Carter Wyoming. Population 6: Wordless Wednesday

Carter, Wyoming

The ghost town of Carter, Wyoming

Flag mural

Population 6 in July 2023

Wordless Wednesday

If birds can glide… : Wordless Wednesday

if birds can glide

If birds can glide for long periods of time, then… why can’t I?

Orville Wright

Wright Flyer replica, Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Similarities and differences on display: LAPC

Last week, I showed symmetrical displays of history at the Museum of the American West in Lander, Wyoming. However, history is not always balanced. A good museum shows our similarities and differences. Here are more items on display at the Museum.

At times, our differences stand out.

similarities and differences

Though what we wear differs, from practical and utilitarian…

Cowboy clothing

To ornamental and symbolic, our clothing reflects who we are.

Native American beadwork
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A scary carriage: SSMCC

I saw a scary carriage at Beyond the Ranch, an antique store in Redmond, Oregon. The skeletal coachman guides his skeletal horse while the occupant waves a bony hand. A frightful sight for your Halloween!

A scary carriage

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge (SSMCC) – Black or Metallic

Treasures of the Old West: LAPC & MM

Here are some treasures of the Old West at the Museum of the American West, in Lander, Wyoming, shown in both color and black and white. Click on the arrows to see monochrome versions highlighting their symmetry.

Wheels may carry you forward, towards new horizons

  • Carriage wheels
  • Carriage wheels

Or back, to a final resting place

  • treasures of the Old West
  • 1880 hearse

You may choose to wander in another’s shoes

  • treasures of the Old West
  • moccasins
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Scenes near the sea, Northern Ireland: LAPC, WWE

Scenes near the sea on a stormy winter day

A bridge of rope, swinging and swaying

Carrick-a-Rede Bridge
Carrick-a-Rede Bridge

An ancient castle, deteriorating yet persisting

scenes near the sea
Dunluce Castle

A seaside cafe, satiating and breathtaking

Roark's Kitchen
Roark’s Kitchen, Ballintoy Car Park

A shoreline sculpted by waves, ebbing and flowing

scenes near the sea
Giant’s Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland February 2020

Scenes near the sea on a stormy winter day

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – On the edge

Water, Water Everywhere (WWE)

National Neon Sign Museum: LAPC

Where do you go when you’re looking for a quick recharge? To the National Neon Sign Museum in The Dalles, Oregon, of course!

On the main floor, you’ll see a rainbow of neon colors. The signs on display are from the late 1800s through the 1960s.

Do you recognize any of these iconic signs?

National Neon Sign Museum

How about this wall filled with Coca Cola signs?

Coca Cola signs
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Beaded Horse Regalia: The Daily Spur

Beaded Horse Regalia

This Beaded Horse Regalia is part of the exhibition at The Indian Museum of North America®. The beaded horse is on display at the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota. Douglas Fast Horse, Oglala Lakota, created this piece. He makes a point of creating work that replicates “historic Lakota regalia as a way to honor his heritage and help tell the story of Lakota Oyate.”

I’ve always admired beadwork such as this. This Beaded Horse Regalia piece shows what can be accomplished with many tiny glass beads, and a lot of patience.

The Daily Spur – Exhibition

Legend Rock petroglyphs: LAPC

In June, I visited Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site near Thermopolis, Wyoming. The quarter-mile-long sandstone cliff at an isolated site is adorned with hundreds of Legend Rock petroglyphs. When you walk the trail beside these images, it is truly a step back in time.

Seeing Legend Rock petroglyphs up close

Legend Rock petroglyphs

More than 300 petroglyphs have been identified on 92 rock panels. The oldest are at least 10,000 years old. The petroglyphs were carved by “ancestors of today’s Numic-speaking Eastern Shoshone tribe.” 

Due to the fantastical nature of the images carved here, this site is thought to have been used by individuals on vision quests. The images were carved so long ago, their exact meanings are unknown.

