ambivalent images

Smart Arc

A tiny smart car passes by the Arc de Triomphe. The massive scale of the monument makes the already diminutive car look even more tiny. I want a Smart ForTwo!

(Thus ends our brief tour of Paris. L. and her sister had a terrific time and I'm saving my pennies so that one day I may also return to the City of Light.)

Industrial Strength Sleep

A sign inside the Pompidou Center (I think). This was probably part of an art installation of some kind. L. should really be posting this so she could explain...

I don't know what it means, but I think I could use some of that...

Sacre Coeur

The giant white basilica overlooking Montmarte. I really like this view...

Wi-Fi World!

A giant wi-fi symbol in the plaza outside the Pompidou Center. The Pompidou was about my favorite museum in Paris and it turns out it was L's favorite, too.

Les Give Me Five!

An ad at a Paris bus stop. It looks like they might be giving away MacBooks, but I'm not really sure.

Shakespeare and Co.

Shakespeare and Co., which I'm told is a very old bookstore in Paris.

Parisenne Chopper

Bikes L. saw on the streets of Paris. The red one looks superfun to ride, while the green one looks like your typical bicycle built for two.

Notre Dame

The cathedral from a bit of distance. At right is the back of the cathedral. Both views highlight the flying buttresses that support the building from the outside. It's amazing to think construction of this building began in 1163 and didn't finish until nearly 200 years later. The U.S. has only been a nation for just over 200 years. The mind boggles...

Paris Metro

The inside of a metro train in Paris. Nice, huh? As you can see from the pic at right, most of the trains are double-deckers, which is pretty interesting. I was in Paris about 11 years ago and I don't remember any double-decker trains. It seems like a good way to accommodate a growing ridership...

The Tower towers

The Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the background. This is another of the pics L. took on her trip to Paris.

LIttle Eiffel Stands In the Archway

Yes, that's really the Eiffel Tower! What is it doing here? L. got to go to Paris for a few days and this is one of the many great pictures she took. I'll be featuring a few more in the next few days.

The Eiffel Tower always makes me think of the Pixies' song, “Alec Eiffel,” the lyrics of which I copy for you below so you don't have to visit one of those ad-encrusted lyrics sites.

Pioneer of aerodynamics
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
they thought he was real smart alec
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
he thought big they called it a phallic
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
they didn't know he was panoramic
little eiffel stands in the archway
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
keeping low doesn't make no sense
sometimes people can be oh so dense
they didn't want it but he built it anyway
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
little eiffel stands in the archway
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
keeping low don't make sense
keeping low doesn't make no-sense
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
little eiffel stands in the archway
oh alexander i see you beneath
the archway of aerodynamics.

Steel Indian Silhouettes

Steel sculptures at the summit of the Chief Joseph Highway. I bet these sculptures look spectacular in different light.

The sculptures help commemorate the Nez Perce warriors who were hunted down by General William Tecumseh Sherman as part of the white man's effort to exterminate or otherwise crush the non-white native peoples of the west in the late 19th century. Yet another sad and disgraceful period of American history...

Mountain Lake

A lake high above Red Lodge. Of course I don't remember the name of this lake, but it was a short hike from a campground on one of the last turnoffs as you head up Beartooth Pass. People were pulling lots of little fish out of the lake and mostly throwing them back in. I need to get a good map so I can learn the names of this lake, as well as the mountain that's reflected in it.

Cooke City Morning

The view down main street in Cooke City looking toward Yellowstone. We stayed overnight in Cooke City and, while I wouldn't recommend the Soda Butte Lodge, I definitely recommend the cafe across the street and the coffee and pastry place just up the way. Cooke City is basically inaccessible to automobiles in the winter—snowmobiles only. It's kind of a crazy little place, but one to which I definitely hope to return soon.

Bison Jam

Bison block the road in Yellowstone. They seem to be having some sort of important conversation there on the asphalt, don't you think?

