ranks. I just read on the Marine Corp blog they are being retired for those interested “Goodbye Birth Control Glasses” is a very good read.
This photo started off as “PhotoShopFriday posting until I thought of the #WarriorWednesday. I adjusted the levels, color selected the blue sky, and darkened the blues, used shadows and highlights to open up the shadows on his face and then cropped for a better balanced photo.
While we were in California last fall (found a draft that never got posted, couldn’t let it go to waste) for my son’s Marine Boot Camp graduation we took in as much beach time as possible. My daughter could both live at the beach very easily, something soothing about the consistency and rhythm of the waves. Although the water was very cold, my daughter just had to go swimming, hey she’s sixteen, she knows enough to come in when she’s cold.
Next day she learned to body surf, and did a pretty good job of it too. She was so proud.
Father and Daughter at the Beach
Sunset on the Pacific Ocean
Swimming in the Pacific Ocean, in October, just a little bit chilly
