Kids are Cool: part 2

I've been photographing my children a lot this spring for some reason. I go in phases. You'd think that a photographer dad would be great about photographing his kids. Not so. But I am on a roll for now and wanted to post a few of the boys.

They went with me to South Dakota and Wyoming on assignments earlier this month and we had a great time. A few of the images are from Wall Drug, a cornerstone of kitch and curiosity in the western US. They got cowboy pistols and proceeded to shoot at most everything for the rest of the trip. There are way more imaginary bad guys out west by the way.

The portrait is of Boone. Jack, his older brother got his first school photo this year and it was so cute that I had to do one of Boone too.

If you are thinking of procreating and are not sure if it is for you, I suggest that it just might be. If you are into laughing and having a lot of lighthearted fun, you should get one of these! Not always easy, but always worth it. Here's to kids.

Velodrome season starts tonight!

I'm surprised by how many people don't know what a velodrome is (think Nascar for bicycles). I was fortunate enough to see one when I was a child and have always wanted to ride one. I got my chance last year - thanks, Super Rookie! In a week or two I will be done with the prerequisite class that will allow me to race on it. It is such a rush to sweep around the track! Not for everyone, but definitely for me.

Tonight starts the "Thursday Night Lights" series and the National Sports Center Velodrome in Blaine, MN. I will be there cheering my team on. Which brings me to this:

I am not only riding for the Grumpy's/ Little Guy Racing team this year, but am proud to be a sponsor as well. If you look close, really close and squint, you can see my logo on the back of the jersey. It is roughly business card size or smaller. I don't expect business from it as much as I am very happy to further a group of great people and the sport of cycling in general. Contrary to what jealous, opposing teams might tell you, they are a great bunch. Check them out: www.littleguyracing.com

Enjoy these images of the beautiful sport of Velodrome racing. They are from the latter part of the 2007 season.

Big Bog Recreation Area

Last week I went on assignment to north central Minnesota to cover a fairly new rec. area. As the name suggests, it is a big bog. Not much more than that. The upper area of the state is really, really flat and as a result there is a huge peat bog there. The water does not really have anywhere to go, so it has been sitting there for centuries (?). Our guide said that if you were to squeeze all of the moss in the bog, the volume of water would be enough to cover the state (MN) in a foot of water. If there's ever a huge drought... well you'll know where to find me.

It is not a high flying adventure area like most of the stories I do. Rather it is a botanist, or bird watcher's paradise. Animal sightings can range from wolf or bear to Sandhill cranes and Tundra geese. I personally was most afraid of a moose encounter. I was running (literally) near dusk, to be at a certain spot for sunset and was praying I did not run up on a big moose and startle it. I'd have met my fate under it's gigantic hooves for sure. Then the bears would have eaten me.

You can read more about the bog on my adventure travel partner, Stephen Regenold's "GearJunkie" site. paste this link: http://thegearjunkie.com/trip-report-big-bog-minn


Earlier in the day we flew a Cessna over the bog for a birds-eye-view of the place. We saw elk migration trails that have gone unused for decades, but still scar the land. Also, because the land is so flat, every river zig-zags its way to the nearest lake. From the air they are like black serpents or sometimes like veins and arteries. guess my favorite part was seeing carnivorous plants growing wild. There are pitcher plants and a few others that grow well within view of the boardwalk. That alone is worth the drive.

I cannot post image that were submitted for the article yet, but here are some that I liked from the "2nds" pile. The yellow squiggles were not actually part of the bog, but a farmers field that we flew over. Not sure what made them, but they looked cool from the air.

Look for a follow-up once the article has gone to print.

Climbing Devil's Tower - Wyoming

This was another assignment where I have to shake my head and admit out loud that I have an incredible job. This last weekend I left for the west side of South Dakota for a few days to climb Harney Peak and then to head into Wyoming to tackle Devil's Tower. I'll post about Harney another time, because Devil's Tower was my favorite. A lot of people think it is an old volcano or something. Not quite, though it was formed by magma and then the river washed away the soil to reveal the tower we see. It is a huge structure - over 900' tall.
We climbed a route called "El Cracko Diablo" - The Devil Crack. It was not that terrifying. In fact it was one of the greatest crack climbs I've ever done. Having gotten a late start, we made the summit around dark and had to spend few hours rapelling in the dark - which is also not as terrifying as it might sound. When all you can see is what your headlamp reveals, it is not that scary. You cannot see that you are 600' from the ground.
Climbing Devil's Tower this week was a realization of a dream. A smaller dream, but a dream all the same. I am already planning a return trip to the tower to spend two days there and add a few more routes to my list.
The guy in the orange helmet is my adventure journalism partner, Stephen Regenold (visit: www.thegearjunkie.com). He is interviewing our guide at about 500' off the deck. The older gentleman is Tower guide, Frank Sanders who is well on his way to climbing the tower every day for one year! At 56 he is the real deal, a true hardman. He's touched foot to Devil's Tower summit over 2000 times! I'm not sure I've summited that much in my 11 years of climbing! (Check here for more info on Frank's vision: www.devilstower-sacredtomanypeople.org - site should be up soon) also see: http://www.devilstowerclimbing.com/

As Frank said, "Blessed are those who live out their dreams". Preach it!