Hills – RDZ Photography

Virtual Travel – Vermont

History, Museum, Nature, Sciences, Transportation, Water Features

Bienvenue Vermont (if you are from Quebec).

The State House in Montpelier. With 7865, it is the smallest state capital city.

It is built from granite from nearby quarries.

State Symbols

State Flavor – Maple. Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the country.

Country Roads

1948 1965 2002 2005 2007 2008 2009 2013 – West Arlington 2015 – Gifford Bridge

All of Vermont is scenic mountains and hills.

A highlight of the state is to visit the Ben & Jerry’s factory.

2019 08 01 53 Waterbury VT Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream

2019 08 01 17 Waterbury VT Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream

2019 08 01 52 Waterbury VT Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream

2019 08 01 18 Waterbury VT Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream

2019 08 01 33 Waterbury VT Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream

2019 08 01 19 Waterbury VT Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream

2019 08 01 15 Waterbury VT Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream

As mentioned above granite is found in abundance throughout the state. A visit to a quarry and processing factory is very impressive.

2019 08 01 88 Barre VT Rock of Ages Granite Quarry

2019 08 01 82 Barre VT Rock of Ages Granite Quarry

2019 08 01 72 Barre VT Rock of Ages Granite Quarry

2019 08 01 92 Barre VT Rock of Ages Granite Quarry

2019 08 01 133 Barre VT Rock of Ages Granite Quarry

2019 08 01 140 Barre VT Rock of Ages Granite Quarry

2019 08 01 157 Barre VT Rock of Ages Granite Quarry

Countryside

1956 1970 – Peacham 1975 – Reading 1982 1985 2014 – Barnet 2016 – Shoreham

Most of Vermont is rural, with a few small towns. Norman Rockwell come to life. (photos from the internet)

Ponds & Lakes

1976 – Island Pond 1978 1987 2004 – VDTM 2011

Lake Champlain is the largest lake in the state, but it is shared with New York and Quebec. (all photos in this section from the internet)

There are numerous other lakes in the mountain valleys.

Virtual Travel – Indiana

Architecture, Art, History, Museum, Nature, Sports, Transportation

The Hoosier State – Indiana.

1946 – Dedicated to James Whitcomb Riley, Indiana’s Poet.

His boyhood home in Indianapolis is now a museum.

1953 – Intersection of Highway 52 and 136 in Indianapolis.

1957 – Tri State Express. This is the same freeway featured on the Illinois 1959 map.

Today that freeway is 10 lanes wide

The Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond has a statue from the movie Christmas Story. It was set in Hammond, but filmed in Cleveland.

1970 – Indiana State Capitol. Dating from 1888 it is the 4th building to be the Indiana Capitol.

2015 View.

1971 – The map as a map cover. Columbus, Indiana is shown on the right.

Columbus has a fantastic collect of modern architecture. Irwin Miller was the Chairman of Cummins Engine Company, and a fan of this type of architecture. His leadership resulted in a town known around the world for the quantity and quality of architecture.

1972 – Indiana Highway 37 near Bloomington.

Bloomington, home to Indiana University, is a small city in south central Indiana. (Photo from Bloomington Tourist Office)

1973 – A collection of signs.

1976 – Indianapolis – The Return Home on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is the center of Indianapolis. Rising to a height of 284′ (87m) this obelisk has numerous statues surrounding it and an observation deck near the top. (photo from Wikipedia)

1978 – Unidentified country scene.

1979- Whitewater Canal State Memorial. In the early 1800s canals were built all over the country, and Indiana was no different. The route of the Whitewater Canal was unique in that it had a drop of almost 500′ at a rate of 6.4′ per mile, compared to the the Erie Canal at 1.7 feet per mile.

Located in the historic town of Metamora, the canal and the accompanying buildings give a sense of life in the early 1800s.

