American Courage

I love these ore boats that whisk their way up and down the Cuyahoga River. They are as tall as a building and as long as a football field. How the captain can navigate these giants through our "crooked river" is simply amazing.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

A few more scenes from Amish Country

I know a little about Amish life and I respect it. Anyone making such a complete commitment to self-denial of worldliness deserves all our respect. I pass through Amish country often and have known a few Amish families. I'll pass along some images to you as I go. Enjoy!


The Amish buggies are everywhere in southern Geauga County.


These two beautiful trees, an oak and an elm, stand like sentinels along Bundysburg Rd.


Drip-drying the laundry.


Are these hollihocks?

Wild flowers and fence posts along a large farm.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

Amish baling

I've always been curious the way the Amish bale their harvest. It's different than the more mechanized farms which make the rolls (I think they look like shredded mini-wheats!). The Amish baler makes a teepee-shaped pile. I spotted some of these bales at nearby Amish farm.


It's easy to spot an Amish farm in the summer by looking at the oat bales. Their farms are noticeably well-maintained and simple.


It takes a team of three powerful horses to sweep across the fields with the baler.


Here the farmer creates bales across his fields. He had to stop a few times to remove stalks that was trapped in the baler.


The baler driven by three horses and the driver whipped through the oat fields pretty steadily and efficiently.



The finished oat bales are ready to be collected and driven over to the barn for the livestock to eat.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

PacMan Lilly Pads

They look like PacMan! Chop, chomp, chump! Actually I took these at Swine Creek Park in Geauga County.


Straight down shot.


The flowers make a nice contrast to the leaves.


The thing to do is to get maximum contrast between the water and the flower.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

More roadside junk in Nevada City, Montana

If you are a sometime reader of this blog then you know I am a dedicated portrayer of whatever dilapidated junk I can find along the roadside. If it's broken down and rusty, my car brakes will screech, and backing away I go. If it's creaky and about to collapse, then it must be immortalized by my camera. The loss of unique structures of bygone eras is constant, so if we don't shoot it ,then we will soon lose it! (Case in point...remember windmills? During our trek last month across the fruited plains to the Rocky Mountains we saw no windmills!)


Let's start with a vintage steam shovel. Ain't it a beauty! Just sitting there in a crumbling state.


Here's a wooden passenger train car from the 1930's.


A hoist crane with rail wheels.


Lots of iron and power for this baby.


The hoist must have been used for lifting rail cars onto the tracks.


What do ya know, it was built in Cleveland. Another example of how Cleveland companies helped build the nation with oil, chemicals, iron, steel and machinery.


These passenger cars were made of wood. The trains ran from Chicago to St. Paul.


Another vintage rail car. Where is Cripple Creek? Is there a ferry there?


This one's pretty beat up. Probably hauled .... actually I have no clue (maybe dental floss. It is Montana).


This box car looks nice and crusty.


Watch your step.


Great Northern is the original rail line that crossed the Rockies.


A Great Northern caboose in loose condition.


Front end of wooden passenger car.


Side view of a wooden passenger train car.


Other side. Yeah, I know, the writing is pretty meager here. What do you expect, I am a photographer!?!



Final picture and my favorite. I love the bullet holes in the switching sign.

I have no apologies for the lighting and color on these images. It was a blindingly bright day with no cloud cover and the time was mid-day. Also, 90+ degrees!

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.

The Goin' to the Sun Road

One of the oldest gems of the National Park Service is the Goin' to the Sun Road. Built in 1932 as a scenic route through the Rocky Mountains, the road traverses the park running east-west for 52 miles. I've waited many years to finally take this trip and was not in the least disappointed.


The road starts at the base of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park.

The lake is fed by mountain streams. The rocks in the foreground are park of the roadway. As you can see you get pretty close.



The streams cascade down to the lake very quickly. It's quite spectacular.


One of the best views is the top of Heaven's Gate.

These are just some the many stunning views you see from the road.

Many visitors travel the road in this buses. They were built in the 1930's in Cleveland by the White Motor company. They were restored in the 1990's by Ford and are fueled by propane.


The road hugs against the walls of the cliffs and the drop is straight down on the other side.


This is called the Weeping Wall. You will actually get a car wash on this side of the road. It was useful in cleansing off the bug specimens I collected along the way.


Night time is a good time to drive the road. Every part of the day offers new views of the mountain ranges. We drove the road three times during our stay.

Copyright 2007 James D. Fisher
All Rights Reserved.