We have been blessed with 3.5 weeks of splendid weather, glorious national parks and incredible experiences. To see such natural beauty is a true gift.
The last three days we have been chasing the blue sky, trying to capture some dynamic images of three state capitals: Denver Colorado, Topeka Kansas and Jefferson City Missouri. As we mentioned several weeks ago in the blog, we will always drive out of our way to photograph a state capitol building. We have sold at least two hundred state and provincial capitol building images over the years. We have them from Augusta Maine to Pierre South Dakota.
When we arrived in Denver, we were shocked and disappointed. We had been to Denver over thirty years ago for a photography convention when we were young and foolish. Now we are just foolish. Lol
The city we remembered did not exist. The downtown area is at least three times larger than the late
seventies. That is to be expected. What we did not expect was to see the decay of a once 
vibrant city. Trash everywhere, crumbled pavement, a liberty bell with missing plaques, homeless wandering everywhere and drug deals going down 20 feet away from you. To say we were shocked is an understatement. To say we were disappointed was putting it mildly. We photographed what we could, including the Art Center, Denver Mint, City-County Building, Public Library, interior of 
the Capitol and statues. We quickly left town, disillusioned. Roads to the interstate 
were littered and dirty.We camped in the parking lot of the biggest Walmart we have ever seen. We went in the store and it was at least twice the size of the Fort Gratiot Michigan Walmart. We lucked out and got a free wireless signal from the Home Depot next door. We turned on the generator, watched a little television, and surfed the internet.
We were up early on Saturday morning, with a long trip ahead of us to Topeka Kansas. The wind was absolutely horrible, consistently fighting with the motor home. It was effortless to stay focused while driving. You were on your toes and sporting white knuckles. We encountered a two person motorcycle accident along the way. Perhaps the wind caught their bike and they lost control. Drivers had already stopped and were trying to comfort the passengers who were lying on the pavement. As we drove, we saw fire engines and ambulances rushing to help them.
We stopped at the Eisenhower Museum and Library in Abilene Kansas. Eisenhower lived in the 
home with his five brothers and parents until he 
entered West Point in 1911 at the age of 21. He visited
the home six times before 1938 and even came once with his son to pour a concrete patio slab for his mother. The town of Abilene was old and again in rough shape. We captured two historic homes, the Lebold Mansion and the Seelye House. Once regal and well preserved, even these homes are showing neglect. The grounds of the Eisenhower site were not the best we have seen. The stench from what we think was a water treatment plant filled the air.On to Topeka Kansas. We circled the capitol building, looking for a morning shot we could
capture. The building is undergoing an extreme makeover and scaffolding abounds. It was very tough to get a good shot. Topeka is also the home of the famed Brown vs. Board of Education, 
where African American third grader Linda Brown was
refused admittance into her neighborhood
White school.While Topeka did not have homeless circling the capitol building, the town looks like it is in need of a significant facelift. Crumbling curbs, sidewalks; neglected signs, worn buildings all suggested a tired city. The capitol dome was in really rough shape.
Next, we stopped in Independence Missouri to visit the historic home of Harry and Bess 
Truman. We visited here about twenty years ago. Let’s just say that Harry would have given 
them hell. Just blocks from his home were unused billboards, covered in graffiti and gang symbols. The home, once visited by 
Nixon, Johnson, Ford and Carter looks tired. 20 years ago when we visited we had access to the interior. We remember seeing a toaster on the kitchen table and the study of Harry that looked, as it was when he last visited. The last time we were here, the Old Chrysler was in the garage, waiting for Harry to take Bess for a spin. Today, it was inaccessible, undergoing renovations. We stopped at the drugstore where Harry first worked, the 
Courthouse where he worked and the Presidential Library as well.What do the last three stops suggest to us? Perhaps that the natural beauties we have in our great country such as the Grand Canyon and White Sands Monument maintain their beauty despite time. Manmade attractions (cities, buildings, streets, etc.) need maintenance and care.
We leave Independence, heading for Jefferson City Missouri. We originally intended to make St.
Louis our last stop (ran into rain on Route 66 when our trip began) but we have now concluded that St. Louis will have to wait for another time. We are going to make Jefferson City our last gig on this adventure.Jefferson City was exactly what we needed for our final photo op. Everything that Denver and
Topeka weren’t, Jefferson City is. Missouri apparently loves its capitol building and the grounds that surround it. It shows. Everything is manicured. Flowerbeds are already sporting annual flowers. All the fountains are flowing. The capitol building itself is 
surrounded with all kinds of
statues, tributes and honors. Missouri became a state in 1821. A great statue of Thomas Jefferson stands proudly in front of the capitol building, atop an incredible set of stairs. Behind Jefferson are great columns. Another wonderful piece around the building is a tribute to 
Lewis and Clark. Since the city is on the Missouri River, Lewis and Clark are an important part of the 
city and state’s history. 
There are great fountains in the rear of 
the building and a manmade waterfall honoring veterans and fallen soldiers. We have had a great time on this wonderful trip. We have seen so many new things, revisited old places and learned how beautiful and different this great nation is.
Once back in our little town of Lexington, we’ll return to pickleball, golfing nine holes at the local course and pondering our next trip.
We clicked the shutter about 8,000 times this trip. In the next month or so, we will cull probably half of the images, work them, caption them and send them to our agents. Hopefully someone, somewhere will want to use a few over the coming years. Might be an agent in Herzegovina, might be an advertising agency in Colombia, might be a magazine in Poland. We never know. What we do know is that other countries seek images of the American lifestyle with regularity.
We drove 6,500 miles, visited eleven states, seven state capitals, thirteen National Parks. We were gone 27 days, spent a little over $2,000 (not including food) which works out to be about $75 a day. Not bad when you consider that includes our travel expenses and lodging.
Our next big adventure will be Hawaii. That will be our 50th and last state to visit. We keep looking for the 57 states Barack Obama said we had when he was running for
President. Unless we have annexed a few Canadian provinces, we think we’ve hit them all.
Thanks for “riding” with us!
Dennis and Ilene
We clicked the shutter about 8,000 times this trip. In the next month or so, we will cull probably half of the images, work them, caption them and send them to our agents. Hopefully someone, somewhere will want to use a few over the coming years. Might be an agent in Herzegovina, might be an advertising agency in Colombia, might be a magazine in Poland. We never know. What we do know is that other countries seek images of the American lifestyle with regularity.
We drove 6,500 miles, visited eleven states, seven state capitals, thirteen National Parks. We were gone 27 days, spent a little over $2,000 (not including food) which works out to be about $75 a day. Not bad when you consider that includes our travel expenses and lodging.
Our next big adventure will be Hawaii. That will be our 50th and last state to visit. We keep looking for the 57 states Barack Obama said we had when he was running for
President. Unless we have annexed a few Canadian provinces, we think we’ve hit them all.Thanks for “riding” with us!
Dennis and Ilene
No comments:
Post a Comment