August 2, 2025 [LINK / comment]
Road trip out west, May-June 2024
Since I had had to change the itinerary of my "Great Train Odyssey" of June 2023 due to a landslide and the vagaries of Amtrak's reservation system (see my July 2 blog post), I was determined to rectify my failure to include family get-togethers in my trip out west last year! For the most part, I succeeded, while also accomplishing a high school reunion, quite a bit of bird watching, and a little bit of sports stadium (mostly football) tourism. What follows is a brief description of the highlights of my trip, with photographs of the most scenic and/or significant points along the way. On this trip, I focused on seeing state capitol buildings -- SIX of them, in fact!
I left Staunton on May 30 by the usual I-64 route that takes you through the mountains of West Virginia. I saw the state capitol in Charleston, but my photo was mediocre, and in fact I saw it a second time on the way back. My first significant stop was in the town of Point Pleasant, WV, on the banks of the Ohio River. A friend named Cass from church had recommended a curious tourist attraction there: the Mothman Museum, which features all sorts of displays about the legendary appearance of a mysterious creature reported by several townsfolk in the mid-1960s. Somehow these sightings are connected to a tragic bridge collapse that took place in December 1967, killing several dozen people. Outside is a metal sculpture/monument of the presumed alien beast. It was a fascinating tale, dramatized in the 2002 movie The Mothman Prophecies, starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney.
My next stop was downtown Columbus, Ohio, where I saw the state capitol, that is distinguished by the lack of a dome above the central part. Perhaps they just never got around to finishing it. About a mile away, I stopped to see the gigantic Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: State capitols in Ohio (Columbus), Iowa (Des Moines), Wyoming (Cheyenne), West Virginia (Charleston), South Dakota (Pierre), and Colorado (Denver).
The next day I stopped in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, and chalked off another state capitol on my "to-do" list. I have probably driven past Des Moines a dozen or more times over the years, but never took the time to see it. Unlike Ohio, there is a very impressive gilden dome above the capitol, perched on a big hill that provides a nice view of downtown, about a mile to the west. I arrived in Sioux Falls that evening (Saturday) just in time to see the weekly "Svengoolie" movie with my brothers Chris and John. (Dan joined us there about a week later.)
I spent a couple days unwinding in Sioux Falls, watching birds near Tea, SD and seeing some local sights such as the USS South Dakota battleship museum, and then two little league baseball games featuring two of my great nephews. Then, I hit the road westbound once again. My first stop was Lake Andes NWR, in south-central South Dakota. Then I crossed the Missouri River along the Fort Randall Dam, and entered Nebraska soon thereafter. I stopped to take photos in the towns of O'Neill, Broken Bow, and North Platte, and made it to Fort Morgan, Colorado as dusk approached. (I recommend the Terrace Park motel, whose owners are friendly and helpful.)
Early the next day I drove into downtown Denver, Colorado, where my main objective was (of course) the state capitol building. I also visited "Empower Field at Mile High," which is the new name of the home stadium of the Denver Broncos, and took a "drive-by" photo of Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Ohio Stadium (Ohio State Univ.) in Columbus; Nebraska's Big Rodeo Stadium in Burwell; University of Colorado Stadium in Boulder; Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls, SD; War Memorial Stadium (Univ. of Wyoming) in Laramie; and Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, CO (home of the Broncos).
Then I proceeded to my main destination of the day: Rocky Mountain National Park area of Colorado. The last time I had been there was in 2009, with my father, who has since passed away. I spent the next couple nights at the very nice home of my sister Connie, who unfortunately had already left town on a vacation of her own. ("What we have here ... is a failure to communicate! 
) The next day I went birding at two different spots in the Boulder area.
The majestic snow-capped Rocky Mountains, and the city of Boulder (with the University of Colorado) in the foreground.