We sat in this “jam” for at least 15 minutes before a few cars decided to ease around these animals. When cars began passing them (albeit very slowly), the bison decided they might as well give the road back to the four-wheeled beasts.

At right is a shot of more bison in the meadow beside the road. Lots of little ones were feeding and frolicking in the grass.

Yellowstone Rainbow

A rainbow shimmers in the mist of the Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This was also from Uncle Tom's Trail.

Lower Falls

The lower falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Awesome.

This was taken from the stairs on Uncle Tom's Trail.

Learn about the Buffalo

An informational table at the Tower Falls visitor center in Yellowstone National Park. The sign on the left says:

NOTICE TO VISITORS: This group is expressing first amendment rights. These activities are not connected with nor endorsed by the National Park Service.

Of course, that disclaimer made me pay much more attention than I would have otherwise. The table offered information about the bison in the park and about how they can be killed by ranchers if they wander outside the National Park boundaries. (There are no fences to keep the animals inside Yellowstone.) If I understand correctly, ranchers want to kill the bison b/c bison can carry a disease (brucellosis?) that, if transferred to cows, would cause the cows to have a stillborn calf. However, there's never been a proven case of the disease moving from bison to cattle, so the ranchers don't have much justification for their fear. Nevertheless, as the law stands now, ranchers can kill bison if the bison are on their private land. So this group was encouraging people to sign a petition to change the law and prevent ranchers from killing bison. Seems like a good idea to me.

Sky Lake

A small pond near the top of Beartooth Pass.

Beartooth Vista II

Another view from near the top of Beartooth Pass. This one is right near the top of the ski lift that looks entirely out of place when this area isn't covered in rocks. Apparently this steep slope is used as a late spring Olympic training ground and extreme tourist thrill, hence the ski lift up the nearly vertical rock face.

Beartooth Vista I

The view from near the top of Beartooth Pass. Here are some more interesting pics from the state. Obviously the views from the road are spectacular. To make it even better, try it on a motorcycle or a nice sporty convertible if at all possible. I haven't tried either myself, but I saw lots of people who were doing it and it looked like the perfect thing.

Hank's Place

A diner in Red Lodge, Montana. We stopped in for breakfast here and were very pleased w/the food, even if the service left something to be desired in terms of speed. Life just moves more slowly in Montana, I think, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It can be frustrating sometimes when you forget to take off your “rush rush rush” city hat, but otherwise it can be quite refreshing.

Huffy Rack

A rack of identical Huffy Santa Fe bicycles on the U of M campus. This rack just appeared one afternoon on the lawn on my way home from class. Very strange...

DoubleTree of Doom

The DoubleTree hotel in Missoula, MT, the site of the July 2006 MT Bar Exam. Good: It has AC. Bad: It doesn't have enough outlets for us all to use laptops. The bar examiners don't allow the use of laptops, anyway, but it's only a matter of time before they do. I might just have something to do with that....

Grizz

The preeminent grizzly statue on the University of Montana campus. This one sits in the focal point of the main quad with what I would call “old main” in the background, and Mt. Sentinel behind that. It's actually very picturesque, even if you can't tell from this photo. ;-)

Mt. Sentinel Fire Road

The Mt. Sentinel fire road as seen from a little ways up the mountain and looking down toward the U of M campus.

Hangin' High

A hang-glider circles in for a landing over the University of Montana soccer fields in Missoula. I've seen several gliders in the sky on recent evenings. It looks like incredible fun!

ASUM Gardens

The community gardens of the Associated Students of the University of Montana. (At least I think that's what ASUM stands for.) Mt. Sentinel rises in the background. This is a wonderful place to go for a run or an evening stroll...

Montana Hall

A view of the East side (I think) of Montana Hall on the Montana State University campus. This was one of the coolest buildings on campus but unfortunately it was all fenced off for reroofing and maybe other repairs.

MSU

The Montana State University logo above the sign for Strand Union in Bozeman. I was on the campus for a couple of days of training. My short stay suggested that Bozeman would be a pretty cool place to live and definitely a nice place to be an undergrad.

