In Color... ...Hockey Night

Rick Nash and some guy not named Rick Nash

You had to know it would happen after I discovered that I really like pictures in both black and white and color, that eventually, I'd be wasting my time going through my hockey pictures and giving them the Pleasentville effect.  I started with that Kipper picture and slowly figured out how to make it look better.  Some have just the player in color, others have the lines from the ice, or the crease for the goalies in color as well.

In Color...

Nelis Dutch Village, Holland Michigan

So I have discovered an online photo editor that I kinda like.  And I was playing around there for the last week or so, and have discovered that I really like pictures that are in both black and white and color.  This is what I have spent the last week doing, now that my semester is over.  Bringing the Pleasentville treatment to my photos.  Most are flowers, I found they were the easiest to work with, but I have some animals, and some landscapes.  Those with vibrant colors were the most fun.

Old News

Ever look though an old newspaper or magazine to see what has changed.  I like to do that sometimes.  I like to watch old things taped of the television.  They are silly.  This post is gonna be like my blog version of that.  As I mentioned, I got a newspaper from 1968 recently.  So join me on this little walk through Christmas Eve 1968.

1968...

The super awesome exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul is 1968.  My sister and I went up to see it and to catch some hockey.  It was a good time, they also had their Dia de los Muertos celebration so we spent some time there too.  But as I am sure you can guess, that is another post for another time.  This one is all about hopping back to the past and the tumultuous time that was 1968.  So we get there and the first thing we get is a newspaper from December of 1968 (yes, there is a post about this too).  Nothing like an old newspaper image of the moon to get you in the mood for some history.   Not in any order and no captions, just the pictures. 

Randomness: Things in my room

Butterflies and hockey players... oh yeah!

Sometimes, when I don't know what to write about I do one of these take a picture of everything and call it random and post it.  With the hope that it will get my creative juices flowing.  I don't know if it does or if it just a cop out post.  But here goes, this edition of randomness involves the strange things I have floating around my room.

snow... Snow... SNOW

I'll let ya in on another secret, I love snow.  Not much of one I am sure.  No where near as dramatic as my last confession.  But hey, they can't all me that important.  And hardly too shocking cause I am from the glorious state of Minnesota and I spent 2 winters in the interior of Yellowstone at Snow Lodge and I've been skiing since I could walk.  So, yeah, one of those open secret things.  Well, I digress, it snow around the beginning of the month.  I don't remember the actual date but it was just wonderful!

A Confession: Flames @ Wild

Yeah, so I have a confession to make... I don't think it is a big secret, I tell people all time.  So it is probably a big open secret that you all are judging me for and still likeing me in spite of.  Here goes... even though I am a Canucks fan, I don't hate the Calgary Flames.  Now, I don't like them either, I am quite indifferent towards them.  Honestly of all the northwest teams, I dislike the Oilers the most, and then probably the Avs.  Calgary has Brendan Morrison and I can't hate on him ever.  But here is the true confession, I adore Miikka Kiprusoff.  Welp, I said it, Kipper is my favorite of all the Finnish goalies in the NHL.  I can't explain it; as I told my sister, you don't pick your hockey players they pick you.  Go ahead, unfollow or judge, mock me mercilessly, or whatever I can take it. :-)

Wings @ Wild or 1,120 Pictures of Nick Lidstrom

This was probably the most exciting 1-0 game I've ever seen.  Both teams had their moment of utter brilliance and whatever the opposite of that is.  The story of the game was the goaltending.  It was stellar on both sides.  And that is always something fun to watch.  I like going to Wings games, not that I have a burning love or anything, but I bit of respect and I adore some of their Swedes.  The majority of these pictures are going to be of the Red Wings warmup.  Why, cause I already have tons and tons of pictures of the home team.  And well, Nick Lidstrom.  Seriously.

I like taking faceoff pictures

There are a lot of Red Wings after the jump.  If this is not your thing.  Read it anyways.  We look at it, there really is not much reading involved.  But anyways Josh Harding was a rockstar,  Nick Lidstrom has such an amazing presence.

Wild Home Opener: Blue Jackets @ Wild.

I like their green sweaters best!

Ok, so like a month ago, I was going to post the Wild Blue Jackets game.  I never got around to it until now.  No excuse, just didn't feel like it.  That is on the docket, and then it will be Wild Wings and then it will be the Minnesota History Center's Dia de los Muertos and the 1696 exhibit.  I believe this game was the Wilds homeopener,  That was fun.  They won, that is always good.  I like it when the home team wins their opener.  Warm fuzzies and what not.  I think these pictures are a bit more focused on the wild.  It helps that the seats are in their end for the warm up.

