Author Archives: lenzi

Kansas City…

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While I didn’t have a lot of time in Kansas City, I thoroughly enjoyed the time I did have. The city was clean, beautiful and relatively easy to get around in by car as well, things that many cities would do well to emulate…

unionstationcollageAs many of you know, I’m a total sucker for a great train station – and Kansas City’s Union Station is easily one of the best I’ve visited. The architecture speaks for itself, but the addition of the model train exhibit takes it over the edge in my book. I LOVED seeing all of the young kids geeking out over the trains – and the first one I saw was their Durango-Silverton line, so I did some geeking out myself…

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The National World War I Museum is a spot I wish I would have had more time to explore, but I absolutely loved the inscription above the fountain in that last pic: Who More Than Self Their Country Loved.

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Loved the way they “dressed up” this shopping area – great stuff…

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And I finished off my visit with a trip to Arthur Bryant’s – the ribs were great, primarily because their sauce was the real deal.

Colorado…

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After a couple tremendous days in Utah, I was truly looking forward to getting in to Colorado, a place I thought I could see myself retiring to eventually. I was certainly not disappointed…

jclroadtrip-4480I posted a photo similar to this one on Instagram and tried to explain what driving through Colorado is like – but basically it’s this. It’s like the feeling of having new sheets on your bed…

(Incidentally, the photo above is the one that I printed out and taped to the upper corner of my windshield to help get me through the hell known as Kansas, but that’s a completely different story).

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I’d been to Durango, Colorado several times when I was much younger and it’s basically exactly as I remembered it — and that’s a great thing.

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We have a graduate of Greensburg Salem who’s currently a student at the United States Air Force Academy, so after spending a little bit of time in Colorado Springs, I had the chance to meet him for lunch and get a quick tour of the campus — it’s absolutely, incredibly beautiful. The chapel is stunning and you’d never know there’s as much stained glass that projects so well from looking at the outside. And how about that backdrop for your football stadium???

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Later that night I had the chance to have dinner with a former Yearbook Editor in Denver and had a blast as well. I really liked the area we were in – LoDo – and it was great to catch up with this young lady as well…

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If you know me, then you know how much I enjoy street art and murals as well. This piece of Frank Shorter in downtown Boulder certainly doesn’t disappoint.

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Rocky Mountain National Park was the last of the National Parks I got to visit and it was stunning as well. Driving the Trail Ridge Road was a blast and the views were incredible. While I was hoping to see some Big Horn Sheep, the Elk didn’t disappoint…

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And then… Red Rocks Amphitheater. While I didn’t get to see a show here, it was pretty neat to get to tour the spot where one of my all-time favorite concerts (U2 at Red Rocks) was performed. What an insanely scenic spot – if you take a look at the top pic in this set, you can see Denver along the horizon of the pic.

Iconic Signage…

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One of the things that I enjoyed the most in the cities that I visited was seeing the signage that the towns had. Whether I was in Nashville or Alameda, Alamosa or Bozeman, there were really some cool signs along my route. Some were old and some were new and made to look old, but there were still a lot of cool neons, whether I got to see them in daylight or lit up against the night sky…

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Canyonlands National Park (Utah) area…

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After hitting Arches in the morning, I was able to get to Canyonlands relatively easily before nightfall. I was able to scout out Mesa Arch (with the plan of getting the sunrise there the next morning), as well as Dead Horse Point State Park for that night’s sunset. By no means am I strong at this type of photography, but it is definitely challenging to try to work with the light you’re given and no filters.

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On the way in to Canyonlands, you take this winding, switchback-ed (yes, I made that up) climb in and pass these two buttes, the Monitor and the Merrimack, named after the Civil War Battleships. It’s an absolutely beautiful sight…

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There’s your obligatory National Park signage as well as what I thought a cool shot of the walking trails one can take in to the Canyon. I loved how it just seems to be laid out there in front of you, inviting you in to the fun…

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…and then the bottom just drops out from under you.

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The pics above were taken at Dead Horse Point State Park – the view absolutely incredible and I did my best to capture this incredible sunset – I loved the silhouettes of the other photographers who chose a different point to capture the same thing…

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And then there’s Mesa Arch…

I went at night to first check it out (the top two pics), in the attempt to scout it out for what I hoped would be incredible sunrise shots the next morning. The second pic across the top is what you see when you look through the arch it self. I’ve seen images of this spot at sunrise and it’s just electric – the light bounces off the bottom of that arch and it’s just mesmerizing. If you click here, you’ll get an idea of what I was hoping for. After waking up at 3:45 to get to the Arch early enough to secure a prime spot, I found out that I was about the 15th person there! What you can’t see from these pictures is the circus that this became – there were about 30 of us in a line with about 45 more behind at varying levels. In addition, there were people high and low. I had a little bit of an idea of what it must be like to work a red carpet!

I was still able to get an angle that I was happy with, but, just as things seemed like they were about to explode, the clouds rolled in and that was it. You win some and you lose some, but I’m still happy with the result and like the way the Arch framed the hoodoos in the background as well as the La Sal Mountains in the background.

Bryce Canyon National Park…

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I’ll admit it, I almost – almost – skipped Bryce Canyon. I was starting to run a little short on time and was trying to figure out how to get through the National Parks in Utah the best way possible and this was going to cost me a little as I looped back through the state. Thankfully, after realizing that I wasn’t going to be able to see The Wave in the Grand Staircase, I stuck to my original plan and kept Bryce on the docket.

Coming in the way that I did, you go through Red Rock Canyon first – what a great way to “prep” for Bryce – it’s just stunningly beautiful as well (top left pic)…

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You just see these “needles” in the Canyon – they’re actually referred to as hoodoos – and they seemingly go on and on – and you hike 20 feet and look again and it’s a completely different look.

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And, again, just like at Arches or Mexican Hat Rock, you find yourself trying to figure out how in the world is that thing still standing?

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It’s also possible to hike down into the Canyon, as can be seen in the pic above.

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Again, how is that still in one piece?

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Probably my favorite part of Bryce Canyon was hiking to see Thor’s Hammer. Like the earlier photos, you walk 20 feet and look and it’s completely different – or you continue down the switchback trail and all of a sudden you’re looking up at it and it’s just awe-inspiring.

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To the best of my memory, I don’t think I’ve ever taken a rainbow photo. This was a trip of firsts.