CITIES AND STATES

The following are pictures from cities in the United States of America and Europe. They are random subjects. After some of the cities photographs are other areas of the state in which the city resides or area. Hopefully, when you visit one of these cities you will discover something of interest to you. Pictures are now posted for Boston, Chicago, Denver, Prague, Washington D.C., and Sun Valley, Idaho. After Denver are photographs outside of Denver as Vail and Southwestern Colorado Will start with Boston.

BOSTON

A walk along the Freedom Trail plus other parts of downtown. This visit started west of Boston at the Riverside station on the Green Line for the Massachusetts Transportation Authority. There is parking at Riverside. Check the other lines on the website and see if the station you select has parking. Travel downtown and not worry about parking since the Freedom Trail almost starts where you exit the transit system.

Paul Revere’s house is the last gray house on the right side.

PLYMOUTH MASSACHUESETS

A not too long of drive from Boston, you can reach Plymouth. Traveling to the waterfront, there is a replica of the Mayflower and a shrine covering Plymouth Rock. The rock was enshrined to protect the rock. For years, visitors could chip of a piece of the rock. This is how the rock looks.

CHICAGO

As city on a lake, the best way to view the city is from the lake. Besides the downtown, there are many attractions in the surrounding area.

Another view overlooking Millennium Park. There is a parking garage under the park.

Chagall’s Four Seasons at 10 S. Dearborn Street.

Looking southeast starting with Adler Planetarium at far left, then Shedd Aquarium, and finally the Field Museum. This overlooks Grant Park and the Buckingham Fountain.

The lake makes for fog and low ceilings.

If you are at the Observation Deck of Willis Tower, you are in the clouds.

Looking north down the Chicago River. The river has two branches. One turns north. The other turns south. This is south branch.

Looking south across the end of Navy Pier from a sail boat.

A winter view when the lake freezes.

Looking south from the North Avenue Beach.

Lights on buildings in December.

Terminal Building for Midway Airport.

DENVER

A visit to downtown Denver finds art work when you walk around downtown.

COLORADO PLACES

After you leave Denver or Rocky Mountain National Park, there are other interesting places to visit.

BLACK CANYON OF GUNNISON

After driving over Monarch Pass through Gunnison, the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park is good place to stop. Besides viewing the deep canyon, the hike to the end of mesa is worth to the view of the San Juan Mountains to the southwest.

San Juan Mountains in Southwestern Colorado.

The following pictures are in southwestern Colorado in the San Juan Mountains.

Looking back to Durango when departing to the south.

Driving along route 145 from Cortez to Telluride.

Evidence of the mining activity in this area around Silverton. A railroad was constructed from Durango to Silverton to transport the ore.

Driving north to Telluride on Route 145.

View of San Juan Mountains from Ridgeway in direction of Telluride.

Outside of Telluride is where Mr. Tesla experimented with electricity. He and Edison were trying to determine if direct current or alternating current would be best way of distributing electricity. Tesla’s alternating current was the winner of the competition.

Mesa Verde is a mesa with canyons with dwellings under the overhangs.

VAIL AREA

Looking north across the valley at Vail from Beaver Creek.

Looking south across the valley at Vail.

Buena Vista Area

Buena Vista is just southeast of Mount Harvard on Route 24 when you travel south from Vail. Independence Pass is 38 miles from Buena Vista by driving north on Route 24 to Route 82 to the west to Aspen. Driving south on Route 24 to US Highway 285 to Chalk Creek (Route 162) to St. Elmo.

Looking up the valley on the way to St. Elmo.

The Creek that follows the road. Mount Princeton could be in the background.

GRINDELWALD, SWITZERLAND

If you want to experience the rewards and exhilaration of being on the top of a mountain you should consider an overnight in Grindelwald. This is a village in the Bernese Oberland that can be reached by rail through Interlaken. A walk along the paths from the village is worth the views of the countryside and the mountains. There is a cog train that will take you up to the top of the Jungfraujoch. The challenge maybe the cost of the ticket. The pictures indicate the decision that was made. These photographs were taken in early October.

Looking in the opposite direction to see the glacier.

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

The structures in Prague and the Czech Republic are hundreds of years old since they did not suffer war damages as a result of World War I and World War II. Prague had been known as the poor man’s Paris. There are similarities. Paris has its Seine River that runs through the center of the city. Prague has the Vltava River that divides the city. Vltava is the longest river with the Czech Republic that drains into the Elbe River. The Vltava Rover originates in Krkonose Mountains (Giant Mountains). The Elbe River empties into the North Sea after flowing through Germany.

The city has three areas in the center of the city divided by the river. On one side of the river is Hradcany (Prague Castle) and Mala Strana (small side). On the other side is Stare Mesto (Old City). You cross from Stare Mesto to Hradcany by the Karlov Most (Charles Brodge). This bridges is a happening place.

Editors note the photographs were taken at the turn of the century.

A view of Prague Castle and St. Vitus from Stare Mesto.

View of Hradcany from atop the hill in Mala Strana.

Closer view of St. Vitus from atop the hill in Mala Strana showing the tower of St. Vitus. The tower can be ascended to get a panoramic view of Stare Mesto.