Legend Rock petroglyphs

In 1973, the state acquired the site and later that year, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites. The site included sections owned by the state and federal government, and private landowners. In 2015, local landowner Richard Wagner donated the last part needing protection.

Cliff face
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Victor Alexander saddle: Wordless Wednesday

Victor Alexander saddle

Victor Alexander saddle at Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming

Wordless Wednesday

Foggy day at Boiler Bay: WWE

I took this picture of a foggy day at Boiler Bay, Oregon a couple weeks ago.

foggy day at Boiler Bay

In 1910, the J. Marhoffer schooner ran aground here. Its engine caught on fire and the fuel tanks exploded, sending debris everywhere. During extremely low tides, you can still see its boiler, for which this site is named.

Water Water Everywhere (WWE)

Evergreen Aviation, McMinnville: Word of the Day

Last September, we visited the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, located in McMinnville, Oregon. This large facility is a great place to visit, whether you’re an aviator or not.

I featured their star attraction, the Spruce Goose, in a previous post. It dwarfs the other aircraft there. In several of my images, you’ll see parts of the Spruce Goose towering overhead.

I’ve divided this post by sections shown on the Museum map at the end of this post.

Early Flight

Several of the aircraft in this and other sections are replicas of the original. The first is a flying machine as envisioned by Leonardo Da Vinci, 400 years before the Wright brothers.

Evergreen Aviation

The next plane is a replica of a Curtiss Pusher.

Curtiss Pusher

This de Havilland DH-4 aircraft was used to deliver mail in the 1920s, as weather permitted.

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Birch bark canoe: Wordless Wednesday

Birch bark canoe

Birch bark canoe at The Indian Museum of North America® at Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota

Wordless Wednesday

Structure of wings: Monochrome Monday

This Curtiss JN-4A Jenny, shown without fabric covering, shows the structure of wings. This is one of the many aircraft on display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

Structure of wings

Here’s an informational poster next to the plane. Note the photo of a couple playing tennis on its wings!

Monochrome Monday

Kitchen of the past: LAPC

Today, I’m featuring photos from the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site kitchen. I’ve posted about this historical site in John Day, Oregon, before. It was boarded up for many years when the doors were finally opened, it was like a time capsule inside.

Whenever I visit there, I think about how good the various shapes and textures would look in monotone pictures. However, the vibrant colors are also interesting. Since I was unable to decide which way to process the photos I took, I’m showing both color and monotone sepia versions. Move the slider to compare them. I used a dark vignette effect on all of the photos.

The first one shows a wood cooking stove with a small shrine behind it. I like how the orange color glows in the color version.

Kitchen of the pastSepia tone

The second photo shows various products in this kitchen of the past. In this one, I like how the labels stand out in color.

Kitchen sundriesKitchen sundries
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The Gordon House-Frank Lloyd Wright

This Frank Lloyd Wright house in Silverton, is the only one designed by the well-known architect in Oregon. The Gordon House was designed in 1957 and completed in 1963. When new owners wanted to tear it down in 1997, it was moved from Wilsonville to Silverton. It was carefully refurbished and opened to the public in 2002. It looks right at home, surrounded by stately oak trees.

This house was designed as part of the Usonian series, structures meant to provide affordable housing for working class people.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Though I only looked at the Gordon House from a distance, private tours are available of the inside for a small fee. For a higher fee, up to four people can spend the night in this beautiful house.

Gordon House

Here’s a peek of the inside and outside of the house. I hope to go on the tour soon to get a closer look. 🙂

Creations of Spirit: LAPC

The High Desert Museum, in Bend, Oregon, is currently hosting the Creations of Spirit exhibition. The pieces on display include historical artifacts and works by contemporary Native artists.

The beautiful pieces are enhanced by quotes throughout the gallery. I will let their words tell the stories.

Throughout the process, you continually impart yourself in the creation of that object. And when you’ve completed it, it takes on a life of its own.

