Home at last

I am home...but I'm feeling rather lazy. I've just been surfing the internet for the past hour or two, catching up on things, but I don't feel like being very productive. At the very least I know that I need to unpack my car, and I suppose that I'll do that soon. My apartment could even stand to be cleaned, and I have time, but not the greatest inclination, ;-).

What I really want to do is get back to work...but I'm not scheduled to go in until Monday. Who knows, I might just visit the Creation Museum tomorrow, a day early... ;-)

Leaving the Mountains

We are leaving the Smokies today. Vacation isn't quite over, but we're transitioning to a campground further north in Tennessee at Norris Dam State Park. I will miss the national park itself, but much of Pigeon Forge I won't miss. I don't know about others, but I didn't come here for mini-golf or go karts...I came to relax and enjoy the scenery. I think I'd rather drive through Vegas than Pigeon Forge, it is so built up and blatantly commercial. Now don't get me wrong, that isn't inherently a bad thing (I'm a huge fan of capitalism), but I just personally prefer to enjoy the wild. When I want something like this I'll go to Las Vegas or Times Square, NYC, which aren't billed as beautiful nature, ;-). Gatlinburg is at least better because of the narrow canyon. The buildings are closer to the road, designed for foot traffic, and many of them ascetically more pleasing, built in a European mountain theme. Oh well. I'm sure I'll be back at some point in the future, but if I am I'll be back to enjoy the park again. That is what you can't find elsewhere.

I doubt I'll have an active internet connection until I get home. The campground we are going to is part of the Tennessee State Park system, which is nice, but doesn't feature wireless internet. That is fine with me, I don't need internet access when camping, it has just been nice to have so that I can post pictures and blog posts like this (and perhaps check some e-mail, but don't tell anyone that, ;-)).

~Matt

Roaring Fork Loop through the Smokies

Today we drove on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail through the Smokies. This was the one section of the park I'd yet to visit (with the exception of driving through to the North Carolina entrance which my parents did before I arrived and didn't want to repeat). The loop actually starts in Gatlinburg, but winds beautifully through a chunk of the northern part of the National Park. There were several buildings, but the main focus of the day was on the scenery, unlike Cades Cove that really focused on the buildings. So the pictures below are mainly flowers and other scenery.

While we were hiking up to Grotto Falls I happened to look down and see this tiny evergreen branch laying next to a rock. It looked like an interesting tableau, so I grabbed a few shots from different angles. I think that this was the one that turned out the best. I wish that there had been a bit more color, or richer tones in the shot...but I think it still turned out well. The only thing that I moved was the angle of the camera.

I don't know what leaves made these shadows, but they were on the former lands of the Ogle farm, one of the first stops along the loop today. My dad and I hiked the entire loop through the farm, but my mom stayed back because the first part (actually the last since we accidentally went backwards) was pretty muddy. But this trail was a great place for photos, including some great flower shots.

My dad pointed out this flower, but I had fun with the angle. I think that the shadow and the green leaves lend some interesting points to the scene. I wish that the flower had been a bit more lively, but at least the color is still intact, ;-).






I have some more purple flowers, but for the sake of variety here is a white one. I have another version of this shot that focuses in on the fern you can seen in the background, but I don't think that it works as well as this one. I like the blurry background and how you can barely see the other green there, but at least it is there. I'm not sure if I took this horizontally or vertically...but I think that it could work as either. I'm leaning towards trying it as a background on my computer.







The last picture from our first stop is some fungi found on a log. I took several pictures after my dad pointed them out, but this was the first and honestly the best (unless I crop some of the others down). The lines are pretty cool, looking somewhat like tree rings. There were literally dozens upon dozens of these things growing on several different logs in the vicinity.



This shot was taken against the background of a crumbling stump, just visible as the red coloring behind the green plants. I don't know why, but again I like the first shot of this series over all of the other ones that I took in case this one didn't turn out. I find it slightly frustrating that a shot can look great on the tiny LCD screen and you don't realize the flaw until it is displayed on the computer. But, at least it is better than not even having a clue until you paid for the film to be developed!