What a pumpkin

This post isn't going to be much but some adorable pictures.  Last month our adorable Gordon Setter Koal passed.  He was 14 so it was hard on all of us.  But I am comforted by the fact that he was 14 and had once hell of a life.  He traveled a lot.  He used to go camping with us when we were children, and then later with my parents in the RV.  He was the guardian of the feather comforter.  An outside dog for 12 years that adapted really quickly to being an inside dog.  Hoarder of toys, who loved to pull pop bottles of the table.  Unpacker of suitcases.  Wearer of silly shirts.  He was a pumpkin.  He was pretty loved.

Photowalk- La Crosse on Historic Downtown Days

Last Saturday, I went to Historic Downtown Days in La Crosse Wi, with my cousin Susie.  It was defineatly smaller than I was expecting.  Sure there was some games and such at Cameron park, but half of the particiapting stores were spread throughout downtown La Crosse, it wasn't orgainzed well.  I used it as an excuse to take pictures.  That was fun.  It was a gorgeous day for a walk.  La Crosse is nice because it is an old River city.  Someday, maybe I'll walk down and take pictures of the big old river houses.  I adore them, probably cause I grew up in one, even if it was in a different town.  This post is going to be more focused on downtown La Crosse.

Pre-Season Pics: Oilers @ Wild

So a week later I went to see the Oilers play the Wild with my friend Andrea and her sister.  Once again we were up in the 200 level, but the seats were great.  The nice thing about preseason, is that you can spread out.  Elbow room is a great thing.  This was Andrea's second live game.  And it was a good one for her to see.  I accidentally jinxed the wild in this one.  All I did was say that the oilers had 6 minutes if they wanted to tie it up.  And that I wouldn't mind seeing the young ilers (Omark, Paajarvi, etc in a shootout).  And literally less than a minute later they tied it up.  then a few minutes after that, Darcy Hordichuk, yes that Darcy Hordichuk, scored a goal.  (It was actually pretty too)  But it was called back as an oiler (I think) took a penalty.  And then what do you know, the wild lost in a shootout.  My bad.

Pre-Season Pics: Blue Jackets @ Wild

Holy crap guys, I have been busy!  Yeah, I know not an excuse but it is a reasons non the less.  Well this means there is going to be a blog explosion.  You bet.  I have like 2 preseason hockey games, a walk around La Crosse and a regular season game to post about.  Who knows I might just be on a roll and get a couple more posts there!   We have to start at the begining so the preseason Wild V Blue Jackets is next on the docket.  I went to this game with my sister and mom, we were way up in the 200 level of the X, but I don't really mind those seats.  I like the birds-eye view a lot of for watching the game, but I do like being close up for pictures.  Nevertheless, I still took a crap ton of pictures of this game.  I think I am just going to do pics after the link, maybe some witty comments but since I am still me, I doubt it

2011 MN Wild Scrimmage

Wild Captain Mikko Koivu

So I was at the Wild open scrimmage again this weekend.  You might be asking yourself why me, a Canucks fan was at the Wild's scrimmage (by the way it was a 1-0 game).  Well, I'll give you three reasons.
1. I live in Minnesota (And I do enjoy the Wild, not near like I do the Canucks.)
2. It was hockey
3. As long as Mikko Koivu is playing somewhere in the NHL, I will support him (his team to a point), even if it were something horrible like Anaheim, Boston or god-forbid Chicago.

Random Estes Park

Wow, it has been a while.  Sorry guys, I am getting back in the saddle again.  Now, normally I would play on the getting back in the saddle angle, but I think I've used most of my horse pics...  So I am just going to an Estes Park entry.  It has been 3 weeks since I left Estes.  I didn't leave Estes on my terms, I flew out.  I'd lost the transmission in my car literally the day before I was leave.  So I did get to spend more time in Estes, that was nice.

Old Hotels! Stanley and Baldpate

I like old buildings, I really do.  I think they are nifty and I am always on the look out for some ghosties.  And they are just cool.  I am a nerd for them.  I can't help it I love all the tiny little details.  I think that is what made them so much fun.  In case you forgot I spent a lot of time in old Yellowstone buildings (Lake Hotel, The Inn), and I grew up in one.  Maybe there a connection, or I just like old things.

Petals: Mt. Evans- Goliath Nature Area

 The wild flowers were in full bloom while at Mt. Evans.  This was amazing.  It made the drive absolutely gorgeous.  Part way up the mountain is a little stop called the Mount Goliath Nature Area.  It is just fabulous stop!  It is a whole bunch of wildflower gardens.  And a bristlecone forest.  To the best of my knowledge I'd never been in one before.  They are awesome, they are like the oldest living trees or something strange like that... expect a post.

