Nebraska-Dakota 2014 Part 2

[Roanoker]

The previous, related thread was getting too long. And we went to only one of the Dakotas.

Flowers manage to sneak in as we trekked from one building to another.


People needed the Red Cross early in the 20th century.


Funny how the lower rows of license plates lit up from the camera flash and the others didn’t.


Touch of elegance.


These roses dance to the music.


“We’re here!”


“So are we.”


“Let’s branch out.” Do flowers nest?


Pony Express Relay Station.


Hobby Lobby of old.


Stained glass is always fun to look at.


So we’ll look closer.


Look at some pretty things this week.

[Roanoker]

Back on the road.


Wildflowers will grow wherever they want and converse with one another.


What a great fence post. Whatever works.


Such a pretty flower. The white ones tend to be overexposed, but these cooperated nicely.


Crazy grass.


Yes, quite pretty.


Even spent pods are nice.


Can’t get enough of these.


This thing is probably dead, but it has character.


My son is the tiny figure walking on the road on the right.


A little bit of everything here.


The sky is the limit.


Stop along the way and take it all in.

[Roanoker]

On the road again.


Stopped to check around.


Valley of the dolls. Wait! No dolls.


I took a bunch of pictures of these hills because of the root casts. (My son told me what they were.)


Up close.


These are filled fractures.


You can always find something you like.


This rock cliff had geologic interest, but I could see only the flowers.


Sparklers in the daytime.


End of day, at the lake.


It is a new day (8/17/14), and we are visiting Chimney Rock. (This is one of a gazillion pictures I took from the car.)


I wonder if there is anything in this park besides that rock.

[Roanoker]

The sun is pretending to be a flag.


Looks like UFOs flying over Chimney Rock.


It’s a real sunflower, with skinny petals.


I probably turned around and snapped what I saw.


The visitor center, no doubt.


I could not figure out how to show this portrait-oriented image without losing its impact. So I just doubled and flipped it.


I named this photo “Fluff City,” but the intended name was “Bluff City.” Maybe there is some fluff in there somewhere.


All that silver, gold and a little green reminds me to check my finances.


There are those bluffs and city again, with a few sunflowers thrown in.


The sunflowers demand more attention.


So we’ll give it to them. Incidentally, I cut away everything but this flower, leaving a larger portion of the original image in the background.


This one took more time than the result warrants. Oh, well. Kept me from having to do housework.

[Roanoker]

A not so great experiment. There may be more.


This was a nice, flower-strewn path.


All that beautiful scenery, and my son looks at the flowers.


The flowers were looking at us, too.


The focus of the original picture was a bunch of dark seed pods. As I prepared what I thought would be a nice background,
I liked it better all by itself, with one pod thrown in at the side.


Just flowers. And some grass. And sticks.


I take pictures of signs so I can have a shot at remembering where we were.


We were on the path, so we have pictures of the path.


This reminds me of a cheesecake I made some years back.


This is the top of a portrait-oriented image. By the way, that little, dark-blue circle at upper left appears on every picture.
It is usually not visible. Something must be on the lens. I don’t know how to clean it off. Bummer.


Big circle.


Rock beckons climbers.

[Roanoker]

My son was climbing on rocks last time. Now he has reached the peak.


From another perspective.


I didn’t notice these people initially.


I found these seed-pod things fascinating. And I love the wheat-colored grass.


And so it goes.


Sunflowers in sunflowers and my son.


I should just crop these things and be done with it. But no, I continue to fuss and struggle.


I learned how to create my own pattern (a tiny sunflower), but the result was a bit much. I still used it, but I muted it with a few tricks.


“Pick me!” “No, me!” “Me!"


At least, they are not sunflowers.


More seed pods and fussing.


What’s par for this course?

[Roanoker]

Just a wall with funny-looking things “dripping” on it. Maybe a frame will help.


I guess we’re up kinda high.


Somebody got abandoned in this location many years ago. This rock serves as a memorial to him. Not that it matters, but I
used a portion of the background as a frame here.


This frame thing is getting out of hand.


The right half of this picture is the original. The left half is a blown-up section of the same picture.


I prefer natural, tree-branch frames. Still adding another.


This tree made it to the top.


Where to go next. Hm. I think we’ll continue on the path.


Well now, this is something to look at.


Don’t look down!


Closer look.


Some flowers managed to grow in this rocky place.

[Roanoker]

I like the “star flowers” at this place. Even the buds.


Flowers don’t care where they grow.


Oops! Where does this path go?


Oh. Into a tunnel.


The proverbial light at…


Wouldn’t you know? Flowers wait at the end, to greet us.


Enjoying the view.


This shadow seems to be a planned graphic.


Did some cutting around the feathery, leafy things at the right, but who cares how or why.


Kinda looks like a candle in the middle, but I’m pretty sure it is not.


That black pod thing keeps creeping back into my pictures. I do like it.


Here it is again, in a pretend sort of 3D.