Photography

For our 8th Anniversary, our dogs took us for a walk to Paterson Falls. Ollie was particular enthusiastic about making sure we saw all the paths, and Sugar Baby made sure only good smells awaited our footsteps. The dramatic view was a favorite of my father, who photographed Paterson Falls often. It’s still great! Paterson Falls is near my hometown of Wayne, NJ. It’s a national historic park. And Paterson Falls is the 2nd most voluminous waterfall east of the Mississippi. The most water, of course, descends Niagara Falls. ...

On a sunny but cold December Saturday, I rode a city bike down to the US Botanical Garden, near the Capitol in Washington DC. The building itself is a sprawling greenhouse, with sections for each climate. The centerpiece is the tall tropical garden. In the outdoor garden, I was delighted with the holiday model train exhibit. Many different tracks and trains were running through the garden at varied heights. There were sculptures of creatures that pollinate and the plants they serve. And the tracks ran along and through a landscape made of wood, camelias, and other organic material. ...

I hopped on an electric bike for a 20 minute ride to the historical Frank Lloyd Wright Unitarian Universalist meeting house in Madison. The guided tour was wonderful and the best story was about how it was built. Frank LLoyd Wright was a member of the church so they could afford the architect but not his plans. The church members had to carry the stones from the quarry to the church by themselves, working every weekend for six months. At the time the church membership was 35 families. ...

On a beautiful fall Saturday, my colleague David from the University joined me for one of Wisconsin’s classic hikes: Devil’s Lake. This state park is about an hour’s drive from Madison. David drove us in his new plug-in Prius and it was a crisp, sunny October day. We did not climb up the hard way, as shown in the picture below. But it was a steep climb up nicely placed rock “stairs” held together with concrete. The bluffs rise about 500 feet from the level of the lake. ...

From Madison, I took a day trip to Iowa. Specifically, the town of Decorah, to visit Melissa Koch. I worked closely with Melissa about a decade ago at SRI International, and now she runs the wonderful Bed and Breakfast on Broadway with her husband, son, and dog. She’s cracked the code of the perfect small town life. We started with a tour of the 1910, 5-bedroom inn. I enjoyed the period living room and main guest rooms upstairs. But then Melissa invited me up a narrow set of stairs to the top floor. It opened onto an amazing suite, with a turreted tower as the perfect reading room. What an amazing space! I’ll be back. Click any picture for bigger images. ...