We'll be at a state park campground tomorrow night, so I'm sure that I won't have internet access. I should remember to come back here once I get home, but that won't likely be until sometime Sunday. I'll be home on Saturday but will be busy that evening. I don't even know yet if I'm working on Sunday or not... As always, thanks for reading, and please leave a comment if you like what you read or the pictures that you see. Thanks!

~Matt

Scenic Dollywood

These were some of the largest windchimes that I've ever seen, just outside a blacksmith's shop in the Craftsmen area of Dollywood (no, I refuse to call it Craftsperson even if somebody else does). I'm happy the shot turned out as well as it did because I only took one from this perspective.












Dollywood has a historic steam engine for which they've laid out a section of track and an interesting route. The train goes through some natural woods on the property, and while you do see some behind the scenes areas several other natural areas are decorated with replicas of historic buildings or scenes like a hobos campfire, a mountain still, etc... The engine came from Alaska and is known as "Klondike Katie."

At one point the engineer blew the whistle for a couple of minutes, releasing me smoke than normal. As my part of the train came past the area where he'd started I grabbed this (and a couple of other shots) of the sun coming through the smoke.






I have been trying to get pictures of the Dogwood trees ever since I've arrived in the area, but this is one of my favorites. I like the juxtaposition of the white flowers against the red leaves of the other tree.







~Matt

PS This has been fun posting more often. I really need to get back in this habit when I get back from vacation.

Fun with Cameras and Fire!

Okay, so I happen to think that cameras are nearly always fun (though some around me don't agree, most either agree or have learned to grin and bear it). Tonight I decided to spare others and take some pictures of myself, with the benefit of a small tripod and time delay. I sent the camera for a longer exposure, relying on the campfire to illuminate the scene. I took a whole series, but I think this one turned out the best. And you have to admit, adding cameras and fire together (so long as no cameras are being destroyed) is guaranteed to be fun! :-)

~Matt

Dollywood

Today we're going to Dollywood. I'm not sure exactly what to expect, but from what I've head it should be a fun day. I am continuing my pattern of getting into places for free though. When I went to Chicago last I got into the three museums I visited for free (Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, and the Museum of Science and Industry) because of my work at the Cincinnati Museum Center. The Museum Center gives each employee a complimentary membership, and the membership is reciprocal with ASTC and a network of children's museums around the country. I also got into Columbus' COSI when I visited there for my birthday this year.

This trip will be my first time getting into some place because of my work at the Creation Museum. The Creation Museum and Dollywood have a reciprocal arrangement with employees for admission.

It should be a fun day. Sadly on my last trip to Kings Island I discovered that while I really enjoyed roller coasters my inner ear does not. I loved the thrill, but became nauseous after a couple of rides, :(. I wish that I hated the rides or that I could handle them...but no, I get the worst case scenario, wanting to go, but being unable if I want to enjoy the rest of the day. With that in mind I doubt I'll go on any of the actual roller coasters today (my dad has much the same reaction as I do, without the enjoyment, so we wouldn't all be going regardless), but some of the other rides look interesting.

Ah, working for museums is not only very enjoyable, but has great benefits as well! :-)

~Matt

Cades Cove

We spent most of the day inside the park again. We drove through Townsend, TN to get to Cades Cove, which houses many well preserved buildings from the days when park land was privately owned. The first picture is from lunch, at a picnic area just outside the entrance to Cades Cove.






Sadly Bob had visited nearly all (if not all) of the buildings that we saw today. Most of the free surfaces were covered with graffiti. I understand when settlers carved their names into Chimney Rock, and those carvings are now historic. But carving your name into a historic building in a National Park is simply childish and disrespectful...it also ruins some good pictures!












I'll leave some nice scenery shots without too much commentary. I'll hopefully post more pictures later on Facebook or via Picasa where I can tie comments directly to them.

~Matt

Vacation in the Smokies

I'm currently on vacation in the Smokies with my parents. We are in a campground just outside Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Today we drove into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We drove to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the park and my dad and I hiked up to the summit. Sadly it was cloudy up there so I didn't get any good distance shots, but here are some of my favourites from the day. We did make it into North Carolina for part of the day, which was cool because I'd never been in that state before. Now I think there are only 13 states I haven't visited. Alaska and Hawaii. Louisana (the only one of the lower 48 west of the Mississippi I haven't been to), New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut), Delaware, and the South-east (South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida). Wait, that is 14, :(.