Stumpy Bear

A bear sculpture on the University of Montana campus. As you can see from the pic at right, this bear has been carved out of a tree stump. Or maybe it was just set on a tree stump, but I'd like to think it was carved out of the tree itself. Whatever. The Grizzly is the mascot of the University of Montana so there are bears all over the place here. Specifically, I've seen at least three bear carvings like this that look like they were carved out of the trees on whose stumps they stand.

Western Bird Column

A sculpture on the Univeristy of Montana campus just outside the business school. The steel into which those birds are cut is about 3-4 inches thick. At right is a shot of the sculpture looking up from the base. I like the latter perspective better but it doesn't show the bird silhouettes as clearly. I regret that I didn't write down the title of the sculpture and its artist, but it's pretty cool, don't you think?

Continental Divide

The sign marking the Continental Divide heading East on I-90 just past Butte. Along with the Great Basin, the Divide is one of the great geographic landmarks of the western U.S.

I-90 Sunset

The sun sets below a line of hills on I-90 about halfway between Billings and Missoula. I'm getting a little too familiar w/this drive. It's pretty and I actually enjoy it—even if I do have to listen to bar review lectures for 5 hours. Maybe that's actually why I like it—it's about my most productive study time!

M View

The view from the top of the concrete “M” on Mt. Sentinel above Missoula.

Spike

A railroad spike on the tracks just east of Missoula. At right is the view down the tracks toward town. If you follow the Kim Williams Nature Trail to its end and keep going on the short singletrack trail that heads up to the right, this is about where you'll end up.

Missoula Drive

I-90 coming down out of the mountains just west of Missoula. The drive from Billings is long (at least 5 hours), but definitely beautiful.

Smile, You're in Montana!

A sign on I-94 just inside Montanas eastern border.

Do Not Approach Wildlife

A sign at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park on the western edge of North Dakota. I stopped here for a break on my drive and was reminded that Teddy R. was quite the outdoorsman—a buffalo-killer, even. He apparently fell in love with the “bad lands” and set aside many acres of them for a national park. I also thought it was fitting juxtaposition to the bison in D.C.

Dog Is My Copilot

Sisu sleeps the seat of the truck beside me. The shot at right shows her in another common sleeping position.

One of the really great things about our dog is what a great car traveller she is. She gets pretty antsy and anxious when you start packing up in preparation for a trip, but once you get her in a vehicle moving at a regular pace, she's out like a light. And she'll sleep for hours and hours. If you stop, she wants out, but as soon as you're back on the road, she's back asleep. I think our 24-hour marathon drive sort of pushed her to the limit of her ability to sleep, though. In the last couple of hours she was just laying there but her eyes weren't always closed.

Impact Wrench

The impact wrench Mr. Tire Man in Mandan, ND, used to remove and replace my trailer wheel. As you can see from the pic at right, the tire was shredded. I looked back in my rearview mirror just as I was picking up speed to leave Bismark at about 4 a.m. when I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw sparks flying from the tire. I pulled over immediately and found that the tire had lost most all of its rubber but was still holding air. I could see an exit about a mile up the road so I turned on the flashers and headed in at about 20 mph. In about a half mile I heard a “pop” that I assume was the tire blowing b/c when I finally got to the exit and the truck stop there the tire had great big gaping holes in it.

That truck stop didn't sell tires so I had to limp back into Mandan, a suburb of Bismark, about 12 miles back the way I'd come. There I found a tire store that opened at 8 a.m. so I parked and waited. Once its doors opened, I was out of there in less than 10 minutes. Awesome. Thank you Mr. Mandan Tire Man!

Of course, now Budget doesn't want to pay me for the tire. Apparently I was supposed to call a roadside assistance number so Budget could take care of a problem like that, but no one ever told me that so I just fixed it and figured I'd be reimbursed. We're still in negotiations, but it's something to remember in the future—if your rental truck/trailer breaks down, do not fix it yourself!

