Phyrie's Photos-- Mourning Doves in Arizona

[kriswak]

Those were great. Poker night. Yes I do recognize the scene. That was a fun night.
Then I was taken right back to Niagara were the meet-up really happened. I will check out more on photobucket.
I just love seeing every one's pics.

[RubyJeansMom]

LOL Phyrie, the raccoon sign and fly swatter...er, I mean bug removal system just kill me!

What great shots, every pic of the meet up brings back warm and fuzzy memories.
And I'm so happy to have met your mom, she was such a sweetheart.

[kian]

I am afraid the curiosity of the Raccoon would had me! I have two of those bug removal systems.

The pictures sure do bring a smile to my face.

[Deerie me]

Brilliant pics Phyrie, give us more.

I loved meeting everyone on Skype. It's a shame the connection is difficult when everyone is talking at once.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Phyrie, your pictures are great! I enjoyed your captions and sense of humour along the way. I too would have avoided that particular staircase. I was quite astounded to see the name of a dealer scribbled on the telephone. One can only hope an ex-gf did that out of revenge.

The Niagara pictures make me miss all of you so much! I also love that picture of Elliot, putting on his cheeky grin with his curls.

Tracy, it was so wonderful to Skype you while we were all together, but I agree that too many people talking made things difficult. It was just so exciting, we couldn't help ourselves!

My goodness Phyrie, your son looks exactly like his Father. Paul is a darling!!!

When Elliot saw the picture of the room with 3 Queen beds, and saw where your Mother was positioned, he felt the need to comment on what didn't happen in that room, that night.

It's funny that I didn't become at all misty when we were all there. It wasn't until Monday morning when it was time to leave that I was overwhelmed with emotion. It all felt so natural as we came together. Technically, we've all "known" one another for such a long time now, that seeing each other (travel bloat and all, yes I'm over it) felt so normal.

[Sadie G]

Deb, Elliot is a gem!

Great photos Phyrie. I really like your Badlands photos, something I've never seen! I had also never heard of a 3 queen bed room before!

[4 the Dogs]

I think my favorite picture is of Elliot! What a cutie!

[Phyrie]

Here's some more pics of our trip:

Some pics of the fireworks over the Falls. I had no idea how to take pics of fireworks, plus I was filming through a window, but I did get a few that weren't terrible:









Paul had to dip his feet in the Atlantic. It was SOOO hot in Atlantic City, but he went anyway! I didn't take my new camera, so these were taken on my phone, and suffered for it, of course. But I tried!

Paul on his way to the "other" ocean:

Coming back. That sand was HOT!

They provide you with a place to shower on the beach to get the salt and sand off. Paul took advantage of it to cool and wash his feet.


Mount Rushmore was amazing. It's larger than I thought it would be, although, oddly, Paul says it was smaller than he thought it would be! Go figure. South Dakota was going through an incredible heat wave, and the day we were at the memorial it was almost 40 degrees Celcius! So we didn't stay long, but I did get a few decent shots:



What struck me, after the awe of the monument in it's entirety, was when I noticed Washington is WEARING A JACKET! I was amazed. Even more so when we read that most of the carving was done with DYNAMITE! The whole thing was blasted to within six inches of the carving surface. Can you imagine how good a blaster you have to be to do that? Have a look at this detail beside Washington. Do you see those parallel vertical lines? Those are drill holes, which the blaster drilled with a diamond drill, filled with just the right amount of explosive, and then *KABLAMO!*. Stunning.


I have more of these, but here are a few of the states we travelled through:






I had better stop now, before you get bored to tears! Hope you liked them...

[lynners]

Yay! Love your photos, Phyrie.

[Sadie G]

Great photos Phyrie! I've burnt my feet on that hot east coast sand a time or two

I enjoyed the state signs you took! I have passed under that Ohio arch many many times! I've only been on the Pennsylvania turnpike once but will never forget it! I've never been to New Jersey except for the airport so I really enjoyed that one.
And well, what can I say about the Indiana sign , yeah I really like that one

Interesting facts on Mt Rushmore! I knew some was done from blasting, but had no idea how close to the actual finished product they used dynamite. Very interesting!

[remsleep]

Your firework pictures are so beautiful.

I remember when I went to Mount Rushmore, the area was closed temporally for some reason I don't remember so we had to look at it from far off. While we were enjoying it from this empty dirt parking lot (or something like that I don't remember all the boring details because it was a long time ago) we heard this strange noise. Then one of our friends screamed and RAN to the car. When the rest of us turned around there was this big blur with horns charging at us! It was of course a mountain goat.

[Margie-Rex's Mom]

Phyrie, I love all your photos!!! And, yes, I was on the phone to Kimmi to bring Jose over to the party.

Your Mount Rushmore photos are fantastic! It is amazing how the carvings were done. I remember learning about it in school. How crazy to do that??!! Only in America...

I miss your hugs...and Paul's too. ♥

[Phyrie]

Thanks everyone! Margie, I miss you, too! But I think of you every day, you and Kimmi both, always with a smile on my face!

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Phyrie, I have been through all of your photos, and I enjoyed every single one. I thought I had commented in here.

You certainly had the trip of a lifetime and made some good friends along the way.

[virgilsmama]

Wonderful photos!!! Perfect example of what the word AWESOME really means! Thanks for sharing.