It was at the USCellularena, so the Jumbotron was there to assist those of us in the nosebleed seats. I was too far away to get any good shots of the people I knew who were graduating, one of whom didn't come anyway.
Weather was fantastic for the Santa Cycle Rampage today. Throngs of Santas (and reindeer and elves and a fairy [?!]) participated. 
Cops were on hand just in case Santa was naughty. 
Santa brought toys to pass out too- effigies of himself.
Dog paw sculpture outside of the doggie spa.
Well, I learned something interesting about ice sculptures. What's different about the picture above and the one below? The above shot was taken about 45 minutes before the next one, below.
Aha- I always thought you could only take away from an ice sculpture, by shaving or carving. As it turns out, you can also add parts to one. The miracle of ice!
Of course, it would have been even more awesome if any of the artists was carving otter shapes, since otters LOVE ice. It would have been great symbolism. But alas...
I found a Workbasket Magazine from the 1950's, in case I ever want to tat a doily. These are collectible little mags with historical value- not just needlework (presumably kept in a tidy basket by the hearth) but also for the ads. ("Steady pay every day as a Practical Nurse! Enjoy security, no recession for Nurses. Earn to $65 per week, good times or bad. Florence Nightingale School of Nursing.") As I checked out, the lady said,
Of course, then I was stuffed like a sausage myself, and perfectly content to watch everybody else dance to the amazing accordion-infused live band. 
People from all over the world, dancing the same dance! Fantastic!
This year's theme is "Celebrate the Weavings of Culture," which was broadly interpreted as fiber arts of all kinds being demonstrated and discussed in the cultural area. The secrets of knitting cables were imbued on me by a kindly mystical Irishman. Nearly lost arts like tatting and bobbin lace were proudly and nimbly executed by women with lightning-fast fingers. People's willingness to share and explain? Priceless! Especially since I got a miracle ticket!
The Holiday Folk Fair continues tomorrow (November 22nd, 2009) from 10am-7pm at the State Fair Expo Center.
...multicolored trees...
...sunlight dappled on colorful leaves...
...and intensely blue skies. I'll take it sunny and cold over cloudy and warm any day.
This one below was on an abandoned building by the train tracks. Creepy, and cool.
In case you were wondering, it did rain on our trip. A lot. Well, every day, but not all day. The usual procedure was thus: find a place to camp, set up the tent under clear skies, awaken to rain. The mountains were indeed smoky.
And, awesome mushrooms appeared everywhere. This one below popped up after a rain, shredding this leaf as it grew. My camera came home full of fungus, so to speak.
We saw plenty of each. There were lots of bats at night, which were eating mosquitos and making the campground more pleasant. I love their evening flutters.
Above is a copperhead about to go into the water. Other people on the Abram's Falls trail were afraid of snakes. Some even turned back. Snakes are pretty cool, I think. We did run into a black bear on a different trail, though;I was unable to get a good shot of that even though it was close (150 feet or so), as my hands were shaking a bit. It was getting toward dusk too...no more late afternoon hiking, I think.
I doubt the "new owners" will enjoy it as much as we have. I imagine it was scrapped for the aluminum, which makes it even sadder to me.
But, since we really can't canoe on the river like we used to, maybe it doesn't matter anyway.
(Next up: more vacation shots.)
There is an amazing but treacherous road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park- a one-way gravel road that winds from north to south, winding, winding; it's crazy amazing. We did have some idea of what we were getting into from the book we brought with, a map we got in the park, and also a warning sign at the start of the road, explaining- so that the intrepid traveler could consent in an informed fashion- that it was an eight-mile gravel road that would likely take an hour to drive.
We also saw three elk, chillaxing in the afternoon. I had really hoped to see elk.
Parts of it are beautiful, even amazing (giant sand dunes!) but this part (above), maybe not so much. Busloads of school kids came to splash around in the shadow of the power plant's cooling tower. It looks like a nuclear plant, but it's not.
Nearby Beverly Shores, IN was our next stop. Some of its homes were transported there via barge across Lake Michigan after their exhibition at the 1933-34 "A Century of Progress" Chicago's World's Fair; some of the beachfront homes are abandoned. There are three existing Lustrons in the town. We found two of them. This yellow one at 729 Lake Front Drive, which overlooks Lake Michigan.
Anyway, it's every Wednesday from 10am to 3pm in Zeidler Square park --on Michigan between Third & Fourth Streets --until October 28th.
Normally, I work at noon on Wednesdays, but I was late on purpose today. I am supposed to be promoting wellness and "convincing" people to exercise more. You know, saying things like "find physical activity that you enjoy so that you are motivated to stick with it."
And what could be more motivating than learning new hoop tricks from these beautiful people?
For whatever reason, I rarely go down by the lake. Why? It's just always there. I could go anytime, and so I NEVER do. Well, we went on Labor Day. It was amazing.
Look! It's like vacation!
You can even rent a Segway, if you are so inclined. Or even if you are on a flat surface.
I took these awhile ago and never put them up. They seemed kind of depressing, but I'll say "meditative" today.
Just a little something to think about- the juxtaposition of nature and our urban environment.
Plus, bridges just look awesome.
On Sunday, Brain and I went canoeing on the Milwaukee River, scraping bottom many times. I got a few photos (some of them are even beautiful, but not these). When I saw this article by Chris Liebenthal on the subject (worth reading), I figured I should probably post them. I don't know if you remember, but earlier this month, there was an offer- by volunteers- (article here) to remove the woody debris, thwarted by the need for an environmental pollutant assessment- which would cost $100,000, and was not in the budget. Huh.
There is a lot of debris down by the dam. We were astounded. Look at all the plants growing in it! Did I say plants? I meant noxious weeds.
Happy Hanukkah!
