Kansas City Trip - Thursday, November 1, 2012

So we had a wonderful weekend in Kansas City, a very much needed weekend away from work for me.

I headed down Thursday morning with plans to stop at Lock and Dam No. 14 just north of the Quad Cities. I figured this would be a perfect time since Paul was not with me (he was already in Kansas City) and so I could take the time I wanted without boring him.  Lock and Dam No. 14 on the Mississippi River is a little different in that you have to walk over the gates of an auxiliary lock to get to the island where Lock No 14 is.  The island was absolutely covered in hundreds of geese and seagulls so I had a bit of a surprise to scrape off my shoes before I got back in my car.  My timing was great as a barge had just entered the lock so I got to watch it double lock.  Here are a few pictures.

Auxiliary lock wall

I made it to Kansas City for supper with Paul in the Crown Center food court.  The Crown Center is a mall with food, shopping, and entertainment which was attached to our hotel by "The Link" which is a series of skyways.  Friday I had a chance to take some photos of the Crown Center and the area around it so look for those photos in that post.

Kansas City Trip - Friday, November 2, 2012

Paul had training during the day so I had some time to myself.  Friday was opening day for the Ice Terrace at Crown Center Square, an outdoor ice skating rink.  As Paul refuses to go ice skating with me I took advantage of the chance to skate.  It was a bit warm for ice skating so I was out in my t-shirt and there were flies flying around which was a bit strange but I had a blast.  The rink was quiet and so I just enjoyed myself.

Then I found lunch and did a little shopping at the mall before heading back to the room to grab the camera and take some pictures of the area.  Below you will see some pictures of the ice skating rink, the fountains around the area, and "the Link" the skyways connecting buildings.

Ice Terrace

Ice Terrace

the Zamboni in action

One of the fountains with the Ice Terrace in the background

Another fountain with "the Link" in the background

"the Link"

"the Link"

As I was out taking pictures, they were in the process of putting up the annual Christmas tree.  It is quite the ordeal.  They found a huge pine tree (50' or 60' at least), chopped off all the branches except the ones on the very top and transported the tree and branches to this square.  They then began the painstaking process of re-attaching all the branches.  In the three days I was there, they seemed to work on it constantly and still had at least a third of the tree's branches left if not more.  It really seems quite silly.  How does it stay green for so long?  Isn't this a bit early to be setting it up?  I wonder if this is how they do it in other cities?  I can't say I have ever watched the process.  Here are some pictures:

Finally, here is a picture of the view from our hotel room.

Kansas City Trip - Saturday, November 3, 2012

After breakfast at the Crown Center, we started our day at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.  It is a free art museum that is well worth the time. There is a great variety of art including the work of some great artists (Monet, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Rembrandt  etc.) and an interesting sculpture garden outside.

Below is a sculpture Paul enjoyed and a unique painting I spent some time writing about.

General Assembly by Pierre Alechinsky

From there, we stopped at a local park on the Missouri River and watched a train go by.  Kansas city has trains constantly running through it.  Most of the tracks go under/over roads because they are so well used, automobile traffic would never get through.

We finished the day at Manny's Restaurante Mexicana just a short walk from the hotel.  The place was busy, the food was good (Paul loved his burrito, my enchiladas weren't quite as good), and the margarita was one of the best I had.

Kansas City Trip - Sunday, November 4, 2012

On our final day together, we decided to head to the Kansas City Zoo right when it opened.  For those that enjoy zoos, this is a zoo not to be missed.  It has tons of authentic and large habitats for the animals which make great photo opportunities and groups the animals in trails related to their origin.  I took close to 300 photos of the animals at the zoo alone so here are just a few of the best.

The tigers, one of my favorite animals:

There were a number of exhibits with birds where you could walk right through the birds' enclosures:

The kangaroo, wallaroo, and wallaby exhibits were also incredible.  There was no fence or barrier between you and the animals.  We sat on a rock not more than 15 feet from these and just sat and watched for a good 20 minutes.

Some more bird pictures:

I really enjoy the big cats so here are some pictures of the cheetahs, leopards, and lions:

Never before have I gotten any good pictures of monkeys, apes, and gorillas, etc. until now...  It is so refreshing to see them in large outdoor enclosures.

After a beautiful day at the zoo we headed back to the hotel to relax and find supper.

Camping Trip High Cliff State Park

I spent a relaxing weekend of solitude at High Cliff State Park camping by myself.  You may be surprised one would want to camp alone but it is really an experience that is worthwhile.  High Cliff State Park is right on Lake Winnebago in WI.  It is a beautiful location with many wonderful trails.  The campground is situated on the top of the cliff.  I was at site 39 and just a step beyond my campsite I was on a trail overlooking the lake.  So that meant, I could be tending my fire and take a moment to go check on the sunset without leaving sight of my fire.

I spent some time hiking, walking the beach and along the shores looking for rocks, writing some poetry, observing wildlife, reading, and star gazing.  I purposely left the fly off my tent so that the top was just screen which allowed me to look up at the stars.  While I was down near the beach, two great blue herons flew near where I was sitting on the rocks and I watched them for 45 minutes, closer than I have ever been to a great blue heron!  My campsite was a haven for tree clinging birds.  It was a rare moment when I didn't hear a wood pecker.  I watched a red bellied wood pecker for quite a while.  I also saw a red breasted nuthatch and a hairy woodpecker.  There were a lot of song birds but they never sat still enough and were so high up that I never got a chance to identify them.

Well, here are some pictures.