Uncategorized – RDZ Photography

Paducah, Kentucky – May 2019 – Flood Wall Murals

As with many towns Paducah, Kentucky has murals on their flood wall along the Ohio River. Unlike most towns, theirs is very well done and extensive.

The murals were done by Robert Dafford and team. They are the same group that has done murals in Portsmouth, Ohio featured in this posting

https://rdzphotographyblog.com/2017/01/10/huntington-wv-march-2015-in-search-of-the-mothman/

He also completed the ones in Maysville, Kentucky.

https://rdzphotographyblog.com/2019/05/10/maysville-kentucky-may-2019-great-architecture-in-an-unlikely-place/

The Paducah Flood Wall Murals:

Not a mural of the Market.

Mural of the Market.

Mountain View, Missouri – May 2019 – Horsing Around at the Bank

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The Landmark Bank is located in south central Missouri in the town of Mountain View. Situated approximately half way on our drive across the state it was the perfect stop to check out their metal sculpture horse herd.

The horses are made out of scrap metal such as barrels and a grill from an old tractor.

Time to continue the ride eastbound. It’s time to leave Mountain View (which I didn’t see any mountains, or even large hills, in Mountain View, Missouri).

Afton, Oklahoma – May 2019 – Darryl Starbird’s National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame

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Darryl Starbird has been an innovative custom car designer since the 1950s. Originally from Wichita, Kansas, Darryl relocated his collection to this Grand Lake area of Oklahoma. His museum also includes some of the best from other amazing designers such as the George Barris.

The collection is amazing – and well worth the stop – say hi to Donna, Darryl’s wife who runs the museum.

Terlingua, Texas – May 2019 – Pretty Busy for a Ghost Town

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The town of Terlingua, Texas is billed as a ghost town, which is amusing because there are all sorts of random structures serving as homes, as well as numerous artist studios, and apparently the Chili Cook Off Capital of the World!

As with Boquillas, this was a mining town where the mines closed long ago, leaving numerous structures to fall into disrepair.

No clue why there is a stake through a cactus.

Newer buildings are scattered throughout the ruins.

The Terlingua Cemetery is quite interesting as well. Next time you find yourself in the area stop by for some interesting sights, people, and some chili.

Marathon, Texas – May 2019 – The Gage Hotel

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Our trip west through Texas had the small town of Marathon as a destination for the night. Marathon is the closest town, coming from the east, to Big Bend National Park, our destination for the next day.

We were fortunate enough to get a room at the Gage Hotel. Built in 1927, and serving travelers ever since, the Gage was a great stop for the night.

The entire compound has a ‘high end western’ vibe to it.

There were lots of cattle skulls throughout.

While there are a few rooms in the main buildings, most, including ours, was in the rows of rooms surrounding a courtyard.

There were a number of public spaces for just hanging out.

The lobby was decorated similarly.

More cow skulls showed the way to the bar and restaurant.

The White Buffalo Bar – appropriately named for the mounted Albino Bison head. We had a great evening having dinner and conversation with the fellow travelers who had come from all over Texas and beyond specifically to dine and sleep at the Gage Hotel.

The sunset over the railroad tracks and mountains to the west was spectacular, but was interrupted by the daily Amtrak train passing through (it does not stop in Marathon).

Val Verde County, Texas – May 2019 – Seminole Canyon State Park

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Seminole Canyon State Park is located along the Rio Grande River in West Texas. It is most famous for the Indigenous rock paintings, which the park offers guided tours of.

Unfortunately I didn’t realize they only offer 1 a day in the morning in the summer because of the heat, and we arrived too late for the tour.

Instead we opted for a 5 mile hike along the canyon rims, which turned out to be fantastic.

For being located in the Chihuahua Desert the amount of flowers and other vegetation is impressive.

The views along the canyons were equally impressive.

The return trail took us along a former railroad bed that the Southern Pacific Railway workers built in the 1800s, as well as this oven, used to feed the workers.