After leaving Boulder I headed in a northeasterly direction to go bird watching at Pawnee National Grasslands, where I had my first-ever good views of the Colorado state bird: the Lark Bunting! Then I passed through a fierce prairie thunderstorm and entered the state of Wyoming for the first time since . In the city of Cheyenne I took a self-guided tour of the state capitol, and then drove west to Laramie, spending a while at the University of Wyoming campus for the first time. I was surprised by how much higher elevation Laramie is compared to Cheyenne, even though they're not too far apart. Late in the afternoon I drove past Casper, which had been my intended destination for lodging, but learned to my dismay that there were multiple public events and no hotels were available. So, I continued north (past the historic marker at Teapot Dome) and spent the night in the small town of Wright.
My next destination was Devil's Tower, which I had previously seen during my cross-continent road trip in 1987. (That was just a few years after the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind was filmed there.) Then I headed east along I-90, and entered South Dakota for a second time, briefly stopped in the historic mining towns of Deadwood and Lead, and then spent the night in Sturgis. It was about six weeks before the big motorcycle rally that is held there every year.
Devils Tower, Wyoming.
Elk in Rocky Mtn. Nat. Park, CO; Buffalo / Bison in Badlands Nat. Park, SD; Antelope near Casper, WY; Prairie Dog at Devil's Tower, WY; 13-lined Ground Squirrel / Gopher near Sioux Falls, SD; and Chipmunk in RMNP, CO.
The next day I drove through Spearfish Canyon (where I saw my first-ever American Dipper) and saw various highlights of the Black Hills. Unfortunately, there was a section of road that was closed due to construction, and I had to take a detour that took more than an hour. Finally I got to Mount Rushmore for the first time since 1998, and then saw the Crazy Horse Memorial about 15 miles to the southwest. They have a nice museum there, with many historic artefacts of Native American civilization, and I bought a book as well as some souvenirs. Unfortunately, it rained for much of the time I was there, so my photos weren't as good as I had hoped. In the evening I spent the night in Rapid City at the home of my old college friend Fred Dieken, and we were soon joined by another dear old friend from my childhood years, Dave Heikes. I had not seen either of them since the 1990s!
Mount Rushmore, the "Shrine of Democracy"
The next day I resumed my eastbound journey, stopped at world-famous Wall Drug, and then entered the Badlands National Park. The skies were clear blue, just perfect for taking photos of that amazing natural wonder.
The east side of the Badlands, by the visitors center.
Then I paid a brief visit to the Minuteman Missile Museum, resumed heading east along I-90, turned toward the north, and then visited the state capitol in Pierre. (FUN FACT: Pierre is pronounced like "pier," even though it was named for a French explorer!) I'm pretty sure it was my first visit there since I worked there in the late 1970s.
Resuming my eastward course, I saw (for the first time) the Dignity Monument, near the town of Chamberlain, SD. It portrays a Native American woman in a noble pose, and is very impressive. I arrived back in Sioux Falls early in the evening, and had some more nice family get-togethers, with Chris, John, and Dan. For the next couple days I rested, and did some bird watching at the Beaver Creek Nature Area and the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum, both of which are east of Sioux Falls. Chris and I spent some time at the big waterfalls, and he gave me a thorough tour of downtown Sioux Falls.
Sioux Falls waterfalls, from a nearby observation tower.
Then came the culmination of my trip: the Vermillion High School Class of 1974 50th reunion! I saw many, many old friends for the first time in ten or more years. Some of us played a round of golf, but I was out of practice and did poorly. While in Vermillion I stopped to see the Clem Family Fountain, a memorial garden honoring our parents in which my brother Chris took a lead role, to his great credit, as well as Jolley Elementary School, which unfortunately was torn down just a few months later.
There weren't many notable sights as a headed back east toward Virginia again. In Iowa I stopped at the farm where the movie Field of Dreams was filmed, mu second time there. I did stop to see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as the site of an old ballpark where parts of the movie Eight Men Out was filmed. (I had seen the Indiana state capitol on an earlier trip.) The last major stop was in Charleston, West Virginia, where I spent a while taking photos of the gilden state capitol.
Then, I got back onto I-64 and returned to Staunton, where Jacqueline was waiting for me. In terms of the family and friends that I saw, the historical sites, the natural wonders, as well as the birds and other wildlife that, it was without question a wonderful trip!
