High above Bellevue, IA is the overlook at the conveniently named Bellevue State Park. From this perch above the Mississippi River, you can see a long ways north, across the entire town of Bellevue, up the valley almost to Dubuque, IA, some 25 miles upriver. The view of the town is quite nice, railfans may recognize the view from up here for its famous stretch of street running trackage along the DM&E. However, I think the town is just as interesting looking, with its small town charms. The big church steeple and the town water tower stand tall over the house roofs, and especially stand out on a cold and snowy evening, just after the sun had set in the western sky. Read the rest of this entry »
Shortly after the sun had sunk below the far bluffs along the Mississippi River, a fast moving BNSF intermodal train rolls toward a crew change at LaCrosse, WI with autos and containers bound for Seattle. The trains passing kicked up a small blizzard of freshly fallen powdery snow from the banks of the river, as it made every bit of its 60mph speed limit. Read the rest of this entry »
Holding back the now frozen waters of the mighty Mississippi at Bellevue, IA, the arches of Lock and Dam Number 12 rise from the icy depths of the blue river after sunset on a brutally cold day along the Upper Mississippi Valley. Read the rest of this entry »
I followed the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train last Friday from Sabula to Davenport, IA, with a stop in Clinton. It was a great time, they have a concert aboard the train, and accept donations for local food pantries. I’m sure they raised a lot of money as the crowds in these small Iowa towns were coming out en masse, despite the bitterly cold temperatures. Shortly after the stop in Savanna, IL, they made their way over the Mississippi River into Iowa, just as the sun was going down, well if there had been any sun. It was a completely overcast day out in those parts, and the only option I had to bring out any color in this extremely bright and colorful train was to do a High Dynamic Range (HDR) photo. It combines from three to eight exposures (in this case three), to bring out the highlights and shadow details. Anyway, here is what I came up with as the train rolled along the causeway in Sabula, snaking it’s way up to the river bridge. It probably looks more like a painting than a photo, though.
As always, click it to make it big!
While I was on an assignment in St. Paul, MN earlier this fall, I had a free night to wander around the city’s downtown area. Aside from being virtually abandoned on this Sunday night, it really is a nice city. One of the neat places I found was this park on an island in the Mississippi River. From under the Wabasha Avenue river bridge it provided this view of the city skyline at night.
As always, you can click the thumbnail above to view it in full size. And hey, if you want a print of this, head here to my print gallery.
Categories
Archives
Meta
