You can go home again, but it won't look the same

 We are in Ames, Iowa, attending a reunion of Iowa State University residence hall workers. This group has met every other year on 8 different occasions. I am a member of the group by marriage and I did live in the residence halls as a student (President of Godfrey House) and husband of Cindy.

Iowa State has a beautiful campus with iconic buildings. Here are the Student Union and the Campanile. 

I had undergraduate majors in biology and psychology and eventually received my Ph.D. in Psychology. I was housed in Old Botany as a graduate student. I had been in Old Botany in second grade to visit my uncle Don who also has an ISU PhD and was then a Prof. The buildings I have had offices in throughout my career always seemed to be old something. Old Botany is now named Catt Hall. Catt Hall is the administration building for the Liberal Arts. This sequence is typical - STEM department, Psychology, liberal arts. 

One more for the romantics. Cindy and I were engaged and married while we were still undergraduates. We took a selfie at the approximate spot by Lake Laverne where I proposed, The lake looks far more attractive earlier in the year,.

Salt Lake City

 This trip included sightseeing as a side benefit. Our son Todd and family has moved to Salt Lake City as Todd and Jess start new jobs. Todd has been out here for about a month and Jess started her work some weeks ago. Their children stayed behind and spent a few weeks with grandparents. We brought them and a load of their stuff to Salt Lake City before we moved on to visit sister Ruth in Oregon.

I only took a few photos of Salt Lake City. Todd and Jess took us up one of the surrounding mountains to a nearby trailhead the last night we were there and here are a couple from that set.

Other folks were watching the sunset from the same locations. I asked if they ever saw the green flash. I got the strangest look and they slowly moved away. I thought everyone knew about the green flash.

Tetons 2

A few more photos from the Grand Tetons outing. We didn't see much wildlife. Perhaps it was too hot. The elk was busy eating and would not raise its head. 

 

The Chapel of the Transfiguration was built in 1925 and serving the locals since. I don't know if they could not afford stained glass, but the view of the mountains behind the altar is inspiring. The final image in the set suits my sense of humor. They planned for overflow seating and those who arrived late had to sit in the sun or the cold.

Tetons 1

 

We had one day to spend in Grand Teton National Park and the surrounding area, but I will break my photos into two posts. It has been a long time since we have spent time here, but the mountains don't change much. The image above is the one most tourists take. It is the antler arch on the main street of Jackson Hole.

This one is a little different. I read the information on the signs when I can. One sign explained that Ansel Adams had a taken a famous picture of the oxbow in the Snake River at this approximate spot and many photographers since had tried to produce the same image,  I was not getting phone reception on site, but I did take my own image. You can compare what I saw with Ansel's eye using the link I provided above. I could have converted to black and white, but the colors look great to me. Ansel has a fancy wooden box camera and tripod. I just used my iPhone. I admit he found an instant with better light.

Devil's Tower

 Today we stopped to show Olive and Porter Devil's Tower. It is weird how memory works. I  could have sworn that last time we were here we walked behind the Visitors Center and I used my telephoto to take photos of climbers. This trip's Visitors' Center was quite small and the Tower was accessed by a winding path. No climbers we could see. I doubt they moved the Visitors Center or the Tower, so it must be memory confabulation. 

The Tower is a sacred site to Native Americans and you see reminders in the bright strips of cloth tied to tree branches. I looked for tobacco on the ground left as a gift, but I did not see any.

We have heard a lot about the crowded conditions in National Parks since COVID. Devil's Tower was crowded, but they had a great way of handling it. Rather than requiring passes or simply letting way too many cars prowl the parking lots, they have a stop light on the entrance road that allows cars in at the rate cars leave. We waited in line for about 40 minutes starting at the half-mile marker, but once in it was easy finding a parking place and not overly crowded. When we left cars were lined up to the one mile sign.

Dignity of Earth and Sky

We are on a hybrid road trip - driving and flying. Son Todd and family are moving to Salt Lake City. Todd and Jess have already moved to their new home. Olive and Porter have been staying with us and other family members for a couple of weeks. We are now taking them to join their parents and bringing a UHaul of additional items - several bikes and some other odds and ends We have decided to take our time on the road trip part of the adventure to see some sites in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah.  Today, we put in a long day driving across South Dakota. The western part of the state has some interesting scenery as you pass through the Black Hills. This statue is called the "Dignity of Earth and Sky". I am pretty sure I have included this same photo from a previous visit, but there was more information about the statue this time and I have included a link to explain the "Dignity" statue.