NOTE: I am preparing to head west on another "family-oriented visit," and wanted to get this travelogue done first!
August 31, 2025 [LINK / comment]
Baseball (and football) road trip, 2025
I had briefly considered buying tickets to the August 2 Braves-Reds game at Bristol Motor Speedway, just to experience the novelty of the event, but in retrospect I'm better off not having done so. RAIN! It just happens that my summer travel plans (rather hastily improvised) neatly coincided with that game, so I was able to do a brief "drive-by" inspection as the crowd gathered about an hour before that game was scheduled to start. Weather conditions were gloomy and wet. (I'll have more to say more about the game itself later.)
On the next day of my westbound journey I stopped briefly at Busch Stadium (III) in St. Louis, where the sun was shining brightly. Ten days later (August 13) I saw the Washington Nationals play the Kansas City Royals, who had won the first two games of that series. It was a scorching hot day, and the waterfall at Kauffman Stadium sure looked good. That game proved to be very much worth my time and money, as I will describe below. On the return leg of my trip I stopped at the sites of Kansas City Municipal Stadium, Bush Stadium in Indianapolis (where much of the 1988 movie Eight Men Out was filmed), and then Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The last stop was just prior to a quick drive-by of Great American Ballpark, where the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers were engaged in a very dramatic showdown. Could the Brew Crew extend their winning streak to a franchise-record 15 games?? In case you don't already know, see below!
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Busch Stadium (St. Louis), Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City), Bush Stadium Loft Apartments (Indianapolis), Bristol Motor Speedway (Tennessee), and Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati).
In three of the cities mentioned above, I also saw current National Football League stadiums that I had seen before: Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. In Nashville, I also saw Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans, for the very first time. That stadium is only 26 years old, but for some reason it was decided to build a new stadium right next door. The New Nissan Stadium will be fully enclosed and climate-controlled. I could see that the structural beams are almost all in place, and construction on it is supposed to be completed in time for the 2027 season, two years hence. (See newnissanstadium.com; for a nice photo of the current stadium and nearby downtown Nashville, see tennesseetitans.com.) Construction on the Buffalo Bills' new stadium is moving ahead, and their new home should be ready one year from now...
Finally, I saw three major college football stadiums: at the University of Kansas (in Lawrence)), the University of Missouri (in Columbia), and the University of Illinois (in Champaign-Urbana). In the not-too-distant future, photos of those stadiums will be included on the Football stadiums photo gallery page. That page needs to be updated for name changes anyway. It should be noted that the the University of Illinois stadium served as the home field of the NFL Chicago Bears during the 2002 season, when Soldier Field underwent a massive renovation.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Indianapolis Colts); GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (home of the Kansas City Chiefs); PayCor Stadium (home of the Cincinnati Bengals); Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium (home of the Missouri Tigers, in Columbia); David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (home of the Kansas Jayhawks, in Lawrence); Memorial Stadium (home of the Illinois Fighting Illini, in Champaign-Urbana); and Nissan Stadium (home of the Tennessee Titans, in Nashville).
Braves win BIG game in Bristol
On August 2, the Cincinnati Reds "hosted" the Atlanta Braves in the "MLB Speedway Classic presented by BuildSubmarines.com" at the Speedway located a few miles south of Bristol. The city actually straddles the Tennessee-Virginia border, with separate municipal governments on each side. The seating capacity for car races is 146,000, but nearly one-third of the seats were unsuitable for baseball, since they built temporary stands around the diamond, blocking the view from the the southeast part of the main grandstand. The game got off to a wet start, as the rain continued for hours longer than had been forecast. The record-setting crowd of over 91,032 fans was obliged to wait patiently for hours after a rain delay in the bottom of the first inning, and the game was finally suspended until the next day. Ouch! I figured that disappointing such a big crowd was just unthinkable, and that they would somehow find a way to play the game that night no matter what. NOT! Soon after play resumed the next afternoon, the Braves staged a 3-run rally, and that was all they ended up needing in the game. Final score: 4-2. Read the wrap-up at MLB.com.
