Tag Archives: travel

X-Country Drive

February 9, 2025informational, national parks, nature, personal, photograph, scenic, traveldriving, family, Idaho, national parks, Nevada, travelArnie

October Vacationing

Last year we found enough time to take two short vacations. The second one was in October which turned out to be a nice time to still enjoy the pleasant weather while avoiding the crowds.

Our itinerary was to visit our son and family in Reno, NV and then hop north to Grand Teton National Park and enjoy the outdoors. Our route to Reno was pretty straight forward – taking Interstate 80 for the first half of our trip.

Our home in Grand Rapids is a solid midwestern city. We’re used to the familiar surroundings – cities, farms and small factories. As we drove westward we could see changes to the scenery.

Black – Grand Rapids to Reno
Red – Reno to Grand Tetons to Grand Rapids

A noticeable change in scenery as we travel west . Here’s a feed lot in Ogallala, Nebraska

Wyoming is known for its oil production. This is the huge Sinclair refinery.

Captivating rock formations line Interstate 80 near Green River, Wyoming

We took this selfie at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

This downtown sign shouts to us as we arrive in Reno.

Tall trees characterize the Sierras close to Reno

A long coastline at King’s Beach along Lake Tahoe

A paddle boarder enjoys the cool waters of Lake Tahoe.

Leaving Reno we head towards Grand Teton National Park. We backtrack on I-80 for a short distance and then cut through southeastern Idaho. It’s a 700 mile drive through some very unpopulated high desert terrain.

This encourages wildlife to crossing the highway using the bridge.

The Snake River passing through Swan Valley, Idaho

We took in a colorful morning sunrise in Grand Teton National Park

We captured this bugling elk near Jackson Lake in the Tetons

This lady was taking a drink from the pond near the Park Headquarters

We took in a serene view of the Tetons at String Lake

We took a short hike along the Snake River at Schwabachers Landing

We spotted this bald eagle overlooking the waters at Colter Bay in the Tetons

The iconic archway was decorated for the Christmas season in Jackson

From Jackson we made our way back to Grand Rapids happy to have 10 days of relaxation and outdoor recreation in the west.

Written by:

Arnie Lee

Shooting Airplanes

February 9, 2025aviation, informational, movie, photograph, presentation, scenic, travel, videoaircraft, airplanes, airport, aviation, Las Vegas, photos, travelArnie

with my camera

As a big fan of aviation I make sure that I have a camera with me whenever I’m near an airport. Sometimes I’ll even make a special trip to an airport especially if it has a viewing area.

There’s one such viewing area alongside Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. For those of you familiar with the city, the viewing area is on Sunset Road towards the east end of the airport. Here you will get a very clear view of aircraft landing on runway 26L. Below are a few shots that I captured recently.

Below is a short clip of my flight into LAS two days earlier

Hopefully you enjoyed seeing these airplanes as much as did.

Written by:

Arnie Lee

Casino Hopping

February 8, 2025informational, movie, personal, photograph, presentation, recreation, travel, videocasinos, Las Vegas, photos, shopping, travelArnie

inside and outside

Early last month I was in Las Vegas for a few days. For the last forty or so years, I’ve traveled to Las Vegas for business and pleasure so I’m pretty familiar with the city and surroundings. But each time I return there is always something new to see. It’s a very dynamic place.

Since I’m not into gaming, neither the blackjack and crap tables nor roulette wheels interest me. However is you continue to walk through the huge gaming areas you will reach the shopping area lined with elegant (and expensive) retail stores selling jewelry, clothing and fashion accessories.

I’m not really a shopper but i do I enjoy window shopping. Here are some of the “attractions” for visitors who are not gamblers.