Illuminations at Botanica

Taken at Botanica during their holiday illuminations display, the night was aglow with thousands of lights.

Glass carrots

A four year olds description of the Christmas Tree: "It has pink balls, bows, candy canes, lights, beads.......... and glass carrots!"

Kids say the darndest things.

When I was a four year old - these were better known as icicles.


Wishing each of you a happy and healthy holiday season - enjoyed in the ways and values, of your tradition and culture.

Train tracks

Another shot of the old railway bridge.

(Please excuse the language - more graffiti)

Railroad Bridge

This is the old Railway Bridge I wanted to photograph.

It's located about a block or two, east of the John Mack Bridge posted on theme day.

I like this bridge so much, I dared to venture past the beer bottle and graffiti to share it with all of you. Luckilly, there were no drinkers or painters to be seen, it was a nice and quiet day by the river.

Graffiti

By the looks of this graffiti, and the the beer bottle, I'm thinking someone was drinking and painting (without authorization on public property). I guess it means something to those that can read the symbols and lettering. To me, it meant nothing. I don't see a lot of graffiti around Wichita. But, as with most major cities - it happens. Continuing on this walk along the river, tomorrow, we'll come to where I was headed - the neat old railroad bridge.

You all had some good, and funny guesses. I smiled as I read them, and LOL'd @ Fenix!

Beer bottle

This Bud's not for me. This beer bottle was seen while walking along the river bank, in search of a railway bridge I wanted to photograph. Whoever tossed this bottle aside, had only drank about half of it. Tomorrow, I'll show you what I saw next. And, the next day will be a photo of the bridge I was after.

Splash

Just as I was taking this photo from under a bridge, a young person with me, was tossing a dirt clod into the water. Splash! This is not the same bridge in yesterday's photograph. Wichita has a lot of bridges.

Dec. 1st Theme Day - Bridges

The John Mack Bridge
The left side is identical to the right side, but the angle of the photo doesn't show it. This is my favorite bridge in Wichita. It was built in 1931. If you would like to read a little history on it, click here http://members.cox.net/wichitahpa/johnmack.html This link also shows another photo of it.

I love the big concrete rainbow arches - there are 8 of them on each side. If I would of taken this photo from the other end of the bridge, you would see a cold white coating of snow on the arches. But, from the end I photographed - the snow was already melting, giving the bridge a wet look.

There are currently 128 blogs participating in this theme day:
Boston (MA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Inverness (IL), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Stockholm, Sweden - Setúbal, Portugal - Brussels, Belgium - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Hyde, UK - Manila, Philippines - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - London, England - Austin (TX), USA - Toulouse, France - Weston (FL), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Selma (AL), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - North Bay (ON), Canada - Arradon, France - Paderborn, Germany - Durban, South Africa - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Portland (OR), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Wichita (Ks), USA - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Grenoble, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Arlington (VA), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Cheltenham, UK - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Saratoga Spgs. (NY), USA - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Nashville (TN), USA - Toruń, Poland - New Orleans (LA), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Melbourne, Australia - Moscow, Russia - Trujillo, Peru - Château-Gontier, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Joplin (MO), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Brookville (OH), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Baziège, France - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Detroit (MI), USA - Riga, Latvia - Nelson, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Cape Town, South Africa - Sydney, Australia - Dunedin (FL), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Radonvilliers, France - Turin, Italy - Montpellier, France - Kansas City (MO), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Wailea (HI), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Terrell (TX), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Budapest, Hungary - Montréal (QC), Canada - Sharon (CT), USA - Le Guilvinec, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - London, UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Orlando (FL), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Paris, France - Mainz, Germany - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Darmstadt, Germany - Naples (FL), USA - Torino, Italy - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - The Hague, Netherlands - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Melbourne (VIC), Australia - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand

What's up?

Not sure what's up, but when clicking on this most recent post to enlarge the photo, I'm getting a (download file) pop up asking if I want to open or save. And, it warns me of risks of downloading from the Internet. Wants me to be sure I trust the person who put it out there. Well, that person is me, and of course I trust myself. But, why doesn't the photo simply enlarge? Does anyone know what could be causing this?

Back to add the fix for the problem mentioned in this post can be found at: http://knownissues.blogspot.com/

The Gentle Heroes

Final Call

“Final Call” a life-size bronze statue of a firefighter discovering the helmet of a comrade amid fire debris

Gander Mtn.

Wichita is located in the flat lands of central Kansas - and so I jokingly say "this is our only mountain". Gander Mtn. offers a wide selection of items for: hunting, fishing, camping, outdoor recreation, clothing and footwear, and even gunsmith services. They even have some household furnishings - things such as a camouflauge sofa, or pillows shaped like fish. Whether, looking for sporting goods, or just browsing, it's a nice place to spend time (or money!). In looking at their website, I see there are a lot of these stores in the eastern United States, and the furthest one to the west is in Colorado. www.gandermountain.com/storelocator/ I'll label this photo under buildings, and city art, due to the deer statue in the forefront. Enlarging this photo shows much more detail in the deer statues, and look in the seat of the camoflauge 4 wheeler, what do you see?

Downtown buildings

A view of some of the buildings in downtown Wichita.

This was taken from the top of Gander Mountain's parking garage.

Footprints in the snow

Yesterday, Wichitans woke up to the season's first snowfall.

It was mostly melted by noon.

Look familiar?

This is the photo, that the header for this blog was cropped from.

The Keeper of the Plains

Fall color

Autumn was ablaze in this tree, and with the sunlight filtering through, it was lovely.

Castle

This is Wichita's only castle, it was built in 1886-1888. Its has had several owners over the years, and is now a Bed and Breakfast. If you'd like to see inside, or read about this historical building, click here castleinnriverside

Red bridge

This red bridge is for walking, and riding bicycles, across the river. It connects bicycle paths on each side of the river. In the background (towards the end of the bridge) are the colored totems that encircle an intersection, and are lit in various colors each evening. This photo was taken in the daytime, while they were off.

Got milk?

This building has lots of milk, and dairy products. The cow over the entrance has been there for many years. This use to be Steffen's Ice and Ice Cream Co., and is now Hiland Dairy Foods. Its not uncommon to see large dairy trucks pulling up to this building, bringing milk from local dairy farms processing, packaging (bottled), and distribution to grocery stores. They have a website, with some history, and recipes: hilanddairy Elarging the photo gives a better view of the cow, and the decor of the building.

Ride'm high

This is Old Cowtown's new welcoming committee.