Walking into Hradcany on Mostecka from the Charles Bridge.

Continuing the walk up Mostecka with Sv. Mikulas (St. Nicholas Church) in the background.

HRADCANY

ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL

The following pictures are of St. Vitus Cathedral. Since the church is not in the open it is not possible to a wide view of parts of the church. You can go to website for St. Vitus for a virtual tour. www.katedralasvatehovita.cz After reading the welcome, go to the St. Vitus Treasure Tab for more history.

St. Vitus has many stained glass windows.

THE TOWER NEXT TO ST. VITUS.

A view from the tower toward St. Nicholas.

Looking down on St. George Basilica just behind St. Vitus.

Behind Sv. Vit is Svaty Jiri (St. George’s Basilica).

GOLDEN LANE

An unusual statute at the end of the hill that the castle is located. Later there is another view of the statute.

The front view of the statute. The rear portion has a well worn part.

A WALK TOWARD THE CHARLES BRIDGE.

A walk along the river starting around Strelecky Ostrov.

A view from the other side of the river with St. Vitus in the background.

Black and white of the other end of the Charles Bridge.

On the top of the hill in Mala Strana is a tower. An answer for the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Infant Jesus of Prague is located in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady Victorious in Mala Strana. It is a 16th century wax coated wooden stature of the child Jesus holding a globus cruciger.

VIEWS FROM ATOP THE HILL IN MALA STRANA.

looking down on the Charles Bridge and Stare Mesto.

Looking further to the left where the river turns.

STARE MESTO

The following photographs are of structures in the Stare Mesto area of Prague.

Not far from the Jewish synagogue is a shopping district.

Church in Old Town Square. Note these steeples in the pictures from Mala Strana and Hradcany.

MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOGRAPHS

Comparison to Paris 50 years ago.

Looking down on the Champs-Elysees from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Looking toward the Eiffel Tower from the Arc de Triomphe.

A visit to the chateau area in the Loire Valley is a nice side trip. The largest is The Chateau of Chambord.

WASHINGTON D.C.

Scenes in the city of the Washington D.C. around the mall.

World War II Memorial in mall before Lincoln Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial at the end of the mall.

SUN VALLEY, IDAHO

Sun Valley is high desert. In late August before Labor Day, the early morning temperature can be 30 degrees. The afternoon temperature will be 90 degrees. The nearest large town is Twin Falls just under two hours away. Boise is just under 3 hours away. The following pictures were taken from a hot air balloon that flew in the morning.

The closest airport is in Hailey (KSUN). There is an RNAV approach to Runway 31. The following pictures looks down the valley to the valley that the approach is flown. Mountains are on both sides as the approach is being made.

The mountain in the right is flown around to enter the valley on the other side.

SUN VALLEY

The following photographs were taken in the mid 1990’s. However, some traditions continue to this day. In Ketchum, the Labor Day Weekend has Wagon Days. The pandemic has put this event on hold. When these pictures were taken before the Labor Weekend, there was a golf tournament and car auction in Sun Valley. This starts with a hot air balloon.

Inflating on the east side of the valley on the side of the mountain.

There is a rush of cold air down the side of the mountain as the sun comes up to push the balloon into the valley and float around.

Earlier morning with hills in bright sun. and dwellings in shade.

A view of the Bald Mountain ski area. The mountain is 9,150 feet high and is known as Baldy. It is adjacent to the city Ketchum.

Another view of Baldy as a rain storm approaches. The rainran down the envelope and down the cables into the basket.

Each Labor Day Weekend in Ketchum is a parade and reenactments in the street of days gone by. The parade ends with ore wagons towed by twenty mule teams.

BACK ON THE GROUND

Look Mom I can ride without sitting in the saddle.

Now comes the wagons that hauled ore before the railroad.

The lodge at Sun Valley.

The ice shaking ring nest to the outdoor dining area. Note the heaters that are used in late summer. There were days when the morning temperatures were freezing and the afternoon temperature was near 90 degrees. The heaters were necessary to be comfortable.

The Car Auction.

OTHER SITES IN SUN VALLEY

NORTH OF SUN VALLEY IS THE SAWTOOTH RANGE.

These mountains appear to be the background for horses playing football for a beer commercial.

Going over the pass to the Sawtooth Range.

Mist in the morning in front of Sawtooth Range.

River along road from Sawtooth Range to Boise. Fire damage is on the left.

TWIN FALLS

Traveling south from Sun Valley is Twin Falls. This is a larger town than Sun Valley and Ketchum. The population of Sun Valley is 1,353. Ketchum has 2,689 residence. Twin Falls has a population of 48952 people. There are water falls. Twin Falls is the gateway to the Snake River Canyon.

VATICAN CITY

In the middle of Rome is Vatican City. A place of many iconic places. One of these places is St. Peter’s Basilica. When you come to Rome, a visit to the top of the dome of St. Peter’s should be a first. The view from the top allows you to see Rome and decide what parts you wish to visit. There are stairs or an elevator to get to the top.

Of course, St. Peter’s is where the pope celebrates Mass. These pictures were taken when nineteen bishops became archbishops accepting pallium from the Pope in June of 1999.