Walking the Red Brick Road

A photographer's journal and life in rural America

Posts Tagged nebraska

Desuetude

May 20

Posted by Roxie in nebraska, photography, Photoshop, sepia, travel | No Comments

Desuetude (des-wi-tood): discontinuance from use or exercise

When I must ensure I know a word’s meaning, I rarely use it, but in this case, desuetude is a perfect fit. This entire gas station was in a state of desuetude.

The Red Phone

I had no intention of stopping at this place. I was whipping by at highway speeds when I saw that red phone. It was crying out, “Take my picture, please!” So I did.

I cranked a U-turn into that gas station and shot several pictures. The finished image was already complete in my mind before I ever depressed the shutter button.

Super Unleaded

Then I found a bonus image, a perfect companion piece for the Desuetude Department. The peeling blue label stood out almost as much as the red phone.

Can we even buy only 10 cents of gas any more?

To subscribe to this blog, go here or click on the orange and white RSS logo on this page. To follow me from Facebook, click on “Follow This Blog” in the Networked Blogs box, also on this page. Or like my Facebook page. Or you can follow me on Twitter.

GHTime Code(s): nc 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse & Lounge

May 11

Posted by Roxie in animals, big game, food, nebraska, restaurant, travel, video | No Comments

I’ve seen references to Big Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse and Lounge, Paxton, Neb., and I’d seen their I-80 sign many times. Every time I passed their Interstate 80 sign, I’d think, “Someday I’m going to that restaurant.” I’d always been curious what the place was like, so persuaded Hubby to stop. Now I know.

I don’t have a picture of the I-80 sign because we were heading home from North Platte on Highway 30. Steakhouse is about a block south of Highway 30.

Food was standard meat-and-potatoes restaurant food. The animals make it famous. The variety of them is simply jaw-dropping. Ole bagged all but one of the Big Five, rhinoceros the lone exception. Rhino’s absence is hardly noticeable because so many other animals are represented.

Look for the baboon at my video’s end. He was our favorite.

For more on Ole’s, see the first part of this video:

GHTime Code(s): nc 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Golden Spike Tower

May 4

Posted by Roxie in kansas, music, nebraska, photos, rural, scenery, slide shows, travel, video | No Comments

We visited Golden Spike Tower while in North Platte, Neb., last weekend. Eight-story tower overlooks Bailey Yard, the world’s largest classification yard.

We were very lucky on the day we chose because admission was free that day. It was fun! I love trains. Burlington Northern ran close to our house when I was growing up and I associate the sound of trains passing with home.

Watching the yard was like watching the world’s most wonderful model railroad layout — except it was real. The yard is eight miles long and two miles wide. We were north of it at Lincoln County Fairgrounds attending Country Bluegrass Show. When we left show, we got turned around. We kept trying to return to North Platte. The yard is so lit up that we thought it was part of the city.

The volume that passes through the yard daily is astounding. It processes 35 coal trains per 24 hours. Each coal train contains 135 cars, stretching 1.5 miles long. One hundred-fifty through trains pass through every 24 hours. The yard does 3,000 hump sorts per 24 hours/7/365 with 97 percent accuracy using gravity and bar codes. At any time, it holds 1,500 freight cars and between 400 locomotives.

It uses 16 million gallons diesel used per month. Now, that’s a fuel bill!

We were in North Platte for the Country Bluegrass Show. The audience panorama on the site shows us in our high blue chairs at the right. Soundtrack artists The Martins and Branson on the Road, in which Brian Capps is the bassist, performed at the show.

For more information on the tower and yard, watch official video below.

GHTime Code(s): nc 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Adams County Veterans Memorial

Nov 14

Posted by Roxie in American history, art, history, scenery, sculpture | No Comments

Adams County Civil War obelisk

Adams County Civil War obelisk

When I think about where Civil War monuments might be, I don’t think of Nebraska.

When I lived back east, it seemed that every city had a Civil War soldier perched on an obelisk in some prominent location. Whether their sympathies were Union or Confederate, town after town had raised the funds to memorialize its war dead and its living veterans.

Since Nebraska did not achieve statehood until March 1, 1867, two years after the Civil War concluded, it does not seem to be the most likely place to have Civil War monuments dotting the courthouse squares. Surprisingly, those monuments grace many places in Nebraska.

Even though its wartime population was tiny, just 28,841 in 1860, Nebraska did contribute three regiments, a battalion and two independent scout companies to the Union cause.

Old Adams County Courthouse with Civil War obelisk

Old Adams County Courthouse with Civil War obelisk

Most of those who were memorialized on these monuments did not serve in the Nebraska Civil War contingents. They moved in after the war to settle the new state. Those locations include Adams County, where I grew up, although I never knew it until last week. Originally, the obelisk stood in front of the courthouse, but was moved to Parkview Cemetery when a new courthouse was built in the early 1960s.

Union soldier above Grand Army of the Republic emblem

Union soldier above Grand Army of the Republic emblem

Few — if any — of the soldiers memorialized on the obelisk’s base served in any Nebraska regiment. They came from all over the country hoping to start a new life in a new state. But they did not leave the memory of their wartime service behind. They joined Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) posts and were a force in politics for many years.

Adams County, Neb., Veterans Memorial

Adams County, Neb., Veterans Memorial

Now the Hastings GAR obelisk is the centerpiece of a larger memorial to all Adams County veterans.