Wild Thing: Mountain Goats

So you might have noticed that I saw mountain goats when I was at Mt. Evans...  And you probably figured that I took more than enough pictures of them.  I did.  And you are lucky enough that you get to see them.  I don't know a lot about mountain goats, except that I think they are awesome little buggars and they blend into the mountain pretty darn well.  Oh and they don't like dogs.  A forest ranger told us that.  We had the dog with us and totally didn't see the goat, but he told that they don't like each other much and who knows what would happen if they got too close.

Mt. Evans

My parents came to visit me in Estes and like anyone who works in the tourist buisness, I just wanted to get away for my weekend.  We did.  We traveled about an hour and a half south to one of Colorado's many 14ers.  Mount Evans, which is just out side of the town of Idaho Springs (which is about 10 minutes from Blackhawk, a place with many casinos that I lost money in.)  We left Estes early on Thursday and we had hoped to see Mount Evans that day.  But it was later in the afternoon when we got there and since it is the monsoon season here, it was raining.  And there is no point of being above treeline if you can't see very far.

Petals: Estes Park

So I just had to bring back the petals series for a post on Estes Park Colorado.  As I mentioned I am spending the summer here, and it is just glorious!  And there has been great weather and lots of fun days.  There will probably be a part two of this when I get some more Rocky Mountain flowers.  But I've spend some time in Estes and there were flowers galore.  And a garden of wild flowers,

Wild Thing: Moose Part 2

So, I've totally blogged about moose before.  But it was kinda a boring post, cause I've seen so few moose in my days.  You can read it here...  But seriously it would be so much better after my weekend a few weeks ago.  Me and some friends drove over Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake Colorado.  An adorable little town!  (My car nearly died, but that is a story for another time.  The west side of Rocky Mountain is where one finds the moose!

View from My Door: Evening Clouds

I love clouds, and at this elevation, they are quick little buggers.  Tonight it was gorgeous out.  The weather was wonderful, there were clouds, and as the sun went down it just lit them up.  I grabbed a hard cider and my camera and just went out to the porch to hang out for a few.  I took a bunch of pictures.  It was just too pretty not to!  Just spectacular was the view from my door.

Lily Lake

I had such a hard time getting motivated for my day off.  I woke up early as always, but went back to sleep for at least another hour.  I had no idea what I wanted to do.  A part of me just wanted to be lazy and not leave the room, but I had to do something.  I went to breakfast and decided to go to lily lake.  It is about 7 miles south of Estes.  It is a short trail around the lake.  I took a book, my journal and the camera and that is how I spent my morning.

View from My Door: Afternoon Storms

I love the smell of rain.  I like to dance in it, and jump in puddles.  Sometimes I think I am still a kid in that regards.  I love thunderstorms, unless there is a tornado or I am trying to sleep, then they can go away.  But I love afternoon rainstorms.  Today is my day off, and I went for a walk this morning, (will get to that later) and then spent some time downtown.  Headed back to my room and noticed the clouds were rolling in.

View from My Door: Crazy Weather

 So I am sure I've mentioned a time or two, that Estes Park in the Rocky Mountains has some hellishly weird weather...  Thought so.  Well, today was not my first experience with it, it was quite off yesterday, but today was strange none the less.  I wish I'd been thinking and had taken a picture earlier.  I was supposed to work at 7:30 (at least that is when the vans were supposed to leave).  This didn't happen.  It was very windy and snowy and cold last night up on the mountain.  Thus the roads were unopened and needed some plowing.  Now 6ish hours later, still not open, so work has been officially called off.

View From My Door: Elk Edition

Elk, I've seen a lot of elk in my day.  Not as many as I have bison.  But that's a different post.  I've been pretty close to some elk, by accident usually.  Not a fan of things with antlers and the occasional desire to gore you.  But went out of my room today and there by the other building was a big 8-point bull elk.  There were 4 actually, 2 across the street in the neighbor's yard, and one near the EDR and of course the big bull across the way.  It is great, I have a balcony to watch from, that way I don't have to worry about getting to close to the old guy.  But needless to say it was a great view from my front door.

Wild Thing: Sea Horsies

Sea horsies!  I was lucky enough to see several sea horse exhibits over last few years.  The Monterrey Bay Aquarium, the Aquarium at the Mall of America, the Minnesota Zoo, the Oregon Cost Museum.  Lots of them, and they are an amazing creatures.  They are so tiny and so perfect. 

Alberta Falls... Alberta Falls...

That Thursday, the other hike I did was to Alberta Falls.  I left from the Glacier Gorge trailhead; not far from Bear Lake.  I was warned by the park service (volunteer??) that the whole trail was still covered in snow.  I wasn't too concerned as it a short hike only .6 miles in and .6 miles out... actually I think it was closer to .9 in and out.  Their signs were sending me mixed messages.  The first .3 miles was pretty dry, and as I came to a bridge over a raging stream I noticed it was snow covered.