Philip Cash Cash, Ph. D., Weyíiletpuu (Cayuse) and Niimpíipuu (Nez Perce) tribes
Creations of Spirit dress & fan
Child’s buckskin dress by Plateau artist (late 1800s) with bead dangles added (early 1900s); Feather fan by Umatilla artist (early 1900s)

I wanted to have my own story in the baskets. I wanted to keep the traditional form and the shape, but I wanted to add iconography that talked to the present.

Joe Feddersen, Member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Baskets & containers

Root bag with multiple figures by Plateau artist (early 1900s); Basket with animal figures by Umatilla artist (mid-1900s); Round Dance pitcher & cup by Joe Feddersen, 2002; Berry-picking container by Vivian Harrison, (StuYat), Yakama/Palouse/Wishram, 2002

Most of my designs are from the petroglyphs along the Nch’i wana [Columbia River]. I love and appreciate where our people came from, and our people left animals as stories in our pictographs and petroglyphs. That’s why I want to instill them in my baskets and keep them alive. I want people to know that we’ve been seeing these animals for tens of thousands of years.

Natalie Kirk, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Creations of Spirit Baskets
Basket in progress with sturgeon and condor design by Natalie Kirk, 2022; Story Basket by Natalie Kirk, 2022
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Crazy Horse sculpture: LAPC

The sculpture of Crazy Horse in South Dakota stands out along the horizon as you drive north from Custer. We visited the site earlier this month, near the date of its 75th anniversary, to view the progress on the immense sculpture.

Crazy Horse Sculpture

Crazy Horse Memorial

The Crazy Horse Memorial includes a Welcome Center, a gift store and restaurant, the family home of the sculptor, rotating exhibits, indoor and outdoor sculptures, the Native American Educational and Cultural Center, and the Indian Museum of North America. I’ll feature photos of the Museum in a later post. The nonprofit also manages the Indian University of North America.

One of my favorite things was a 1/34 scale model of the Crazy Horse sculpture. The size of the finished sculpture carved into the mountainside will be 641 feet long and 563 feet tall.

Close view of scale model

If you stand in just the right spot, you can capture an image that includes the scale model and the current sculpture.

Crazy Horse
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Looking up in Burns: LAPC

I did a lot of looking up in Burns, Oregon on my trip in April 2023. The main purpose of my trip was to look for birds on Harney County Migratory Bird Festival tours. However, I arrived a day early to participate in the Downtown Walking History Tour.

A very short history of Burns, Oregon

Burns was officially established in 1884 and incorporated in 1889. The Northern Paiute, or their ancestors, lived here for thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settlers. Harney County, where Burns is located, is the largest county in Oregon and ninth largest in the nation. This sparsely populated county is 10,226 square miles in size. The population of Burns, its largest city, was 2,757 in 2021.

Our tour guide told us about the history of buildings along the main road. Sometimes she pointed out areas where no building currently exists. Unfortunately, fires destroyed many buildings in years past. It is ironic that the town of Burns had so many fires.

Looking up in Burns

While I listened to facts about many of the buildings we passed, I kept looking up in Burns. My attention wandered, and I focused on the architecture overhead.

Some of the buildings had fallen into disrepair.

Old structure

Others retained parts of the original structure with updates, like modern windows.

Looking up in Burns

The Federal Building housed the Post Office at one time. I think it was once the tallest building in Burns.

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Models forever in flight: Wordless Wednesday

Models forever in flight

Models forever in flight at Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, Oregon

Wordless Wednesday

Collection of… : LAPC

A collection of ingredients used to cure maladies at an ancient apothecary

collection of herbal cures
Kam Wah Chung, John Day, Oregon

A few carefully curated contemporary works, echoing history

Contemporary baskets
Baskets by Natalie Kirk (Warm Springs Tribe), High Desert Museum, Oregon
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Where the path may lead: Monochrome Monday

I saw this well-known quote on where the path may lead you at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

Where the path may lead quote

Monochrome Monday

Guinness Storehouse visit

I’m sharing photos of a Guinness Storehouse visit on this Saint Patrick’s Day. The Storehouse is in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland and it gets millions of visitors a year.