Maj. James Laird's grave marker

Maj. James Laird's grave marker

One of those veterans was Maj. James Laird, who served with the U.S. Volunteers in the Civil War. He was a Delegate to the 1875 Nebraska State Constitutional Convention and later served in as Nebraska’s Second District Representative in Congress from 1883 until his death in 1889. Even though he was politically successful in his later life, his grave marker has a decided martial air. It’s the most unusual grave marker I have ever seen.

GHTime Code(s): 08114 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Granite mourner

Nov 13

Posted by Roxie in art, photos, scenery, sculpture | No Comments

mourner from behind

mourner from behind

Cemeteries are a place for mourning, obviously. I found this piece of funerary art particularly appropriate. All these tombstones represent a lot of cumulative grief.

mourning statue

mourning statue

When I went around to the side, I could not decide whether statue looked mournful, stressed out or simply had a headache. Of course, recent grief can give a person all of those.

What do you think?

GHTime Code(s): 0fa0a c2580 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Just call me angel

Nov 12

Posted by Roxie in art, photography, photos, sculpture | No Comments

tombstone angel

tombstone angel

Digital photography is very freeing. No more paying for film developing and printing (or digitizing) costs. I can shoot as many photos as I want and the only thing it costs is some hard drive space. This enables me to play around with different angles and perspectives. A cemetery is a wonderful place in which to play this way.

angel from another view

angel from another view

The first view of the angel seems neutral about humanity, but the second view seems like an Angel of Judgment. Symbols on Headstones Demystified says that angels in funerary art represent

The agent of God, often pointing towards heaven; guardians of the dead, symbolizing spirituality. Angels are shown in all types of poses with different symbolism. Two angels can be named, and are identified by the objects they carry: Michael, who bears a sword, and Gabriel, who is depicted with a horn.

Apparently, this angel is one of the nameless host.

angel silhouette

angel silhouette

This one makes me think of the angel who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds, although I’m not certain why I see it this way.

angel's face

angel's face

Here I focused on the angel’s face. It seems to be leaning down to decorate the person’s grave.

angel with hand in focus

angel with hand in focus

The angel seems to be dropping a leaf on the grave from a wreath in its hand.

I’m not sure which perspective I prefer. Any opinions?

GHTime Code(s): f2ae2 nc 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

O death, where is thy victory?

Nov 8

Posted by Roxie in exterior, history, life lessons, music, scenery, theology | No Comments

Winged Victory of Samothrace replica

Winged Victory of Samothrace replica

Years ago in a photography seminar, the instructor said that cemeteries are wonderful places to photograph. I’ve driven by this one numerous times and had always found it interesting because of the funerary art I could see from the street.

This statue is a replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
I don’t know the donor’s rationale for erecting this statue where he did, but it certainly reminded me that the cemetery is not our final resting place. When I saw it, I immediately thought of the verse

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Cor. 15:55, King James Version)

Actually, I heard it as the music in Handel’s Messiah.

In the Bible, and in the Messiah, the answer comes a bit later:

 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:57, King James Version)

No matter who you are, remember that your final destination is not a cemetery. That’s just where your body is headed. The real you lives forever. If you follow Christ, the eternal destination is eternal victory in Christ. If you don’t, well, you don’t want to go there.

GHTime Code(s): 4600f nc fbcb3 26dba 8e1c5 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Rock solid

Aug 21

Posted by Roxie in decor, exterior, scenery | No Comments

I went to C&K Fassler’s rock yard in Culbertson, Neb., last week. What a photographer’s dream!

tilted flagstones

tilted flagstones

They have all kinds of landscaping rocks, an amazing variety. Carla told me the rocks originate in many states and Canada. Nearly everything was photogenic. I took over 200 pictures and have had great difficulty sorting the best ones.

plumwood

plumwood

This is plumwood from some mountain range in Idaho. I’d love to have some of this in my yard!

pebbles

pebbles

These pebbles are such fun, although I’m not sure where I’d put them. I love the multiple colors and designs. They remind me of eggs. What kind of birds would lay these masterpieces?

playing with perspective

playing with perspective

A fellow photographer once told me that the best place to practice perspective is a cemetery. Focusing on gravestones in front, center and back is good practice. This rock yard also was a good place to practice.

slice of cheesecake

slice of cheesecake

The rocks’ shapes leave plenty of scope for imagination. Hubby thinks the little rock chunk at left looks like a slice of cheesecake. What flavor would that be? I’d rather not try it; I like intact teeth.

lamb

lamb

This shape reminds Hubby of a lamb. You be the judge.

sponge

sponge

This one could be a sponge, but good luck with absorbing any liquid!

orange rock

orange rock

I don’t know what kind of rock this is, but the color and shape fascinated me.

leaf fossil

leaf fossil

This flagstone with the fossil would be fun to display in my yard.

inmate rock

inmate rock

My correctional officer husband thinks of this as Inmate Rock. Well, he would. I think it looks like something out of an science fiction movie. Let’s Do the Time Warp Again!

OK, so maybe my imagination is a bit warped?

Here is a slide show of the rocks from my gallery:

Remember, if you buy one, the watermarks will not appear.

PS: Happy birthday, Stef!

Tags: , , , , , ,