Below Zero on the Pentacrest

Bitter, Cold Day on the Pentacrest
A yearly visit back to Iowa City isn’t complete without a shot of this gorgeous, gold dome

When you go to the University of Iowa, this is a central point of many undergrads. If it’s not on your tour route, you have classes on the Pentacrest at some point.

I crossed this area many, many times. Some good memories, some not so much.

The one mantra that always comes back to me is my 20th Century Crisis professor that would often say, “Sometimes it pays to be a nerd.”

It took a number of years, but once you grasp that ideal, you block out the naysayers and carve your own path. Be a nerd about what you love to do and everything else will follow.

An Iowa IPA

Every visit back to Iowa, the numbers of craft beers and spirits being made in the state never fails to impress.

Millstream still makes my favorite IPA, a wonderful play on the name but not on my affinity for hoppy beer. A visit to their brewery in Amana introduced me to their pilsner and stout, but it’s the Iowa Pale Ale that keeps me coming back. A wonderful play on the name for my favorite style of beer from my home state.

Winter Time on the Ped Mall

Iowa City Pedestrian Mall
Cold, breezy day in winter on the Ped Mall

I used to spend a lot of time around these parts. 8 years in Iowa City, and this is the place that everyone always wanted to hang out. I took this picture yesterday, looking down there at a lot of fond memories.

One 4th of July during Jazz Fest, I was here helping with a full KSUI broadcast from the center of the Ped Mall when the clouds rolled in. I tend to remember saying to someone that “this doesn’t look good,” and suddenly the skies started pouring down. As the winds roared in, someone jumped on the microphone to say a hasty signoff and that we were ending the multi-hour broadcast rather early and quite abruptly.

We moved fast. Everything was piled into a four-door sedan, we crammed in, and were gone within 15 minutes. Not a piece of equipment was left behind or damaged.

Good times.

Foggy West End Morning

Foggy West End Morning
A foggy morning in the West End of Vancouver as the sun comes up over the horizon

Sometimes when you wake up in the morning, you have to be late getting into work so you can capture a moment like this.

The Coldest New Year’s Day

The Coldest New Year’s Day
-13F (-33F Windchill) in Iowa

Without a doubt, this has been the coldest morning of the New Year that I can remember. I do recall days of going to elementary school and being held inside for recess because the weather was unsafe due to the subzero windchills outside, mainly because there was always some kid who would lose his stocking hat on the bus ride in from the country or not bring gloves that day, but you never really grasp how frigid, cold weather can cause damaging effects that can last a lifetime.

Last night, as 2018 struck in the central time zone, windchills dipped to -34F, which is nearly at the point where subzero temperatures between Celsius and Fahrenheit are the same. Once -40 is reached, reference or calculation is no longer needed.

Today will certainly be quiet.

Walking in a Vancouver Winter Wonderland

Covered a lot of ground today and made some good Christmas memories.

Christmas Eve 2017
Frozen Lost Lagoon

Christmas Eve 2017
Stanley Park Trails

Christmas Eve 2017
Ice Cicle Ground Formations

Christmas Eve 2017
Obligatory Shot of Lions Gate Bridge

Christmas Eve 2017
The Stanley Park Rose Garden in Winter Bloom

Christmas Eve 2017
Evening Visit to Surrey for food, friends, and family

Christmas Eve 2017
Downtown Tree with a Circuit Out or Two

Parliament Hill in Ottawa This Past Summer

Parliament Hill in Ottawa This Past Summer

I was looking through the photos on my phone and found this shot from this past August. It was a really memorable experience seeing the core of the Canadian government and learning a lot more about the country I’ve called home for just over 12 years now.

If you ever get a chance to visit Ottawa, do it. Your country or not, you’ll be guaranteed to broaden what you know about the world.

That One Time When Noel Gallagher Shot Me with His Guitar

Pemberton Music Festival 2016
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Shot during the 2016 Pemberton Music Festival in Pemberton, B.C.

I’ve been seeing reminders popping up from previous Pemberton Music Festivals, which was sad due to the cancellation of this year’s. It made me think about some of the shots that I took from last year, and this one always gets me. It appears that Noel does not like photographers.