Lucy Lick

A blurry shot of my cousin's dog, Lucy, saying hello. I took another shot of her in profile so you can get a better idea of what she looks like—a cute little Shi-Tzu. Very lively, very affectionate, loves to be held and given attention. Small dogs are cool b/c they can't really damage people or things. While we were inside saying hi to Lucy and talking, our big monster dog was in the backyard killing the flowers and threatening to claw holes in the window screens. She wasn't being malicious, she's just big enough to do damage w/out meaning to. Of course, we love her anyway.

jesUSAves

A banner in the back window of a truck on I-70 somewhere in Ohio. The soaring eagle, the stars and stripes, and the salvation of Jesus all wrapped organically and inextricably around the U.S.A.—just as they should be, of course. Stephen Colbert, you totally need to add this to your show!

18th Century Shingles

Paint peels from the ornate wooden shingles atop a side building at Mt. Vernon. Texture!

18th Century Scales

A set of scales hanging in the storehouse at Mt. Vernon. The storehouse sits just across a little path/road from the kitchen so that supplies would be w/in easy reach. The storehouse also was the place to get thread, leather, and just about anything else a plantation might need.

We were at Mt. Vernon yesterday. It was my first visit and I enjoyed it, but is it really worth $13/person? And where is that money going? Anyway, the short drive down there from D.C. is pretty and the grounds are beautiful, as well. I esp. liked the 16-sided barn, but I'm just weird like that.

Museum of Law

The entrance to the ABA's Museum of Law in Chicago. Did you know the ABA had a museum of law? Me neither. I was just wandering around down by the river and saw a little sign for it through the window, so in I went. I found it to be a relatively small space (one big room in the basement) filled with colorful exhibits about all the U.S. Presidents who were also lawyers. Supposedly that's just the current exhibit, but it was all that was there and there was no indication of the kinds of things the museum had exhibited in the past or will exhibit in the future. Anyway, I wouldn't add it to a tourist itinerary, but if you're wandering around and need to kill a half hour (or if you're really interested in Presidential history), it might be worth your while.

The image at right (click to enlarge) is just an example of the kinds of quotations you'll see painted on the walls in the museum.

YHF Building 1

One of the coolest apartment buildings on the river in Chicago. This building was featured w/its next-door twin on the cover of Wilco's “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” CD. I also think I spent Thanksgiving in about 1992 on one of the upper floors of one of these buildings. You'd think I'd know whether I actually did that, but you'd be wrong. I was with my girlfriend at the time and we were living in Missouri. She had a friend who invited us to spend Thanksgiving w/her family in Chicago, so we headed north. We got there late at night and after navigating through the city to downtown we ended up inside a parking garage. From there, we moved through hallways and elevators to the friend's apartment up on a very high floor. That's when I realized that we must be in one of these buildings—looking out the balcony you could see such a view! Plus the balcony was rounded, the room itself seemed rounded, so it all made sense. But now, years later, I wonder. Was I really in one of these buildings, or is it just my imagination making it seem that way? The whole experience seems a little surreal, so who knows....

Stairs and Stacks

Looking up through a tangle of fire escape at a silvery smokestack in downtown Chicago. The photo at right (click to enlarge) shows the silvery smokestack from a bit of distance. There was so little color in these photos to begin with that I decided to convert them to black and white. I think the conversion emphasizes the high contrast and all the intersecting lines that make the image interesting—at least to me.

Self-Portrait in Bean

My reflection beneath the “bean” in Milennium Park. I took this at about 9:30 a.m. on a damp, gray workday, so I was the only person there! It was pretty cool, considering the last time I saw the “bean” it was mobbed with people. If you don't know the “bean,” these pictures should give you a better idea about it, and here is a bit of data about it.

