Weblog

This past weekend, I went on a trek accross western Nebraska. It was suggested that I take Highway 2, as it is supposedly the prettiest drive in the state. So, I set out to Grand Island and picked up Highway 2, and eventually hit the sand hills. Unfortunately, they were not as green as I had hoped, but I did get a few nice pictures regardless. I eventually made my way out to Alliance and then headed south to Scott's Bluff, which turned out to be pretty boring. However, I did see Chimney Rock, and of course got some pictures of that as well.

Unfortunately, in photographing Chimney Rock, I managed to leave my sunglasses on my car and drove off. I realized it immediately, and went back to find them. They were lying on the road, broken. At any rate, my next stop was Lake McConaughy. I was quite surprised at how large the lake is. From there, I headed home on the boring I-80 route. When the trip was over, I had driven 850 miles, in one day. I had originally anticipated spending the night somewhere, but I decided to just drive through instead, which meant driving in the dark from North Platte eastward. Overall, the trip was good, but I am definitely looking forward to the more exciting places I will be visiting in the coming months.

Well, finals are over, papers are written, and the semester is over! I could hardly be more happy. I am staying in Lincoln next week for work, but I shall be headed home to Colorado on the 23rd, where I shall remain for two whole weeks. I'm definitely looking forward to the rest.

I did decide, however, that I needed to get out of Lincoln for a bit, just to get away, and also to take some pictures. After all, it was a good excuse to break in my two new lenses, the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, and the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. The 17-85mm lens replaces the kit lens that came with the camera, which I sold on eBay. The 50mm is an upgrade from an older (and cheaper) 50mm f/1.8 lens. Overall, I am impressed with the lenses, and also with Canon's image stabilization abilities. Hopefully I'll be able to get a new zoom lens in the future with it as well.

Anyhow, getting back to the pictures, you will find them below. After my jaunt to Nebraska City, I went to Omaha for Mark Antonson's graduation party, and as I had some time on my hands before the party started, I took some nifty pictures of Christmas lights.

I went to the Lincoln air show this past Sunday. It was awesome! I hadn't been to an air show in quite some time, and this one was free, so I figured I might as well. Apparently, two hundred thousand other people thought they'd go as well. Despite the numbers, it didn't seem that crowded; there was lots of space. I didn't get a seat anywhere near the fence, but fortunately that only matters for the rocket truck event, which I barely caught anyway. So, I made camp towards the back where there weren't many people. After all, if the entertainment is overhead, it doesn't really matter where you sit.

I got to the air show just as the F-117 was ending its flight, so I didn't get any pictures of that. But I did get pictures of just about everything else! The Blue Angels had by far more photos than anything else. What can I say - they are awesome.

Not so awesome, however, is the process of leaving the air show. It took me no less than two hours to get out of the parking lot, and for the first hour and fifteen minutes I didn't move at all. It was pretty excruciating. But, I did eventually escape the mad house, and in retrospect, it was worth it.