~Matt

I have gotten several good panoramics so far, including a couple of vertical shots. Here is one of the forest and one showing the twists on one of the roads (and in the background you can see some beautiful clouds).


I love the shots that show the trademark clouds and "smoke" of the Smokies... I loved the scenes from the Last of the Mohicans that were filmed here...

Organization

I really need to organize my pictures. I use Picasa to view them, so I suppose I should use it to tag and organize them as well. I have some pictures of the Creation Museum grounds like this one that I'd like to organize with other similar ones. And now that it is earnestly spring I'd like to take even more pictures of the grounds.

~Matt

Sleep? What's that?

Well I'm certainly going to get more sleep tonight than I did two nights ago.  I was working an Overnight at the Creation Museum (our first such one actually) and I ended up not sleeping at all.  Instead I spent much of the night getting work done.  It was a great time, even if I was up for more than twenty four hours.  If you'd like to read more check out the Creation Museum blog (which I wrote) or even Ken Ham's blog.

~Matt

Melancholy?

melancholy, n.
3. [Rare.] Pensive contemplation; serious and sober reflection...Syn.: see grief

pensive
1. Engaged in or addicted to serious or quiet reflection; musing: thoughtful...

------------
Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary of the English Language, 1939


I don't know if this exactly describes my mood, but sometimes I think that it does.  Don't ask me exactly why (1. I don't completely know, and 2. What I may know I don't always want to discuss)...but suffice to say while I may always be one for quiet reflection I do not want to be forever characterized as melancholic.  But how long will it last?  I can say that God only knows and mean it, and I do.  That should help my peace of mind, and in one sense it does because I ultimately trust that God will provide and care for me.  But sometimes in the immediate sense I still worry, I still ponder, I still wonder, I still contemplate...pensively...  I ask "why?" and I do not have an answer currently.  I pray that God will give me the patience to endure until there is an answer I understand...

~Matt

Sunset

This evening I stopped by Best Buy to pick up a new memory card (sadly I found out my camera is just a bit too old to handle an HD card, so I could only get a new high-speed 2GB card, :( ). Once I got out to my car I looked up to see this beautiful sunset. I had to grab my camera and take a few shots. I've learned before that if I take only one it will often turn out blurry, or something else will be wrong with it. So now I always take several shots of something like this that isn't repeatable.

Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name

This morning during the sermon I looked down at a verse in Psalms that the pastor was reading, and I flipped over to the next Psalm: Psalm 29.  I haven't read it in a while, but it was so refreshing to read that I thought I'd share it here.

Psalm 29 (NKJV, from Bible Gateway)

A Psalm of David.

        Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
            Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
        Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
            Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
         
        The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
            The God of glory thunders;
            The LORD is over many waters.
        The voice of the LORD is powerful;
            The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
         
        The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars,
            Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
        He makes them also skip like a calf,
            Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
        The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.
         
        The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
            The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
        The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth,
            And strips the forests bare;
            And in His temple everyone says, "Glory!"
         
        The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood,
            And the LORD sits as King forever.
      The LORD will give strength to His people;
            The LORD will bless His people with peace.

God is amazing.  The point of this morning's sermon was that no matter how long we study God we cannot simply compartmentalize him or fit our knowledge of him in a box.  Even in Eternity we will still have created, finite minds and we will never be done with the study of learning more about God!

~Matt

Tea Party!

I attended a tea party today. No, I didn't drink tea. This was a political rally, a grass-roots organized event (started by a Community Organizer, Mike Wilson, ;-)) intended to be in the spirit of the original Boston Tea Party. Many of these "Tea Parties" have sprung up across the country. The largest I've heard of was in Fullerton, CA with estimates that range from 8-15 thousand. The best numbers I heard today were 3,500-5,000 packing out Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. I was at the front of the crowd and didn't move around to get a good vantage point, so I'm sure others got better pictures of the whole crowd (or as much as they could capture via camera). I mainly concentrated on a few panoramic crowd shots and then shots of the speakers and as many signs as I could get. Here are a few relevant links:

Cincinnati Tea Party

Michelle Malkin's post on the event
Here is a picture from her website that I tweaked:


My Picasa Web Album of pictures


~Matt