Glenwood Springs, CO train station

the origin of teddy bears

It was at the Hotel Colorado that the "Teddy Bear" was conceived, in connection with Teddy Roosevelt. The full story, below, is displayed in the lobby of the hotel.

Hotel Colorado

The famous Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, where Teddy Roosevelt used to stay when he was in town. There is even a "Roosevelt Suite", seen below...

Glenwood Springs, CO

We spent a night in Glenwood Springs, CO, home to the world's largest hot springs swimming pool. It was a pleasant 1,078,000 gallons to swim in. It's also a beautiful mountain location where river, railroad and interstate all run alongside each other.

west of the Continental Divide

glimpses of the Colorado River

ascending the Rockies, part 2

ascending the Rockies...

 

Ascending the Rocky Mountains in the California Zephyr while it is snowing...

windows and light

Effects of the morning light, Denver Union Station.

Denver Union Station revisited

Restaurants, bars, coffee shop, bookstore, hotel - Denver Union Station is sort of a Disneyland for railroad passengers. There are also trains to the ski resorts, so some of the people passing through here are skiers.

Wheaton, IL train station

Another interesting train station, this one straddling the line architecturally between contemporary and traditional. What you may not know from the photo is how cold it was when I took it.

Theosophical Society

The national headquarters of the Theosophical Society in Wheaton, IL.

commuter train to Wheaton...

 

There were two interesting things about this commuter train to Wheaton, IL. The first was the double-decker design; the second was the fact that it was operated by Union Pacific, who I thought only operated freight trains.

Chicago in January...

 

...the way it looked from the train they call "The City of New Orleans".

Hammond, LA train station

Possibly the best photo of the Hammond, LA train station ever taken, taken by my lovely wife.

return of the tiger moth

The tiger moth I seem to see whenever I visit Louisiana...

TCHO

One of my favorite chocolates...

Sombrero's

It was a nice place to spontaneously pop in for dinner, and it was a nice place to watch the Saints win. It was also possibly the best chili relleno we have had in Covington, LA.

Alabama beach getaway

 

The Tides Hotel in Orange Beach, AL had some nice design features, in particular a color scheme that matched the natural surroundings. Sadly, there was wet weather for the duration of our short visit.

Seed

Seed in New Orleans, the last best vegan restaurant I ever ate at. Not sure how they do it, but this is vegan food that tastes better than conventional food without any digestive consequences. Among the highlights were the "nuggets" and the beignets. Interestingly this space used to be "Blue Plate", where we ate years ago and I found a piece of cardboard in my omelet.

a banana tree grows in New Orleans

If anyone had any doubts that real, live bananas are growing in the courtyard of the Creole Gardens in New Orleans, well they can set those doubts aside.

special trains

 

Only for the holidays... New York City subway cars from different decades.

Mrs. Katel goes cross-country skiing