Fans gather near the northwest side of Bristol Motor Speedway, as the first-ever MLB game Tennessee was about to get underway. (August 2, 2025)
Attendance was 91,032, more than any other regular-season game in MLB history. The previous record was on Sept. 12, 1954, when 84,587 fans watched the Cleveland Indians play the New York Yankees at Municipal Stadium. The highest attendance of any postseason games were recorded at L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 1959, when the Dodgers hosted the Yankees in Games 3, 4, and 5 of the World Series, peaking at 92,706. (See wikipedia.org.)
Nationals show signs of life
The Nats began August on a downward trajectory, losing the first four games of the month. But the losing streak ended at six thanks to a walk-off RBI single by CJ Abrams, beating the (Sacramento) Athletics 2-1 on August 6. That game marked the return of starting pitcher Cade Cavalli to the Nats' roster after two years of recovering from Tommy John surgery, etc. The Nats lost the rubber match game the next day, and then flew west to San Francisco, where they were defeated by the Giants on August 8. Then they managed to beat the host team in the next two games, 4-2 and 8-0. The sudden offensive outburst was a sign that something was going right behind the turbulent scenes of the struggling team.
But the Nats' fortunes turned sour once again in Kansas City, where they lost the first two games of the series. Since I was in the area, I decided to see the final game of the series, on August 13 -- a Wednesday, not a Friday. The promising but often uneven Jake Irvin was pitching, but before he even took the mound the Nationals already had a 5-0 lead. James Wood hit a leadoff single, and soon Nathaniel Lowe was up to bat with the bases loaded and only one out. He smacked that ball into the right field bullpen, thus chalking up the Nationals' first grand slam of the year. Daylen Lile then hit a single and scored on a double by Drew Millas, giving the Nats a 5-0 lead in the first inning.
Nathaniel Lowe gets high fives from team mates James Wood, Josh Bell, and Luis Garcia after hitting a grand slam in the first inning. Daylen Lile was next to bat. (August 13, 2025)
Starting pitcher Jake Irvin gave up three runs in the first two innings, and was replaced by Konnor Pilkington in the fifth inning, after the Royals closed the gap to one run. In the bottom of the eighth, Kyle Isbel hit a leadoff single, then stole both second and third bases, and scored a run on a sac fly to tie the game 7-7. But in the top of the ninth, Luis Garcia hit a one-out double, advanced to third base on a sac fly, and then scored on an ultra-clutch RBI single to right field by Daylen Lile. I was impressed by Lile's composure as he hit what turned out to be the deciding run of the game. In the bottom of the ninth, the Nats' new closer Jose Ferrer got the first two batters out, but then gave up two singles. Fans were on their feet as the tension mounted with the tying run on third base, but pinch hitter Tyler Tolbert grounded out to end the game. Whew! And that's how the Nats avoided being swept in Kansas City.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Jake Irvin (P), Drew Millas (C), James Wood (LF), Brady House (3B), Nathaniel Lowe (1B), CJ Abrams (SS), Robert Hassel III (CF), and Daylen Lile (RF). (August 13, 2025)
I should mention that, while in the Kansas City area, I learned more details about the idea of building a new stadium for the Royals near Interstate 435 on the southeast edge of Overland Park. From what I heard on local radio, it has sparked some controversy. I went to the proposed stadium site, and it does NOT look suitable for big league baseball, from what I could tell. Kauffman Stadium may not be in an ideal location, but the stadium has a beautiful iconic design, and it would be a shame to see that legacy be wasted. More about that in the next week or so...
Is this a beautiful stadium, or what?! I had great views of the action from the upper deck of Kauffman Stadium. (August 13, 2025)
One day later, Nathaniel Lowe was "designated for assignment" (in effect fired), to make room for who was called up from the minors. Thank you very much? Fortunately, Lowe was soon picked up by the Boston Red Sox.
