Some of you may know Boise is the capitol of Idaho. Monday (August 30th, 2010) I visited the Capitol Building and took a few photos. Click an image to view full.
One thing I can say about state capitol buildings is their exteriors are highly photogenic.
Idaho State Seal on the sidewalk outside the Capitol Building.
Standing on the entryway stairs, looking down Capitol Boulevard.
Inside is a grand architecture designed to make one feel small. It's beautiful, but struck me as a waste of space. Most of the building is for show. They just need a fountain in the center...
And of course, Big Brother is watching...
A decapitated angel on display. This really is Hell's stronghold.
Government doing what it does best: keeping those Lobbyists safe and secure...
I mean really, that door was sort of a WTF when i saw it...
Directly below the center of the dome, looking up. What's with the children's star wallpaper in the very center? Kinda ruins the mood, don't you think?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
«Idaho Capitol (Photo Heavy)»
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
«Fremont Street (Photo Heavy)»
This will be the last of my photographs from Las Vegas. Click an image to view full.
Here's another picture of the Luxor, showing the Sphinx out front.
I went out exploring the area, took this picture of the corner of the Luxor.
I wandered off the Strip, this is looking back toward it.
Here's the pools at the Luxor. All but one were closed. They're all only 3.5 feet deep anyway, not worth even going to unless you have little kids.
Our last night in Las Vegas, my dad was feeling well enough so we went to the Fremont Street Experience. It's the largest overhead screen on Earth.
The Fremont light shows are every hour on the hour at night. They're like a throwback to the 70's. I mean come on, Queen? Really?
The next morning we left. It's amazing how a landscape so dry is so marked by water erosion.
Before I knew it I was back in Ketchikan. It was colder than when we left. It was 80 in Las Vegas, and I came back to 34 degrees with snow in the forecast. *sigh*
And that's pretty much my vacation to Las Vegas. I gambled (and lost) $100, exactly the amount I planned to lose.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
«Rain in Las Vegas? (Photo Heavy)»
It's more likely than you think... I guess we brought some of Ketchikan with us.
Poor babies. It starts to rain in Las Vegas and everyone starts handing out yellow umbrellas and running for cover. They don't know what a real rainstorm is. Funny thing is it was also windy, and some of the umbrellas were getting turned inside out.
It's funny how much gets shut down because of a little weather in Las Vegas. They weren't doing the gondola rides at the Venetian, and nearly every outdoor fountain in town was turned off due to the wind. Also the roller coaster at the New York New York was closed due to weather. It's a good thing Las Vegas is in a desert...
It was raining hard enough outside that my dad and I were actually getting wet, so we decided to walk through the Forum Shops near Caesar's Palace.
The ceiling reminded me of a cathedral.
I thought this was funnier than hell. This is the entrance to some restrooms in the Forum Shops. Whatever happened to equal treatment of genders? If this were reversed the feminists would probably sue.
I didn't go see any shows while in Vegas. The only one that interested me was Penn & Teller at the Rio. However, the Rio is off the Strip and the tickets cost too damn much. It wasn't worth it to me.
There's quite a bit that has been built since my last time in Las Vegas (2004). The Town Square for example; the only thing that used to be out there was Fry's Electronics. There were constant jets low overhead because it's so close to the airport.
Just like the City Center, there's still construction out by the Town Square.
There's still at least another post's worth of pictures to go, so check back tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
«Las Vegas Continued (Photo Heavy)»
Photos from my Las Vegas trip continued from yesterday. Click an image to view full.
In this one image, you can see many different casino/hotels on the Strip. The New York New York, Planet Hollywood/Westgate, Excalibur, MGM Grand, and Tropicana.
The newly built CityCenter. A city within a city, MGM Mirage and Dubai World are partners in its construction. It is the largest privately funded construction project in the history of the United States.
Las Vegas is in the middle of a desert, a land where nothing belongs... So everything seems to fit in. Here's Paris.
This was the view from our room. It looked out over the Strip and the McCarran International Airport. We were on the 25th floor in the pyramid.
An obelisk. What more is there to say?
