As this year draws to a close, I’m looking back at those things we did during the Covid pandemic to keep ourselves entertained and yet stay safe.
Thanks to the widespread availability of the remarkable vaccines, often using face masks, adhering to social distancing and staying outdoors in the fresh air we were able to enjoy many of our favorite activities.
During the cold winter, we built an ice rink the the backyard to enjoy the crisp outdoors.
We used igloos at several restaurants to keep our distance from others. And skiing was another way to enjoy the winter.
When the warmer weather arrived the pool became the center of our attention.
One way to practice social distancing was to step into pristine Lake McDonald in Glacier NP.
A long telephoto lens let us drop into the Delicate Arch in Arches NP.
Hiking Fairy Falls Trail let us avoid the crowds at Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone NP
I think most of us are hoping that 2022 lets us enjoy even more of those activities that we miss from the pre-Covid days.
We wish all of you a very Happy and Safe New Year.
Friends know that I’m a big fan of traveling and do so frequently by car. Whether I’m visiting relatives who live far away or I’m vacationing at distant places, it’s usually a cross country trek.
Anyone who has traveled on our extensive road system has driven past signs denoting names of places of which they’ve never heard. Those places that especially stick out to me are ones that have colorful names. One of my “hobbies” is to note these names and later (sometimes weeks, sometimes months later) find out more about these places.
Located along Interstate 80 in north central Nevada, one of these places is Argenta, Nevada. This is what I learned.
Argenta is a ghost down in central Nevada. In the mid 1860’s prospectors discovered silver in the area. The town was planning to develop as a shipping center for the nearby mines and in Austin to the south. However, the town of Battle Mountain had stronger ties to the silver industry and by 1871 the entire town moved to Battle Mountain making Argenta effectively a mining ghost town.
Argenta remained vacant until 1930 when barite was discovered nearby. This mine in Argenta Mountain was operated by the Baker Hughes Company until it closed in 2015.
This is one of the Baker Hughes operations alongside a railroad siding and Interstate 80
Well, that’s the short story about Argenta, NV.
Yet curiosity remains high and I hope to report on other interesting names of places that are part of my hobby.
More of my places that you may never have heard of are here
In one of my previous careers I was a frequent traveler.
Since the early 1980s, business has taken me to France dozens of time. During my free time I’d often visit the extraordinary art museums of Paris.
Musee d’Orsay in Paris
In the early years I was able to photograph most of the artwork. However, a few years later many of the museums began to put a moratorium on taking photographs.
With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, none of us are able to visit these art museums so I’ve come up with an alternative.
Below is a small set of artwork that I have photographed and collected over the years. Most were taken at the famous Musee d’Orsay.
I hope you’ll enjoy this artwork as you take a walk through my virtual art museum
Also available is my Virtual Art Museum video for those of you who prefer to just sit back and watch the masterpieces scroll by.
[Click on any of the paintings to enlarge]
Vincent Van Gogh
Church at Auvers
Vincent Van Gogh
Thatched Cottages at Cordeville
Vincent Van Gogh
Dance Hall in Arles
Alfred Sisley
Footbridge at Argenteuil
Henri Matisse
Luxe, Calme et Volupte
Edgar Degas
Dancer with a Bouquet Bowing
Edouard Manet
Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets
Paul Gauguin
Yellow Haystacks
Vincent Van Gogh
The Siesta (after Millet)
Paul Gauguin
Vairumati
Paul Gauguin
The Red Dog
Vincent Van Gogh
Self portrait
Claude Monet
Woman with a Parasol
Gustave Caillebotte
Floor Planers
Claude Monet
Le Dejeuner
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Grande nu
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Portrait of Julie Manet
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Young Girl Seated
Vincent Van Gogh
The Church at Auvers
Claude Monet
Les Coquelicots
Pierre-August Renoir
Bal du Moulin de la Galette
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Dance in the Country
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Whistler’s Mother
Claude Monet
The Boat at Giverny
Thomas Couture
The Romans of the Decadence
For those of you who prefer to view these artworks more leisurely, here’s the same Virtual Art Museum video.
Virtual Art Museum “Here Heather” Music by Lee Bartley Photos by Arnie Lee