Creative Destruction

The view through a fence around a construction site near Washington and State in downtown Chicago. One of the greatest virtues of Chicago (at least for me) is its architecture. This image shows several different generations of buildings and styles. I don't know my architecture well enough to name what is visible here, but it goes from the older and more ornate to the much newer, more plain boxes of more contemporary construction. The construction site in the foreground covers a full city block—what kind of building will rise there? What kind of building had to be removed to make way for this new one?

Urban Canyon II

The view from an “El” station in Chicago. I believe this was the station in front of the Public Library on the southern end of the loop. I had to fly to Chicago last Friday for an interview, but since that only took 30 minutes I ended up taking quite a few pictures, some of which you'll see here in the next few days.

Views like this are available at every turn in downtown Chicago, but they remain remarkable to a country bumpkin like me. D.C. seems almost like a small town compared to Chicago and the lack of views like this in D.C. are part of the reason for that. Of course, I think I prefer the smaller city feel of D.C. Could I learn to live and thrive in urban canyons like this one? Hmmm......

No TSA at DCA

Long lines form early on a Saturday morning at the entrance to the concourse at National Airport. The security screeners had not yet opened for business so people who arrived more than 45 minutes before the departure of their flight simply had to wait.

In-Dash Doggie

BG sits on the dash of my mom's Beetle wating for us to come back to him. BG is a small dog and the Beetle must have one of the biggest dash areas of any car I've ever seen, so he fits up there pretty nicely with a good view. He seemed to like waiting there for us, but he'd always get up and start prowling around anxiously as soon as he saw us coming back to the car (see pic at right).

Looking Down On Montana

Looking down on Montana immediately south of Billings. I think I took this within about 5-10 minutes of takeoff and the flight path was south-southwest toward Denver, CO. The picture at right was taken just a couple of minutes later.

And people ask me why I want to move to Montana. Hmph.

(Obviously this photo is out of chronological order since I made this flight on Dec. 31. I'll get back to the chronological order in a couple of days.)

New Year's Eve Travel Scene

A father and daughter catch some sleep at Denver International Airport on New Year's Eve day.

TRUWEST

The ultimate Montana license plate: It says “TRUWEST” and it was on a big pickup completely covered in mud.

Pouting BG

My dad's dog, BG, waiting patiently for someone to let him down off of the table. When we go to grandma's all he wants to do is run around and sniff the whole house for possible crumbs someone might have dropped somewhere. This means he's not very happy if he has to stay in one room. We put him on the card table because that way he couldn't keep scratching the door to get out. Isn't he cute?

After Christmas

An overflowing trash can seemed a fitting symbol of post-Christmas America. This one was outside a Best Buy in Billings, MT.

Gingerbread House

A snazzy little gingerbread house helps make a festive holiday atosphere at my grandma's house.

Candy Merry Christmas Canes!

A bag of miniature candy canes free for the taking at some shop I was in before the holidays. It was a small gesture, but I certainly enjoyed my candy cane. I think it was the only one I had this year.

At any rate, I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve Above the Clouds

The setting sun gave the clouds a beautiful glow as I flew West on Christmas Eve. This part of the flight was great—a huge new plane with neat little video screens in all of the seatbacks. Too bad they were showing some crap movie, but I had a great book to read so the time flew by. Overall, the trip was made far too long by the fact that it involved not one but two plane changes. Somehow I managed to book a flight from the middle of Michigan to Chicago, from Chicago to Denver, and from Denver to Montana. Yeah, it was the cheapest flight I could find, but that's just ridiculous.

Bovine Mucus

Two cows try to catch a breath of fresh air while traffic moves slowly on the highway. L. actually took this shot and she did a terrific job, don't you think? I do.

On our drive we also saw what seemed like incredibly cheap gas (pictured at right). I don't expect to say anything less than $1.89/gallon for the rest of my life. Around here in D.C. we can still find $2.05/gallon at one or two places, but mostly it's around $2.19 and up.

Incredible Big Screen

Mr. and Mrs. Incredible tease each other on M's humongo tv. It's a good thing I don't have a tv this big or I would never be able to get anything done. Speaking of which, I think one of my shows is about to start...