In the game against the Yankees on Wednesday August 27, Nats catcher Drew Millas was called for interference, allowing Austin Wells to take first base during a brutal 9-run inning; X-rays later revealed that Millas had broken a finger. He is on the 15-day injured list, but it is doubtful whether he will return this year. In his place, C.J. Stubbs was called up from the minor league Rochester Red Wings, but he has not yet played for the Nats. The regular first-string catcher Keibert Ruiz has not played since June, and his job may be in jeopardy given that Riley Adams has improved considerably since becoming the usual catcher in lieu of Ruiz.
The Nats showed spunk in beating the Mets in two out of three games (August 20 and 21), and likewise when the stunned the Phillies with a 2-run 9th-inning rally on the 22nd, but since then they haven't won a single game. Their inconsistency is hard to fathom, but it's no doubt related to motivational and discipline issues stemming from the replacement of Manager Dave Martinez with Miguel Cairo in early July. Ironically, the Nationals managed to stage a 5-run rally in the 9th inning at New Yankee Stadium on August 25, thanks to a (rather pointless) grand slam by Jacob Young. Oddly, during the current 8-game losing streak, the Nationals have out-hit their opponents in half of those games! Poor base-running is one of the most glaring problems, but the lack of clutch hitting is just awful. In their 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays last Friday, the Nats went 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Bottom line: the Nats went 9-19 in August, even worse than in July (9-15). See the newly-updated Washington Nationals page.
Kyle Schwarber's FOUR 4-baggers!
Less than a month after Athletics rookie Nick Kurtz hit four home runs in a game in Houston, Kyle Schwarber did the same thing! On Thursday night in Philadelphia, he homered in the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 7th innings, batting in 9 runs altogether. In the 8th inning he came up to bat with a chance to become the first player in MLB history to hit five home runs, but he popped out to end the inning. Final score: Phillies 19, Brave 4. The Phillies won the next two games by one-run margins, and had excellent chances to complete a four-game sweep this evening, but the Braves staged a comeback, capped by Drake Baldwin's 2-run homer in the 9th inning. The Phillies still enjoy a comfortable lead over the Mets in the NL East Division, but will have their hands full in the postseason...
Brewers' winning streak ends
Two weekends ago, in Cincinnati, the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers set a new franchise record, winning their 14th game in a row. I just happened to be passing through that city on the Ohio River on Sunday, August 17, when they almost won it again. In the top of the 9th, William Contreras hit a 2-run homer to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Then in the bottom of the 9th, the Reds' Jose Trevino tied the game with an RBI single. Finally, in the bottom of the 10th, Austin Hays hit a bases-loaded RBI single to avoid a sweep and thus put an end to the streak. (I was about an hour east of Cincinnati by then.) Nevertheless, the Brewers still have the best record in the major leagues, 85-53 (.616), raising hopes in Milwaukee for their team's first-ever World Series win. Old folks will recall that the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series (against the Yankees) in 1957.
Elsewhere in the Major Leagues
The Philadelphia Phillies have had a comfortable lead over the New York Mets for several weeks, with none of the other three teams seeming to be a serious postseason contender.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have stayed ahead of the San Diego Padres, but it's close enough that the final month may offer some excitement.
The Toronto Blue Jays pulled ahead of the New York Yankees during July, and currently enjoy a 3-game lead in the American League East Division, with the Yankees in second place and the Red Sox just a half game behind the Yankees.
The Detroit Tigers were in a slump for a few weeks, but they seem to have regained their footing. They have a big lead (9.5 games) over the K.C. Royals in the AL Central Division.
And in the AL West, the Seattle Mariners are just two games behind the Houston Astros.
Revamping the Major Leagues?
Speaking of the Major Leagues, Commissioner Rob Manfred recently suggested a complete overhaul of the MLB structure, abandoning the current leagues and replacing them with two leagues consisting of four divisions each, based on geography. Various reasons have been given, but it all comes down to money. To me, it's an utterly appalling idea, apparently oblivious to the high value placed by baseball fans on historical continuity. League records would become almost meaningless under the proposed system. foxsports.com