1986 – Indianapolis

Indianapolis, as the state capitol and largest city in the state. Highlights of the city include:

The Ruins of Holiday Park are remnants from an old building in New York City sitting in the middle of a park in Indiana.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Museum.

Indiana War Memorial Building

The former baseball stadium is now apartments.

Indianapolis Museum of Art. The time we were there they were having an exhibit on prototype automobiles.

The current baseball stadium

Lucas Oil Stadium – Home of the NFL Colts

Skyline view (Photo from Pintrest)

1991 – 175th anniversary of Indiana.

1994 – Indiana State Highways 75th Anniversary

1995 – Indiana Countryside. The tourist bureaus in Indiana play up the country life quite a bit.

Shipshewana is the largest tourist center for this ‘country life’. With some Amish residents it is common to see horse and buggies on the roads. In addition their flea market is one of the largest in the country. (Photo from Tourist Office)

1997 – Generic map

2001 – Transportation in Indiana. The Indianapolis Airport is the 5th largest air freight center in the country.

Indiana is the capital of RV production. Elkart has the RV Museum, as well as a number of manufacturing faciities.

2003 – As with the other states in the path, this year is a celebration of Lewis and Clark.

On October 26, 1803 Merriweather Lewis meet William Clark across the river from Louisville, Kentucky and set sail down the Ohio River. That spot is now known as Clarksville, Indiana. That meeting is celebrated at the Falls of Ohio State Park.

This park has a nice view of Louisville.

2004 & 2016 – Indiana State Museum. The current building pictured here was completed in 2001.

The building is over 40,000 square feet, and covers the natural and civil history of the state. Also included is the ’92 walk’ – a collection of sculptures representing each of the 92 counties in the state.

2005 – Wildflower.

A few of the the Indiana State Symbols include: (Photos from Wikipedia)

State Flag – 19 stars, representing Indiana being the 19th state.

State Motto – Crossroads of America.

State Seal – Depicts a setting sun, sycamore tree, a woodsman and a bison.

State Bird – Cardinal

State Flower – Peony

2009 & 2012 – Unidentified Road Construction Projects

Lincoln Highway construction in Indiana in the early 1900s.

2014 – Southern Indiana Hills

The largest city in Southern Indiana is Evansville. We made a stop there on Road Trip 2019.

Vanderburgh County Courthouse

Restored Art Deco Greyhound Station – now a hipster hamburger place.

Bosse Field – One of the oldest baseball stadiums in the country.

Primary filming location for the movie League of Their Own.

2015 – Bristol, Indiana – Bonneyville Mill. This mill is the oldest in the state. It was built by Edward Bonney in 1833.

2017 – Brown County State Park, Hesitation Point. This is the largest state park in Indiana, covering more than 15,000 acres. It is known for it’s scenic vistas.

2018 – Williamsport Falls. This 90′ high falls is the 2nd highest in the state.

The flow of the falls is very seasonal.

2019 – Berne, Indiana – Settled by Mennonite immigrants in 1852. The town has been built by Swiss and German immigrants, resulting now in a small town of 4,000 residents.

It is known for it’s picturesque town square.

Pittsburgh – October 2018 – Doors Open Part 4

Architecture, Art, History, Nature, Sciences, Transportation, Water Features

Doors Open Pittsburgh continues…

David Lawrence Convention Center – David Lawrence was one of Pittsburgh’s greatest mayors, leading the ‘Renaissance’ era in the 1950s. He has been honored by having the convention center named after him.

The convention center is built along the Allegheny River at the edge of downtown.

It features a couple of gardens in an urban space.

For Doors Open Pittsburgh the highlight was being able to go on the roof.

The building is interesting but the views from the roof are great.

Troy Hill

A telescope with style.

The north side of Pittsburgh is very hilly, hence the hodgepodge of buildings in no uniform order.

A railroad bridge across the Allegheny River.

Detail on the 16th Street Bridge.

In Pittsburgh you can have a bridge any color you like as long as it is yellow.

A different angle view of Gateway Center and Mt Washington.