Bear Lake

I had Thursday off and I got up early and did some easy hiking.  I first went to Bear Lake, and then to Alberta Falls.  So June in Rocky Mountain is still pretty snowy.  And in some places it hasn't melted yet, and both of my destinations were such places.  Bear Lake was mostly frozen still and the path still covered in snow.  It made for some unique hiking.

Bear Lake is an incredibly short nature walk, though due to the snow, I only walked around half of the lake and went back the way I had come.  I just wasn't feeling to secure in snow.  I am not always the graceful sort and the last thing I wanted on my day off was to tumble into freezing cold waters.  But it was such a pretty day that it was totally worth it.  I love the drive to the lake and the walk was so much fun, and it was gorgeous anyways.  Win-Win!

Boats

Still in San Francisco!  We went to the Maritime National Historic Site (or what ever it is called).  It was totes cool, I like boats.  And they had all kinds.  There were old timey boats, a submarine and other fun and exciting things!

View from My Door: Hanging Clouds

We had a storm the other night.  It was awesome, I love the rain, but the clouds do some silly things in the mountains.  The next morning, I had the day off, and I had planned on doing a spot of hiking.  (I did).  But since I couldn't sleep much, I got up for breakfast.  Was OK with this once I saw the clouds.  They were just hangiug there, like cotton candy around the mountains as I went to breakfast.  So naturally I snapped this pictures from my door when I got back.

Wild Thing: Jellies

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're gonna say, Jellyfish... again... Yeah, so what's your point exactly.  I love jellyfish, love them so much, it isn't even funny!  I have more than just the Monterrey Jellies anyways.  I've waxed poetic about them before, so I guess this is just one for simple enjoyments.  There was a Jellyfish exhibit in the aquarium at the Mall of America (MOA) and my sister and I naturally went. 

Across the Bay

Wow! I just realized that I haven't written about my time in San Francisco at all!  Fear not this will be remedied.  The only time that I went to San Francisco it was in March or April of 2008.  I had just finished my first winter at Snow Lodge and I went traveling with my parents to the southwest.  I haven't really blogged about this trip at all which is a shame cause it was great!  My younger bro was living in the San Francisco area at the time.  So we stopped by.

Wild Thing: Frogs

So I was going through my pictures, I've been doing that lately.  I was looking at my trip to the Mississippi River Aquarium in Dubuque Iowa, and while I love the albino alligator, the frogs where what called out to me.  So cute!  I am pretty sure I've got frogs from several different trips.  But hey I guess we'll find out together.  The only ones I could find were from Iowa and one lone frog from a butterfly garden in Malaysia... odd.

View from My Door: Sunset Edition

Well, yeah, here is another of the lazy photograph posts.  But hey I'm tired, I just dug in then snow for something like 4.5-5 hours.  The view from my door is amazing, almost all the time, so long as you can actually see out of it.  But I was watching some lame TV show the other night and luckily I looked out my window at the very right moment.  It was an incredibly vivid sunset.

Digout: Days 1&2

As I am sure I’ve mentioned, I am spending the summer working in a gift shop in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Well, it’s a pretty tall mountain, somewhere around 12 thousand feet.  And you’d better believe that there is a bunch of snow up there.  It like many places in the mountains is a seasonal spot, and in the winter, they just let it snow.  The road is closed for several months and they plow it out each spring.  And this year was no different.  And while the road is being plowed out we dig out the gift shop.

View from My Door

So I could go and find great places to take pictures or I could be lazy and look out the window, and then when the moment is right I could just snap a picture from my door.  Don't get me wrong I plan on doing more of the former, but hell, the view I have is pretty awesome.  I have some cell phone pics, but I just can't seem to get enough service to get them on my computer, and I forgot the little SD card adapter :(

Wild Thing: Wild Horses

So yeah I know I've already written about the wild horse sanctuary, but honestly how could I not do another one.  They were just so amazing and Beautiful!  Come on people you had to know this was coming, I mean how often do I default to YNP or Monterrey?  But this series of posts is all about the animals and you cannot deny how gorgeous they are.

Powder River Pass

Well as long as I am doing my favorite places (which is just about everywhere I've ever been) I figure this has to be on that list.  The first time I drove to Yellowstone alone, was in 2007, and I was heading out a few days early.  I went cross South Dakota, stopped at Lee's Motor Inn in Chamberlain--- totes awesome hotel!  Then I made it Cody Wyoming the next day, and that drive was something fantastic!

Coulson Gulch: First Hike of the Summer

I went hiking today, since I am here writing this it means I survived it.  It nearly killed me though, I am not as the greatest of shape, not completely used to this altitude.  That is what killed me the most, the altitude, I can suffer though normally, but there were times I was almost sick.  Not fun, but the destination was well worth the journey!