One Click, One Pic A Day: June 2009

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Day One Hundred and Eighty-One: Out to the Ball Game

Emily and I made our way out to Kauffman Stadium for the first time since it has been renovated to watch the Royals take on the Twins tonight.

From the new concourses and souvenir shops to the mini-golf course, batting cages and carousel, it was easy to forget that there was a baseball game taking place.

Unfortunately, the game itself was rather forgettable, with the Twins winning in a low-scoring, high-pitch-count game whose monotony we broke by savoring some overpriced hot dogs, exploring the new areas of the ballpark, and splitting an ice-cream helmet sundae.

Generally I'm a fan of Major League Baseball, which is perhaps my favorite professional sport to watch.

I still get a rush of nostalgia from walking through the gates and into the stadium. I have some great memories from various ballparks across the country.

And if tonight's game wasn't the most exciting, perhaps we got what we paid for: a kind man handed us two free tickets just outside the gate as we waited in line for the ticket counter.

That was a nice surprise.

It sure made paying for $4.25 for a single hot dog easier to swallow.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Day One Hundred and Eighty: Fire Engine Ready

Summer days are flying by, and the 4th of July is approaching as quickly as an emergency vehicle in the rear view mirror.

Today the crew at Fire Station No. 1 were out rolling up hoses and inspecting vehicles, perhaps in preparation for the upcoming pyretic holiday.

Though most fireworks are illegal to set off within city limits, the sky still manages to be powdered with various flashes of color throughout the night of the 4th.

While the city puts on a good show to an ever-growing crowd (last year the display was moved from the Kansas River out to Clinton lake to accommodate more people), there are still those who enjoy lighting their own fuses.

Good to know that Lawrence's finest are on call should any Roman candle firings go awry.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Day One Hundred and Seventy-Nine: Poetry In Motion

A Haiku:

sticky summer days
meant for running through water
sprinkled in the sun.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Day One Hundred and Seventy-Eight: Couch Potatoes

My family came into town for a weekend visit. Vacations like these are usually full of a lot of running around, sight seeing, and various other events, but this is usually counterbalanced with a little down time.

Here I count five couch (or floor) potatoes recharging their batteries for the next round of fun. What better way to spend a lazy afternoon!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Day One Hundred and Seventy-Seven: Ready...Aim...Fire!

The trick that Emily and I like to have Lucy and Farley perform the most is one they now do in tandem: balancing a treat on their noses and then, on command, flipping it into their mouths.

The dogs have the timing down perfect. The real trick here was catching the action on the camera - they are fast!

What you see are are three consecutive frames shot in a fraction of a second, just after the "Okay!" command was given:

Good dogs!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Day One Hundred and Seventy-Six: Movie Night

There's no denying that Lawrence is growing up. Every day it moves a little closer toward shedding its "small town" status.

It used to be that this little college town quieted down after graduation. Students went back home, traffic died down, and life was as calm as a warm and windless summer day.

Now the population of Lawrence seems to be growing faster than the city can expand.

The days of a summer drive across town taking only a few minutes are a thing of the past. Every day a new apartment complex pops up beckoning students to stay in town through the June, July and August months.

And while this means business is booming for restaurants and shops across the city, some of the niceties of Small Town, USA, seem to be slipping away from Lawrence.

Still, there are those who remember Lawrence as a small town, and those who organize events to keep that small-town feeling alive in the community.

Sidewalk sales, art in the park, Wednesday night city band concerts, and tonight's theme, "Thursday night movie night," are a few of the many community-oriented events that help knock Lawrence back down to size.

Thursday nights during the summer folks of all ages bring blankets and lawn chairs out to a grass lot near downtown and endure the mosquitoes and the humidity to watch classic movies projected onto the blank wall of a nearby parking garage.

It is a time to meet with friends, take in a good movie (tonight's film featured Lucille Ball), and enjoy a relaxing evening in Lawrence, Kansas.

