ghotifish.net

I’ve added a bunch of new galleries. Cameras are handy for reminding yourself that, yes, you actually do things from time to time.

• Snow, February 2007

  I think we got about a foot of snow that night, and went for a walk after a tasty dinner with K&B. Overall the winter was fairly light on snow, but the times it did start falling it did so with a vengeance.

• Memphis, Spring 2007

  I only saw a small slice of Memphis… it’s an interesting city. The Midtown area is surprisingly similar to Minneapolis’ Uptown, though on a smaller scale. I got the impression that the Great Urban Escape hit Memphis harder than Minneapolis, wiping out whatever healthy density had existed and redefining the entire area around the car. I wish I had been able to explore downtown & the riverfront; I loved the baseball stadium and I’m guessing it had more to offer.

  Rhodes is a gorgeous place surrounded by a not-so-gorgeous fence. Seriously, if you really need this level of security — and I’m willing to allow that it might be necessary — at least make it nice to look at. You can’t hide a fence.

  Overton park — and especially the Old Forest — is one of the most surprisingly impressive urban parks I’ve seen.

• Hill Country Ride for AIDS 2007

  Totally fun — a bike ride organized by a bunch of gay folks! There were showers, and the showers had music, and the music was, seriously, Queen.

  Texas in the spring is a gorgeous place to ride a bike.

• Badlands, July 2007

  Gorgeous scenery, crappy camping — at least in the campground. I’d like to go back some time and camp in the backcountry… though riding out a Great Plains thunderstorm in a tent could be hair-raising.

  I think the most arresting thing about the place is abruptness of the transition between prairie and badlands. It’s seriously as if someone took a hatchet to the plains and then glued on the badlands. Also, hills plus plains is always a recipe for amazing views.

• Black Hills, July 2007

  I think the official motto of the Black Hills area is something like “beyond expectations,” which though it sounds modest is very accurate. I am definitely going back, but when I do I think I’ll stay away from the resort-y Custer State Park and explore the National Forest.

  Mount Rushmore, it turns out, is a mountain. In fact, the whole area is mountains. Which means that if you bike around there, you are going to be biking up and down mountains. Just, you know, keep that in mind.

• Bastrop Bike Trip, July 2007

  My sister is a cycling rockstar! Her first serious bike ride and she put in 120 miles over three days. Of course, she made H and I carry all her stuff, but we’ll let that slide for now and make sure the next bike she borrows has a rack.