Ohio River

You may remember that last fall we went to the Falls of the Ohio and looked at the fossil beds that are exposed in that area. It is now very different than it was at that time. Here are some August and December pictures of that area.




The far left tree is where the people were standing.

Note the spill way in the above picture then and now. The down stream water is backed up, filling this area too.


These pictures were taken on the third. It stared raining again on the fourth, about twenty-four hours ago. We have gotten over two and a half inches since then and it is continuing to come down. The storms continue to go up the Ohio so who knows how much more it will rise.

One Sunny November Saturday

While we were eating Thanksgiving dinner with W and C, they told us that they had gone to the races last weekend at Churchill Downs. It only cost them $3.00 to get in. Since they didn't place any money on their choices, it was an economical way to spend an enjoyable afternoon. The coming week end is the final for the year. They were planning to attend and meet up with a fellow teacher from Sage in S. CA that W knows. When they asked if we wanted to come too we said sure.

It was in the sixties with sun shining and a bit of wind. Since this time of year isn't very busy we had seats anyplace that we wanted. We chose close to the rail and almost at the finish line. Of course we would go see the horses in the paddock to make our choices. What beautiful horses. The last two races of the day were two year olds, some who will be on the Derby circuit next year.

Here are some pictures that I took.

The winner out in front, almost at the finish line.
Coming around the first bend.

Note the far right horse, he is air born. Too bad I didn't get his nose too.

Just some spectators.

Potomac and the Billy Goat Trail

The weather was great and in the mid sixties. We were told that we should go on this hike as it was great for scenery. So we took off with walking sticks, a lunch, and preparation to do some scrambling.

After going down the canal bank, we took a side path that goes out on an island in the Potomac River. These are pictures of the water that is flowing on the opposite from the main course of the river.





Part of the Great Falls of the Potomac.




We then went to the trail and scrambled over boulders, slid down boulders, and threaded our way through boulders. We even crawled up this. It isn't as bad as it looks, some places were much harder.

These were taken while going along the river. There were times that we were on a path.




Coming back we walked along the C & O Canal towpath. These pictures were taken then. Part of the old canal is a lake.





There are a few locks and gates on the canal, all though they are not operable. You can see the remains of the gate keepers house.

This is a restored building that was a tavern and also a place for people to spend a night. You can see the width of the lock.


It was a nice day, a nice hike, and the scenery was great.

Some New Things

One morning not too long ago I went for a walk. It was a sunny day and not too cool. Unfortunately, I found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time.



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Actually, the trail goes right by the airport. Usually the planes are taking off over the trail, but once in awhile the wind is blowing the opposite direction so they are landing when they cross the path. Sorry that the video isn't clearer. I had zoomed and my 'video setting' doesn't seem to like zoom. These are a couple other pictures that I took on the hike.


We went to the Museum of American History. I thought that this area was interesting with their displays. However, the forgot to put a hat on one of the people.


We are enjoying our time. Hope you are too.

History and Work

I'm a little slow, because I've been busy, with keeping my blog up to date. So here goes a try.

We had the opportunity to take a boat over to Constitution Island. This is where the other end of the chain was attached that stretched across the Hudson river from West Point during the Civil War, preventing the British from going up the river. At least, that was the plan. The British never came up that far and put it to the test. Of course, there were lots of soldiers on the island, fortifications, and guns.

This is a picture back towards West Point while we were on the boat.

This is taken while on the island and looking towards Trophy Point, where the flag is flying. The helicopter landing pad is next to the water.
This is two cute kids that we found on the island. Okay, they are our grand daughters. They had a day off from school and were able to go with us and their Mom. They are looking at some of the old gun works.


While we were going across on the boat, they gave us a contest to take. This was some of the questions. You had to figure out the candy's name.

The day that employees love the most.
Children of the cane.
Nut happiness.
Flotation device.
What bees make.
What determines the winner.
(Answers at the end.)

There were five who had the correct answer so they drew for the prize of a Halloween gingerbread haunted house kit. We won the drawing. The girls had fun putting it together after we got home.

If you are wondering what else we have been doing, here is a picture. You can also click on here to see what Br has been doing all summer and what we helped her with this last week. It is towards the end of her post.
She shows you what it looked like after she and B got their work out done digging it up. This is what it looked like Sunday morning after snowing all day on Saturday, two days before Halloween.
There was also wind with it and the snow was very wet. Trees and branches came down. All roads out of the post were closed. Many people were without electricity and some still are, not only in New York but in other states too.

We are wondering, "WHAT HAPPENED TO FALL?"

Contest answers.
Pay Day
Sugar Babies
Almond Joy
Life Savers
Bit of Honey
Score

I Think That I Am Sore

I don't want to repeat, for some of you, the things that you have already read so I will just refer you so that you can find out what we have been up to. Just click here. We had an enjoyable time. P out hiked me. Our short legs had a hard time in spots as over half of the trail up the mountain was rock stair steps.

Things To See and Learn in DC

We found ourselves at two of the museums that we had not gone to. One was the Air and Space Museum. Since some of you have been here, I will save you looking at pictures. Oh, I guess I only took a picture of the Wright Brother's plane. I was surprised that it is the actual plane with just new fabric.


Last week we found ourselves at the Museum of Natural History. One could spend a week there. This picture is familiar to some as I think this was in a movie.


There was a special exhibit on the excavation of the Jamestown Settlement and what they have learned from the bones and other findings. We didn't have much time to spend there but what we did see was very interesting. It is amazing how much more we now understand and can identify from bones.

Of course, we went through the butterfly house.


One decided to land on my arm. It stayed there until we were ready to leave. So an employee helped remove it.

This is an extinct shark's mouth. It is about three times the size of a great white. I'm glad that they are extinct.


We went into the mineral and crystal area of the museum. There we saw some beautiful crystals. I learned that even though some have the same chemical composition, they can be numerous shapes and colors. The color is due to an atom of a mineral being introduced. In this department they also were displaying the Hope diamond along with other jewelery that has been given to the museum. The Hope diamond has been reset for this showing.

You can view the other jewelry by clicking here.

If you click on each picture, it tells about the item: where the gems are from, who had the jewelry, etc. You will find earrings of Marie Antoinette, some that Napoleon gave to his wife, etc. The butterfly's sapphires are from Gem Mountain, near Philipsburg, MT, where we went with L and her family.

There were lots of other interesting things we saw and learned. If you find yourself in this area, this is one place I recommend seeing.

Project One in DC

One of the first things that we did after arriving at B and L's was to make a late evening dash to IKEA. They had been waiting for the truck to make a haul. We hurried through the store, gathering boxes and just finished before closing time. Then a few nights later, it was time to start the assembly.

Step one of first box: Open box, find instructions, sort pieces. Two supervise while one works.

Step two: Make sure that you both agree on how it is going together. (Note the boxes still waiting.)

Step three: Do lots of screwing in screws, and be sure to get them straight and all the way in.

Step four: Make sure that it all fits together.

Step five: Use team work to attach the last things.

TA-DA!!! A finished desk.

I won't bore you with pictures of the next assembly job. However, a few days later this was the finished project.

You might notice that L is sitting in front of another box of parts. This is the beginning of the third item that was put together yesterday. It was two boxes like the second project.

And this is the third and final project.

Now they just need to find their home in the bedroom. We were glad that we could be here to help.