America the Beautiful | Illinois Tall Grass Prairie

Mar 31, 2020 | AF-S DX VR 18-200mm f3.5-5.6G IF-ED, America the Beautiful, Daily Image 2020, Illinois, Nikon D200

America the Beautiful | Illinois Tallgrass Prairie

America the Beautiful | Illinois Tall Grass Prairie   Illinois was once covered with tall grass prairie.  This fertile land has been mostly converted to farming land.  See The Great American Prairie | a 7 Image Story for additional information and images,  Although Illinois was on on the far eastern edge of the Great American Prairie, it still contains several restored prairies to remind us of the natural beauty.  For the whole story with all images, see America the Beautiful | a 7 Image Story.

The Sunday Drive | Thru the Woods

Mar 22, 2020 | 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, Daily Image 2020, Illinois, Nikon 1 V3, The Sunday Drive

The Sunday Drive | Thru the Woods

The Sunday Drive | Thru the Woods    Spring is technically here.  A nice spring snow shower made beautiful surroundings on my way to the grocery store this morning.  The stay at home order does not say you must take the shortest route to the store.  This route may be less traveled, but its beauty improved my mood for the day.  For the whole story with all images, see The Sunday Drive | a 7 Image Story.

The Sunday Drive | a 7 Image Story

Mar 22, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, 7 Image Stories, AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED, AF-S DX VR 18-200mm f3.5-5.6G IF-ED, AF-S PC-E 24mm f/3.5D ED, Arizona, Illinois, Montana, Nikon 1 V3, Nikon D200, Nikon D3x, Nikon P7000, Places, The Sunday Drive, Wind Cave, Yellowstone

The Sunday Drive | Thru the WoodsThe Sunday Drive | a 7 Image Story   When I was a young boy growing up on a Midwest farm, my parents often took a Sunday drive.  It became a bit of a tradition.  Now, we did not go every Sunday, but fairly often.  Sometimes, the purpose was to “look at the crops.”  Sometimes, it was to “just to get off the farm.”  Sometimes, it was a short ride; sometimes a long ride.  Occasionally, the Sunday drive took us all the way to Chicago’s Midway Airport to watch the planes land and take-off.  Apparently, my parents were not the only ones to partake in this “tradition.”  The Sunday drive was a relatively inexpensive way to showdown, spend family time, and enjoy the world around us.

Why remember those Sunday Drives now?   With the world in crisis mode over the corona virus, states and even countries are issuing stay at home orders.  It’s forcing us to slowdown a bit and value the simpler things in life.  More people seem to be going for walks.  Although the stay at home orders generally discourage travel by car except for the essentials, the slowdown somehow reminded me of those Sunday Drives.  As some of the restrictions are raised, maybe the Sunday drive will make a resurgence.  Or, perhaps a Sunday walk or bike ride will take its place.

Thru the Woods  Spring is technically here.  A nice spring snow shower made beautiful surroundings on my way to the grocery store this morning.  The stay at home order does not say you must take the shortest route to the store.  This route may be less traveled, but its beauty improved my mood for the day.   On Gravel Roads  The countryside in Montana contains numerous gravel roads running along old fence lines.   Unless you live in a large city, back country, gravel roads aren’t all that far away for a lazy Sunday drive.   In the Hills Arizona can get pretty hot in the summer.  A nice Sunday drive into the mountains can show you breathtaking beauty as well as much cooler air.  And in the winter months, snow and ski runs might great you at the end of the road.  Over the Snow   Most of us don’t live close enough to Yellowstone NP to go for a Sunday drive.  Still, many of us live near hills and mountains.  When covered with snow, they make a nice scenic day drive.

Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category The Sunday Drive.

Click any image below for a slide show.