Guinness Storehouse sign

Guinness was first created in 1759 and the Storehouse where it’s made opened to the public in 2000. The best selling alcoholic drink in Ireland is Guinness. The exhibits at the Storehouse lead you through the history and manufacturing of this iconic beer.

Guinness Storehouse

I liked how the display boards had brief, informative explanations.

Hops description

Displays are also artistic and multimedia. This fountain was one of my favorites. I’ll share photos of their whimsical advertising displays in a future post.

Water display
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A plane dreaming of flying: Wordless Wednesday

A plane dreaming of flying

A plane dreaming of flying at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon

Wordless Wednesday

Ladles in waiting: Monochrome Monday

These ladles in waiting are at the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, Oregon.

ladles in waiting

Monochrome Monday

Reveal petroglyphs with digital magic: LAPC

Did you know you can reveal petroglyphs with a little digital magic? Yep, there’s an app for that. In this post, I’ll show you how I revealed several petroglyphs with the app, Rock Art Enhancer. Click through the slideshow of each image below.

In each of the first pictures, I show the original image. In the second, I used the Auto level and increase saturation tool. The third pictures show a variety of effects. All of these petroglyphs are located in southeast Oregon.

These petroglyphs were carved into rock thousands of years ago and over time they have become less clear. Unfortunately, the messages conveyed by many of these carvings are unknown. While some show obvious elements of wildlife, humans, and the sun, others are open to interpretation.

Revealing petroglyphs with an app

The first series shows petroglyphs on a rimrock cliff located in Harney County. The second effect brings out the details, but I prefer the almost psychedelic colors in the third image. The third effect used the Decorrelation Stretching (abbreviated as D. Stretch) YUV Custom tool.

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A tower of light tale: LAPC & WWP

There, above a rocky shore, a cylindrical tower appears.
The shipwrecked crew stumbles towards the house of perpetual light.
They ascend a zigzagging set of stairs, rising above the gray mist.

Lighthouse tower

A well-worn trail leads them towards the shining tower.
Thick fog clears, revealing a path that encircles the lighthouse.
The crew heads towards the front door, seeking warmth and sustenance.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse
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Spruce Goose is a sight to see: LAPC

Last month, we took a trip to see the Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. This museum is in McMinnville, about 50 miles southwest of Portland, Oregon. Its star attraction is the airplane associated with Howard Hughes, Jr.

In 1942, steel magnate Henry Kaiser approached Hughes about creating a massive flying boat. Hughes was well known for breaking records as a pilot, including a 1935 landplane airspeed record of 352 miles per hour. In 1938, Hughes flew around the world in 3 days 19 hours 17 minutes, beating the previous record by almost four days. He was also a brilliant engineer.

After Kaiser withdrew from the flying boat project in 1944, Howard Hughes renamed the plane H-4 Hercules. It’s also called the Hughes Flying Boat and the Spruce Goose. Hughes become obsessed with the project. Though the original intention was for the aircraft to help with war efforts, by the time they completed the project, the war was over.

Hughes flew the plane on November 2, 1947. He wanted to prove it was airworthy and not just a flight of fancy. In its first and only flight, he flew it at an altitude of 70 feet for 26 seconds. The aircraft flew for about one mile at a speed of 135 miles per hour.

Exterior of the Spruce Goose

I knew the Spruce Goose was large, but I had no idea how enormous it was. I’m including several exterior photos to show the scale of this massive aircraft. The first picture shows a view from the second-story balcony.

Spruce Goose

The next two show aircraft on display under one wing and then the other. They look so small in comparison.

Under wing view

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Barn beside the road: Monochrome Monday

A barn beside the road near Redmond, Oregon shown in black and white.

Barn beside the road

Monochrome Monday