The Gulf Building – Sadly it was not open for DOP.

The Pennsylvanian – one more look.

Benedum Center – The Benedum Center opened in 1927 as the Stanley Theater, which name remained on it until the 1980s. Many rock concerts were held in this classic theater (Bob Marley played his last show here), although by the 1970s numerous modifications had taken away much of it’s classic look.

That all changed in the 1980s, with a $43 million dollar restoration that returned it to its original look, complete with opulent lobbies.

The theater seats 2,800 people in elegance.

Today it is used primarily for the opera.

The highlights however are the spectacular lighting, especially the main chandelier.

The additional lighting would be the centerpieces elsewhere, but here they are secondary to the main chandelier.

Byham Theater – The Byham is a great old theater, opened in 1903 as a vaudeville house. Had we not just been to the Benedum Center, it would’ve seemed more impressive.

Our final stop – what an amazing weekend in Pittsburgh thanks to Bonnie and her fantastic volunteers, and the buildings who were willing to welcome visitors.

First Presbyterian Church – This church was completed in 1853, replacing another building that had been built on this spot in 1805.

Downtown Pittsburgh has many impressive churches, and First Presbyterian is second to none.

Another great pipe organ.

The most impressive feature (to me) are the massive doors at one end.

Although many would say the most impressive feature are the massive Tiffany stained glass windows.

Pittsburgh – July 2018 – Views of the City

Architecture, Art, History, Nature, Transportation

A weekend in Pittsburgh always gives us a chance to check out the sights – some familiar, some new.

First up – the historic Gulf Tower in the morning sun.

The Strip District (the neighborhood got it’s name because it is a small ‘strip’ of land along the Allegheny River). Once industrial, then vacant, this area is going through a rebirth – including the refurbished Cork Factory – now apartments.

A great ‘new-old’ sign on a building on Penn Avenue. In this part of the world ‘pop’ is what soda is known as.

Artwork along the Allegheny. Note the houses on the high bluff across the river – Pittsburgh is a very hilly city.

Instead of replacing the tracks they just filled them in with mulch to make a path.

The view down Smallman Street towards downtown Pittsburgh.

Our final stop in the Strip was a hipster flea market.

The best views of the Point, Downtown and the Rivers are from West End Overlook.

From here you get views of the entire valley.

The pleasure boats were out on this Sunday morning.

The bright morning sun made the photography challenging.

A beautiful day for baseball.

Where the give away for the the fans were fedora hats!

Hyderabad, India – November 2017 – Golkonda Fort

Art, History, Nature

Golkonda Fort in Hyderabad, India is built into a nearly 500′ high granite hill, about 7 miles west of the old town city center. The original fort was built in 1143, but was rebuilt numerous times with this iteration dating from the 1500s.

The lower levels had the living quarters.

From below it is clear to see the integration of construction into the existing rocks.

The view from the top is fantastic.

Nearby Qutb Shahi Tombs are clearly visible.

More of the geology on top of the hill.

An overview of the lower fort.

Including a courtyard.

View from the courtyard back up the hill.

Cincinnati – July 2017 – Dangerwheel

Architecture, Festival, Sports, Transportation

While researching what to do for the year one event I found that was highlighted in red letters not to miss is Dangerwheel – Adult big wheel racing down a hill in Cincinnati!

East 12th Street in Over The Rhine is not the steepest street in town, but it is more than sufficient to get the riders moving quickly.

Aided by sometimes over exuberant pushers, the racers head down the hill.

Not satisfied with just going down a hill on a trike with no brakes or pedals, the audience pelt the contestants with water balloons.

The second round featured large balls in the course for the racers to ride through.

Costumes, and props are encouraged.

Without brakes mayhem usually ensued at the bottom.

In the end the entire event was great. We unfortunately were unable to stay to the end (they take about 7-8 hours to compete, we only had 4 hours) – next year we will spend the night in Cincinnati and stay for the entire event.