Hitting the Trail...Again, Part Three

The Giant City Nature Trail is well-planned. Meandering alongside the bluff and through the forest, the path offers different looks of trees, rock formations, and during parts of the year, wildflowers.



Flowering the Start of Summer

Delicate Blossoms

The trail also gives a destination to reach about halfway through the hike. I didn't capture any worthwhile images of the "Streets of Giant City" this time around, so here's an image from the March trip that I posted in April of last year:


Sandra Studies

The greenness was intense, so was the moisture as we walked through the "Streets".



Hanging Around

A Cropped Look

And then lying ahead...



Stepping Upward

From several minutes, we had walked through the streets and then we stepped through the narrower rising pathway. Passing underneath the rock, we found the clear June day again as space opened again to the forest.

Looking back...



A Giant City Icon

A Tale of Two Seasons

From along the Giant City Nature Trail:



Gully Steps in Contrasting Seasons

The left is from March 2009 and the right is from June 2010.

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Figure This Out

I have a hotmail account. I also recently downloaded a trial version of Microsoft Office using my hotmail email address. So in a classic "welcome to our world" message, Microsoft sent me an email outlining some of things an user might want to look into about Office.

Well...
According to hotmail, this message was labeled "This message looks suspicious to our SmartScreen filters" and placed in my spam folder. For those who don't know, hotmail is run by Microsoft.

Hmmmm...
Microsoft's messages can't pass their own spam filter.

Hitting the Trail...Again, Part Two

To the Sky

Back in June, Sandra and I visited downstate Illinois again. We had enjoyed a stay in Giant City State Park last year that we wanted to see in a different season. If you want to read about the past trip, you can click on the Giant City State Park label or you look through the archives from April through June of 2009.

The first trail that we hiked was the mile-long namesake trail of the park, Giant City Nature Trail. As I mentioned in a previous post, the trail allows someone to get into the local nature: rock formations, woods, wildlife, without having to strap on the backpack and hike for half the day.

As you can tell from the previous post, the area is very vibrant and green in early summer. This was very much a contrast from the last time we went. Last time we didn't have to think about the insects or snakes either. Of course, there was a slight weather difference: March = 50 and overcast, June = 85 and sunny.



Bridging

A Bald Spot

The trail winds around and up onto one of the many bluffs in the area. Location matters a lot. At the foot of the bluff, moss intermingles with the trees and creates a very lush environment. This is heavily due to the runoff coming down from the top of the bluff. In many spots, you can see the action on the water on the rock.



Cascade

It is likely that the water was pivotal in forming the Streets of Giant City, areas where the sandstone bluffs seemingly were cleaved to form avenues for giants to walk through. This process appears to still be acting on the bluff.


Opening Another Street?

Hitting the Trail...Again, Part One

Giant City Nature Trail


Winding into Trees


Forest and Light

The Nature of a Bluff

Trying to Catch the Moon, Part 2

Sometimes it's really not just the moon. It's the attempt to find and hold the color. So a night after I tried to catch the color of the sky with the moon sweeping through (the post, Part 1), Sandra and I attended a telescope viewing at Moraine Valley Community College. I brought the camera and tripod to take photos of the sky, while we waited to view images (no camera shots possible) through the telescope.



A Sliver in the Night Sky

There is something to the sky's hue, so clear yet deeply blue, after sunset, whether you focus nearer...



Rising Across the Night

...or far.



Focus Beyond

I changed exposure level a little (less light) and I caught this view of the crescent moon.



Focus Beyond

But I had to go back to the blues and snapped these photos.



Planes of Focus One


Planes of Focus Two

And one last image from that evening...Venus joins the Moon.



Sharing the Sky After Sunset

You might have to click on the image to see the larger version in order to get a good view of the planet.

Anatomy of a Scene

Sometimes you rush to find it, but a scene unfolds...



The Shape and Color


Tree Edge


Reaching Darkness


Row of Lights


Tree and the Dusky Sky


Light Mystery


Sunset's Afterimage


Building Dusk


The Scene

You can click on the above image to get a larger view of dusk above the city street.

Trying to Catch the Moon, Part 1

Sometimes I drive home and I see that perfect color in the moment just after sun sets. It's a deep rich gradient blue.

And sometimes that gradient is touched by stars, sometimes the moon.

And I have to rush home and up to the apartment to find the camera to capture the moment.

And sometimes the color is gone, but still I click-click.

Here's what a July evening offered:



Sharing the Stage Above the Buildings


Even the Dark Shows

One thing you won't catch without a visual aid is that a crescent Moon, partly lit by the Sun, also reflects a little bit of Earthshine. With longer exposures, the camera catches it. If you didn't quite see it, it's there.

Riverside Park

On the trip home from Wisconsin, we stopped in the city of Beloit.



Many Paths Along the Water

Regularly on my way back from New Glarus, I drop by and stay a few minutes in a park, appropriatedly named Riverside Park. This little gem along the Rock River lies at the crossroads of the major ways through Beloit.



Leading Everywhere

You can read more about Beloit's attractions, including Riverside Park, at Visit Beloit website.

Here's a photo of Sandra relaxing before we hit the road for the final leg of the return home.



Sandra in Spring

We're back in Wisconsin in August, but there are some other places to see before the return.

New Glarus Brewery

The brewery was what led me to the small town of New Glarus about ten years ago. While I still enjoy the beer made by brewery quite a bit, I can't say that some of the recent efforts are better than their past releases. Beers like the Edel-Pils, Uff-da Bock, and Organic Revolution were stand-out brews.

Yet, if you are in the area, coming to the new brewery site is a must-see even if you don't like beer. The view from the hilltop is exquisitive. Check out my post titled New Glarus Brewing Co from August 2009.

Looking out at the valley from an archway at the brewery:



Framing the Town

We had been through the new brewery before, but this time, I took some photos.



Pair of Kettles

Yes, the copper kettles cost a bit more for a brewery to buy, but they are impressive to view.



A Singular Look

The new brewery is a sight: clean, modern, lots of shiny pipes transporting liquid from one end to another.



Down the Hallway

Enough natural light came through to give this room something extra:



Leading Everywhere

And one look at the kegging and bottling lines...



Readying for Transport

Collection of Images

Sometimes a scene strikes me. Sometimes I also have a camera.



Pattern on the Wall

Sometimes it's just light pouring through a door and blinds.



Pattern and Source

Sometimes it's just how the sun lights the fringes of a large cloud.



Highlighting

Sometimes it's just the color of that light eighteen minutes later striking a restaurant sign.



Marking the Entrance

A Parade of Cows

Zurich, Switzerland had its cows. Chicago, Illinois had cows too. So does New Glarus, Wisconsin. Though the cows in New Glarus are a permanent fixture. They were bought from a Swiss producer and then painted locally. Scattered throughout town, the cows often complement the business where they stand.

After returning from Mount Horeb, we walked around and I took photos of some cows in the late afternoon light.



Looking for ZZZs?


Staredown


What's Cooking?


Festive


Determined?

The next morning, I took a few photos of the cows on the hotel property.



Welcoming the Guests


Lying Down