Jim Stahr has a Different Year

This is a sequence that I did not have time to properly present while I was in the midst of traveling.  I visited with an old Navy friend in Poulsbo, Washington. He took me to a beach.    As soon as I zoomed in on this creature, he shouted "Eagle". I watched him hunt. It was another one of those moments   that make me realize   I'm part of nature,  just as nature is part of me.    Time looking is time well spent. 

Went for a day trip and visited Elizabeth Park in West Hartford.  This park was to have a concert this evening, but the indoor area was not large enough for the crowd that showed.    Of course since they moved it, nothing more than drizzle appeared.  The Pond House Cafe made a pretty good dinner for us.   Birds, buds, and bugs. I was happy with the camera for an hour.  Then I pulled out the guitar and played for another hour or so. All in all, I would call it a good day.

Apologies to Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. I was in a hurry to get back to my family.  A pair of truckers rode side by side blocking traffic about an hour west of Wilkes-Barre, forcing congested traffic to merge more quickly.  Another pair in New York slowed traffic and hid me from the State Trooper waiting in the median. Thank you. You made my drive safer and quicker.

Minneapolis to South Bend, Illinois.  Wisconson is also a glacial land. The forests are familiar to my Pennsylvania and Connecticut eyes, with a few pretty and large rocks thrown in the mix.   As always, there is beauty. There is a wildlife problem in this area. The duck below was in a tiny strip of grass between highway and mall. I saw deer eating farmers' crops and another looking both ways before crossing. I missed them with both camera and the car. I stopped counting carcasses because they were appearing to fast. Hunters should be allowed to fix this problem, it is more humane than a vehicle's bumper.

We drove into Minneapolis to see relatives.   Along the way I saw the most interesting things. And fulfilled a childhood fantasy.  It is a charming city.   The people were friendly and had a sense of humor. If I decide on an urban home, it would be on the short list.

Today we started in Sioux Fall, SD with a quick run to the  National Music Museum .   I will not bore you with all the pictures I took.  If you are interested you are already at their extensive website.  Then we headed for Minneapolis. I saw another wind-farm.  They are not uncommon where the terrain is flat. Of course farm farms were more common.   I failed to mention these sign before, but they have been a common sight since the Northwest. Seems these states have no problem closing down roads frequently enough to have permanent warning signs.  Found a wonderful cider and cheese shop just in time for a snack. rosemary cheddar, artichoke tapenade and butter crackers filled our voids. Honeycrisp apples for desert!  After dinner our host took us hunting for some egrets that flocked to a local pond. Seems we were a month early, but we did see some deer. All in all a good day, but I must be tired of the road. I only took 120 pictures today.

Wall, South Dakota to Sioux Falls. This is probably the most authentic thing I saw in Wall. The town, like most towns along US 90 in SD, is a tourist trap. But this Jeep with canoe in front of a tack shop speak true to the native landscape and culture, which I do admire.  Our best coffee of the trip was served from a waste-oil diesel powered Bug towing a solar powered coffee kiosk. The young lady brewed us our own pot. (We have huge travel mugs!) Antelope are the best thing I saw from the interstate. Tourist trap billboards littered the roadsides.  But the signs were comic relief for a constant landscape. So I got off the highway. Best thing I did all day. I will never forget the sight of meadowlarks and red-winged blackbirds flying alongside my car! We visited the Akta Lakota Museum . Visit their website to learn more. Goodnight all.