Like a million people before me, I had to take a picture of the Sphinx.
The Mandalay Bay is right next to the Luxor. Beautiful hotel.
There's a tower that's part of Mandalay Bay that's labeled "THEhotel", I guess they couldn't come up with a better name?
And I've reached my self-set limit of 8 pictures per post, so I will continue again tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
«To Las Vegas! (Photo Heavy)»
It'll take a couple of day's posts to cover my trip to Las Vegas. Click an image to view full.
Here's the jet my dad and I left town in. While Ketchikan's airport is small when compared to the nation's major airports, it has a 7,500 foot asphalt runway and a 9,500 foot water runway. Over 16,200 aircraft operations and a quarter million passengers go through it each year. That's why we needed a bridge.
Before I knew it we had taken off and were over the Alaska native village of Metlakatla.
Alaska, the land of 3 million lakes; suck on that, Minnesota... Actually, I think this was over Canada, but you get the idea. The landscape looks the same.
We had a few hour layover in Seattle, so we took the opportunity to explore the Sea-Tac airport.
The construction of the windows in the previous photo were interesting.
Abstract art... I suppose that's what this is.
We stayed at the Luxor. We got in after dark, this was taken the next day. For those who didn't know, the Luxor is a giant pyramid with an Egyptian theme.
From the inside, you'd never know it's daytime.
More to come tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
«Burj Khalifa (Burj Dubai) Tower Now Open»
Here's the opening ceremony fireworks for the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. It opened January 4th, 2009. Despite Dubai's current economic situation, they spared no expense.
Burj Dubai (Burj Khalifa) Fireworks Show, 4th of January, Dubai
The building is 2,717 feet (828 meters) tall, making it over half a mile tall.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
«Columbia Center: 73rd Floor (Photo Heavy)»
The Columbia Center in Seattle, Washington has an observation deck on the 73rd floor. It's the tallest building in Seattle, Washington and well worth the small fee ($5.00 per person) to get to the observation deck. There's a guy in a suit that looks suspiciously like an Agent from The Matrix that sits up there to sell you the tickets.
These images were taken on May 19th, 2009 in Seattle, Washington when I was on my vacation. You'll definitely want to view the full post, there's some impressive photographs to see. Click an image to view full.
This is looking toward the iconic Space Needle.
The historical Smith Tower looks so short from up here.
The cityscape behind the Quest Field stadium looks so... flat.
Here you can see some of the labyrinthine overpasses of Interstate 5 through Seattle.
You know you're in a tall building when you're this far above the 4th tallest building in Seattle. You can see its roof in the bottom of this photo.
I spotted an alien spaceship trying to hide on this building...
Sunday, July 5, 2009
«09' Vacation Photos, Part 3 (Photo Heavy)»
These pictures were all taken on May 19th, 2009. These are all in Seattle, Washington. Picking up where I left off on Friday. Click an image to view full.
Now this is what I wanted to see. I love skyscrapers. This is the Chase Center, 6th tallest in Seattle. Though I guess it was called the WaMu Center when I took the picture. Amazing that shit's already been re-named since I was there...
The Washington Mutual Tower, 2nd tallest in Seattle. Beautiful building.
The Seattle Public Library is so funky looking...
There's the Columbia Center, the tallest building in Seattle. It has an observation deck on the 73rd floor. You'll have to wait for another post for that view.
This is the Seattle Municipal Tower, 4th tallest in Seattle.
Standing under the edge of the Rainier Tower, 11th tallest in Seattle. Yes, they put the building on a pedestal.
Here's a shot of the US Bank Centre. 8th tallest building in Seattle. When I went to post this picture, it took me a while to identify the building, the image of it on Wikipedia makes the building look darker.
This seemed like the strangest thing to me... My dad and I were standing here watching cars drive in and out of this building. I realize it's a parking garage, but it just doesn't look like one.
This is the Tower 801 (no Wikipedia article). It was also a tough one to identify. How would you like to have one of the apartments in the lower right, where they're up against that other building and have no view?
Here we are on I-5, we've left Seattle.
To be continued on Tuesday (July 7th, 2009).
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