I do miss the days when I could drive across town in 10 minutes or less during the summer. But as long as there are people who remember the values and benefits of a small town and help to remind Lawrence of its own small-town roots, I think I can live happily ever after.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Day One-Hundred and Seventy-Five: It's So Hot Outside...

99 degrees, 110° heat index. Enough said.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Day One Hundred and Seventy-Four: My Secret Place

My favorite places to visit are usually the little-known ones.

These are places I can go and rarely find other people. These are places I can call my own.

These are places I can visit when I want time alone to think. These are places I can go to write music. These are places I can bring friends to share in their beauty and uniqueness.

One such place for me near Lawrence is a seldom-used boat ramp miles off of the beaten on the north end of Clinton Lake.

I happened upon this spot by chance, just exploring in my car one day. Since then I've come back to have time alone to clear my head, I've brought friends out to have a beer and shoot the breeze, I've brought dogs out to go for a swim, and tonight I brought the camera out to take a picture.

Most of the light you see in the midnight sky is coming from Lawrence, although some of the definition in the distance clouds is due to heat lightning that flashed periodically throughout this prolonged exposure.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Day One Hundred and Seventy-Three: Stately Flower

After a long weekend in a slightly more mountainous westward state, this solitary sunflower near my backyard stood tall, as if to remind me that we are indeed back in Kansas.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Day One Hundred and Seventy-Two: No Place Like Home

Emily and I returned home safely today, and our Colorado journey has ended.

We did a lot of hiking, a lot of driving, had a lot of fun and took a lot of pictures. Our dogs are worn out, we are worn out, and so are our cameras!

I did manage to snap one shot today, back at my place. I call it, "My car just threw-up Colorado."

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Day One Hundred and Seventy-One: Colorado Trip, Day 4

Today was a day packed full of so much good food* and good fun that even Farley was licking his lips!

As always, click on any picture below to enlarge. And go to Emily's blog for more Colorado photos!

*The "good food" bit might be a stretch, but as you will see below the atmosphere overcomes that quality!

The day started by packing up camp and heading towards Boulder for some hiking. Here are a couple of birds that also decided to take off this morning:

The hike up the Flatirons to the Royal Arch took several hours, and left us with some tired but very content dogs:

On our way back down from the Flatiron trails of Chautauqua Park in Boulder we ran into artist Nancy Wylie, who was recreating on canvas the mountain scenery we had just witnessed first-hand.

Emily made for a great subject in an equally beautiful backdrop when it was my turn to hold the camera. (You're cute, too, Lucy.)

Fortunately we were able to recruit some fellow hikers to snap a couple of pictures of the two of us (four of us, with dogs).

When the dogs got antsy and started barking, I decided to switch focus and instead take a picture of this ant on bark:

And finally, after a long morning of hiking, it was time to eat!

And when in Denver (which we were, shortly after our hike in Boulder), where better to eat than Casa Bonita!

For those of you that don't know (and shame on you for not knowing), Casa Bonita is a one-of-a-kind (maybe) Mexican (maybe) restaurant with entertainment for kids ages 1 to 100 (maybe).

Beyond all else, it is an accurate and educational portrait of Mexican culture (this is definitely NOT true) right here in our own backyard!

But with cliff divers, Black Bart's Cave, a jail, puppet shows, amateur actors and enough pinatas to stuff a burrito the size of the mall it inhabits, Casa Bonita is a must see if you ever find yourself in Denver.

And with the food prices so high, you won't even feel guilty stuffing your face with the all-you-can-eat sopapillas...I know I didn't!

Tomorrow: Back to Kansas, Toto.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Day One Hundred and Seventy: Colorado Trip, Day 3

Our first full day in Colorado! Morning saw us leave Breckenridge and head towards Mt. Evans (with a stop at Echo Lake) before heading back to Boulder and (eventually) our campsite.

As usual, click on any picture below to see the full-size image!

An be sure to check out Emily's pics from the trip, too!

These pictures were taken from one of my favorite spots in Colorado: the top of a large rock formation on the side of the road near Mt. Evans. I am always amazed by the number of pine trees on the mountainside: