Wild Gators

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Alligator swimming in Lake Tarpon
Tarpon Springs, Florida

An afternoon walk through Anderson Park in Tarpon Springs, Florida showcased a number of native Florida animals. A few 4 to 5 foot alligators were hunting near the shore, as were turtles and several types of birds. The large alligator we saw (probably about 8 feet long) was swimming in the center of the lake.

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Perfect Weekend

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Boys Canoing on the Lake
Indiana

After a full day of swimming and canoing, we were treated to a great sunset.

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Sunset over Fish Lake

Marina at Night

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Clearwater Beach Marina at Night
Clearwater Beach, Florida

After watching the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying the daily festival of Sunsets at Pier 60 and walking along the beach until dark, we headed back to the car that was parked in the Marina parking lot. The Marina still had many of the same fishing boats I've seen since the 1970's. This used to be a daily walk when we stayed in Clearwater Beach, but since the little motels are being replaced by condos and all of the heavy construction has messed up this island, we only stopped for a visit.

It seemed to be a different place - and it was. Gone were the loads of families walking around to the beach, gift shops and motels. It was a different crowd, mostly couples without kids - probably all disappointed that their vacation is in the middle of a construction site. There are still a small handful of little motels left, but they are most likely being managed by the large landowners who will soon raze them all and build high-rise condos.

I personally hope they build their million dollar condos only to realize what people loved about Clearwater Beach were the little motels and small town atmosphere, not high priced high-rises. Maybe in 10 or 15 years I can visit and watch the high-rises being demolished! If I want to stay in a high-rise hotel, I'll visit Panama Beach or Miami Beach.


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Clearwater Beach Marina at Night
Clearwater Beach, Florida

Fireworks

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From the Village Fireworks Display
4th of July, 2007

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Fireworks
4th of July

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Mike making Os with his sparklers

Happy 4th of July!

Weather Photos from Florida

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Lightning in the sky over Tampa Bay.
Treasure Island, Florida

I'm finally back from Florida with some photos of severe weather. Even though the photos show lightning and a funnel cloud, I didn't experience any rain! The weather was great, but I managed to see a lightning show over Tampa Bay as I walked a few miles away on a warm, breezy beach. I caught a funnel cloud over the Gulf of Mexico, but it was just about the only dark cloud in the sky around 6:00 in the morning; the sun came out an hour later.

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Funnel cloud over the Gulf of Mexico

June 22, 2007

We had a great time, saw a lot of firsts and a lot of familiar things too. I'll have to start going through the 1300 photos I took and begin posting them real soon.

Blue Ridge Mountains

Heading home via the Blue Ridge Mountains

St. Augustine Lighthouse

St. Augustine lighthouse
taken with my cellphone

Florida aligator in Lake Tarpon- Tarpon Springs, Florida

Tarpon Springs

Stern of old sponge diving boat- Tarpon Springs Florida
taken with my cellphone

The Don

The famous Don Cesar resort- St Pete Beach Florida
taken with my celphone

Clearwater Beach Sunset

Sunset on Clearwater Beach Florida. We are having a great time!
taken with my cellphone

A trip to Disney World

A day at Disney World
taken with my cellphone

I'm on the Beach

Currently at the beach in Florida!
taken with my cellphone

Fulton County Round Barn Festival

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Larry Paxton Round Barn
Fulton County Indiana Museum

It was the Round Barn Festival in Rochester, Indiana this weekend. I missed the actual festival, so I wasn't able to go on the tour of nine round barns (the most in a single county in the US), but I managed to find a couple the next day that were on the tour and just explored them myself.

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Jerry Calloway Round Barn with Animals Depicted on Roof
Fulton/Miami Indiana County Line

This is the Calloway barn, built in 1915. It's 80 feet in diameter with a 50 foot tall silo in the center of the building.

Dragon

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Dragonfly
Rubio Woods
Cook County, Illinois

Cicada Invation!

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Perodical Cicada
Bachelor's Grove Cemetery

Every 16 or 17 years, the northern Illinois area is swarmed by cicadas. Areas that have or had mature trees are hit heaviest. The cicadas emerge from a 16 year underground larvae stage and burrow up onto the surface to dry out and molt. Once they shed their "skin" their wings grow and dry out in about an hour, then they take flight up to the tree tops where they call for a mate. The cicada's call is the loud, buzzing sound you hear in the summer, but here where there are millions and millions of cicadas, it's almost too loud to think! The combined call sounds like a whaling fire alarm in the forest!

They only live for two weeks, just enough time to mate and lay eggs that will hatch, burrow underground and feed for the next 16 years.

Parts of the woods are literally covered in live cicadas and their skins. You can't walk around without one landing on you. No worries, the cicada does not have any mouth parts or stingers, so they're harmless.
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Cicada on Mike's Neck

Distant Skyline

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Chicago Skyline seen from Mt. Baldy
Michigan City, Indiana

Storm clouds break up and make way for some evening sunlight over Lake Michigan.

Mt. Baldy is a 125 foot tall sand dune in Michigan City, Indiana, and is part of the National Lakeshore.

I Saw the Light (house)

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Michigan City Lighthouse
Washington Park
Michigan City, Indiana

Memorial Day weekend didn't stop us from going to see the Michigan City lighthouse. Here you see the large boulders along the north side of the lighthouse breakwater. These rocks help break the waves and reduce "scour" a process that would undermine the concrete breakwater in a matter of years.

Fog of War

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Smoke fills the battlefield during a Civil War reenactment
Naperville, Illinois