Blog post

April 21, 2016 [LINK / comment]

Flying out to So. Dak. (& back)

One of my dear departed Dad's favorite movies was Flying Down to Rio (1933), in which Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers danced together on screen for the first time. Hence the title above. I didn't have much time to prepare for this trip, and didn't even bring my Canon camera. Given my Dad's medical emergency, photography was not one of my priorities. But I was fortunate to have mostly clear skies for most of the trip, including the westbound and eastbound flights. That is how I was able to get surprisingly good photos from my iPod Touch. I was especially excited to get this photo of Massanutten Mountain, hoping to show it to my Dad, since he often asked me to explain the geography of the Shenandoah Valley region. But alas, he passed away right about the same time as I took that photo...

The southern tip of Massanutten Mountain, with the South Fork of the Shenandoah River below. (April 11)

On my second full day in South Dakota, I persuaded my brother Chris to take a slight detour in Sioux Falls so that I could see Augustana University. I had probably been there before, on a debate trip most likely, but my recollection was vague. Lighting conditions were perfect for photos, as you can see:

Augustana University East Hall, Old Main Building. (April 13)

In the afternoon, we paid some visits to University of South Dakota, among the many arrangements that had to be done in preparation for my Dad's funeral.

University of South Dakota - Old Main Building. (April 13)

On Thursday night, Jacqueline arrived to join me, bringing the Canon camera, which was of great use in the indoor photos during the visitation (Friday evening) and the funeral (Saturday morning).

Flowers from Tom Brokaw, with a funny note. (April 16)

On the way back east on Sunday, I took many aerial photos of various cities, as well as O'Hare Airport in Chicago and Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia, where I photographed several jet airliners, including the new Airbus A380 double-deck jumbo jet. It is HUGE!!! As the turboprop plane I was in crossed the Blue Ridge near the end of the trip, I was startled to see a large forest fire, which burned for several days.

Rocky Mount forest fire, south of Elkton. (April 17)

The above photos are merely a sample; the complete set of photos from my trip can be seen at the new April 2016 photo gallery.