Badlands

 Just now getting around t posting this photo from late September trip to South Dakota. I hadn't posted before as I felt this one didn't really "work".

Taken with my iPhone, trying to take advantage of that camera's wide angle to capture the land's edge in the foreground (and that bit of yellow flowers / bush) through the drop off to the layers of peaks. But looking at it on the computer, I decided there's just not enough contrast between that front ledge and the nearest peak. So I shelved it.

Actually, I've had this as my "cover photo" on facebook, which crops at 2.7:1 ratio. so the bottom part wasn't showing. I changed my cover shot today, and reconsidered this image for 365 project.

I've misplaced the original file, this is saved from facebook, which seems to have stripped the EXIF data.

A Good Place To Live

 Our recent travels took us to Bristol TN/VA.  Bristol is split by the Tennessee / Virginia line, which actually runs right down Main Street. It was even featured in a GEICO commercial! with their gecko standing on one of the state line markers between the double yellow street lines:

I had never actually been in Bristol, except to pass by on I-81.  But my parents lived there (on the Tennessee side) back in the 50's.  We had a really super meal at the Burger Bar, which claims "A Bristol Classic Since 1942".  It was fun to imagine my parents maybe having a burger there, as youngsters starting out so many years ago....

Cover Photo

 So...  I've been trying to change my cover photo at Facebook more often, about 1/month.

So here's what I changed it to today:

This is a 2.7:1 ratio crop of a photo taken during our recent Tennessee Trip.  This is the Nolichucky River, near Erwin, TN.  Approximate location:  36°09'03.3"N 82°26'28.4"W

This replaced a photo from our September trip to the Badlands in South Dakota.  Which replaced a photo from our August trip to Mackinac Island, MI.  Guess I need to start thinking abot where to go for a good November photo!

October 1970

    Fifty years ago this month, what what happening on the music charts?

Well, during the 5 weeks of October 1970, there were 57 songs that spent time in the Top 40. Lots of great stuff.

Three (3) songs made the Top spot: Diana Ross' version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" started the month at #1, finishing a 3 week run at the top.  Cracklin' Rosie, by Neil Diamond made #1 for one (1) week, and I'll Be There by Jackson 5 spent the last 3 weeks at the top/

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:

• I'll Be There - Jackson 5 - 2.2
• Cracklin' Rosie - Neil Diamond - 2.6
• Candida - Dawn - 5.4
• All Right Now - Free - 6.0
• Green-Eyed Lady - Sugarloaf  - 7.0
• We've Only Just Begun - Carpenters - 7.6
• Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross - 7.6
• Julie, Do Ya Love Me - Bobby Sherman - 11.0
• Fire And Rain James Taylor - 13.2
• Express Yourself - Charles Wright And The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - 13.2

I made a Spotify playlist of the Top 10, if anybody wants to listen:  October 1970

Twenty (20) songs made their Top 40 debut, here they are (listed by entering position):

• I Think I Love You - The Partridge Family  - 17
• The Tears Of A Clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - 27
• Cry Me A River - Joe Cocker - 28
• Engine Number 9 - Wilson Pickett - 29
• God, Love And Rock & Roll - Teegarden & Van Winkle - 30
• Super Bad (Part 1 & Part 2) - James Brown - 34
• Our House - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 35
• It Don't Matter To Me - Bread - 36
• Somebody's Been Sleeping - 100 Proof Aged in Soul - 37
• Lucretia Mac Evil - Blood, Sweat & Tears - 37
• Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World) - The Temptations - 38
• Do What You Wanna Do - Five Flights Up - 39
• Deeper & Deeper - Freda Payne - 39
• See Me, Feel Me - The Who - 39
• Gypsy Woman - Brian Hyland - 39
• Make It Easy On Yourself - Dionne Warwick - 39
• Stand By Your Man - Candi Staton - 40
• Montego Bay - Bobby Bloom - 40
• Yellow River - Christie - 40
• Heaven Help Us All - Stevie Wonder - 40

RIP Eddie Van Halen

 Just saw that Eddie Van Halen passed away today (10/6/20).  Very sad news.

I'm not a huge Van Halen fan, but have huge respect for EVH as a guitar player.  [Frankly I was a little put out by DRL's posturing and screaching]...   Certainly Eddie Van Halen was an iconic rock guitarist, one of the biggest of the late 70's into the 80's.  And he usually looked like he was just having SO MUCH FUN playing.

Van Halen songs on my iPod:

• And The Cradle Will Rock
• Dance The Night Away
• Jamie's Cryin'
• Jump
• Panama
• Runnin' With The Devil
• Why Can't This be Love
• You Really Got Me

I'll be cranking it up.

Abandoned Railway, Dry Creek

Abandoned railroad, crossing a dry creek.  Near Caupta, South Dakota.  This is along SD-44, just a few dozen yards from the road.  Apparently the creek is Rapid Creek, though it was quite dry on this day!

gps coordinates for the bridge are 43.912546, -102.706333, if you care...

Scenic South Dakota

 Actually, Scenic, South Dakota.  As in the town.  Or former town.  Or abandoned town.  Population 10, as of the 2010 census.

Scenic sits just off Rt 44 between Rapid City South Dakota and the Badlands National Park Visitor Center.  We blinked and missed the turn on the way to the park, but decided to stop by on the way back.  After all, how could you skip Scenic SD duing a road trip?

Well...  turns out there's not much happening in Scenic. Especially at 6:30 pm on a Sunday in late September.  Here's a couple of photos:

One of the articles I read indicated that whatever glory Scenic may have had faded when I-90 bypassed the town (I-90 runs about 20 north of Scenic).  Whatever, the drive across 44 was as so much better than the interstate for us on this day.  On the other hand, when we were headed home, we sure took the interstate!

Regardless, Scenic is a funky little spot.  If we had stopped in the morning, we might've explored it a bit more.  

Old Homestead

Driving across Colorado, we came across an old, abandoned farm.  Just off the interstate, maybe 60 miles east of Denver.  Perfect for a quick stop, and a few photos.  Here's 3 versions of one of the photos...

First, the straight-from-the-camera version.  This was posted to my 365 project as part of September's "nifty-50 straight out of camera" challenge.   The zoom was set just under 35mm, which is equivalent to 50mm due to the crop sensor. 

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Below is my first tweak of the image.  It isn't too dramatic a change, but I do think it is much "better".  First, I rotated the image slightly, to appear more level.  Then I did a slight crop, primarily to eliminate the distraction on the right edge..  Last was a slight boost of contrast/saturation (via my "secret sauce").

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Last, I played around with some effects, to get a more aged feel.  Just for giggles, but I think iy turned out OK.

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So what do you think?