August 2017 - Day 21 (Pennsylvania to Home)

Thursday, August 24, 2017 - Pennsylvania to Home - 588 miles altogether:



I got to the west entrance of Eternal Flame Falls (a small waterfall located in the Shale Creek Preserve, a section of Chestnut Ridge Park in Western New York) around 9:15:

I figured that, even though there were NO SIGNS, the path-to-the-Falls would CERTAINLY BE MARKED:

As you can tell, my hike, DOES NOT MATCH the "official map" which I just pulled up for this blog:

no "Falls", but at least I got a nice hike-through-the-woods:


Back on the road through beautiful New York State countryside:


I then visited Letchworth State Park:

Here the Genesee River has carved the "Grand Canyon of the East" - looking north:

and then looking south:

Well, it is pretty impressive!! (and I didn't even stop and see the waterfalls)

I had the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad for lunch:


I-90 all the way back home, to 128 North. Home by 7, when it was TIME TO PARTY!



588 miles today ("Hey, what are all these Massachusetts license plates doing around me?") - This whole trip was 7,292 miles in 21 days! THANK YOU GOD for all the Beauty I was able to see, and places I could visit!

I started today by listening to Terry Tempest Williams The Hour of Land 9/9, 2016:

It is a collection of very nicely written stories of some of our National Parks - both personal stories, and historical/scientific background. I like it.

Music for today was more albums from my purple nano:

The Very Best of 10cc, 1997 (I like only 4 songs)

The fourth song is "Cry" (by Godley & Creme [who are 10cc]). The song was used in a January 10, 1986 episode of Miami Vice titled "Definitely Miami" (and is VERY COOL).

The Very Best of Booker T. & the MG's, 1994


The Very Best of Diana Krall, 2007 (only 4 songs are new)


The Very Best of MTV Unplugged, 2002


The Very Best of Orpheus, 1968 (only 1 song)

That one song is "Can't Find the Time", which was one of the first "FM radio songs" ("The Wind" by Circus Maximus was another).

The Very Best of Peter Allen, 1992 - 20 tracks!!


The Very Best of Sheryl Crow, 2003 - actually only one song: "Soak Up the Sun"


The Very Best of Todd Rundgren, 1997


Frank Sinatra - The Very Good Years, 1991 - 20 songs from his "Reprise years"

Track 17 is a killer live version of "The Lady Is a Tramp", which was recorded at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, October 13, 1974.

various artists - VH1: I Love the 90's, 2004


various artists - VH1: The Best of Where Are They Now?, 2000


The Verve Pipe - Villians, 2011

actually, only 1 song - "The Freshmen"

Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, 2008


WOW, this little purple nano sure has a lot of GREAT MUSIC!!

August 2017 - Day 20 (Ohio Art Museums)

Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - Ohio Art Museums (Indiana to Pennsylvania) - 616 miles altogether:



We are on the western-end of the Time Zone, so it was strange seeing the sun just popping up over the horizon as I left Corydon, Indiana around 7 AM. The first stop today was the Doris Ulmann Galleries at Berea College, Berea, Kentucky. Unfortunately, their galleries were all closed for maintenance, so I was not able to see:
Thomas Moran - Cliff Dwellers, 1899 oil


As I was eating breakfast, it occurred to me that, going right through Cincinnati, there was a museum I had not visited: the Taft Museum of Art. Traffic was VERY BAD getting over the Ohio River (EVERYBODY is repairing their roads/infrastructure), so it was 12:30 before I got into the Taft. There are three excellent ART features of this former home of Anna and Charles Taft (older half-brother of William Howard Taft, US President 1909-1913):



- 1 - the house has its own private collection, including works by JMW Turner and Robert S. Duncanson,

- 2 - being a patron of Robert S. Duncanson, it houses his Landscape Murals - a suite of eight large landscape paintings in trompe l'oeil frames; and

- 3 - its "New Wing", which houses visiting art exhibitions.

JMW Turner - Europa and the Bull, about 1840-50 oil


JMW Turner - The Trout Stream, 1809 oil


Robert S. Duncanson - The Temple of the Sibyl, Tivoli, Italy, 1870 oil


views of the Murals:




The "New Wing" hosted Treasures of British Painting from The Berger Collection at the Denver Art Museum:


Although photographs were not allowed, everything is available on-line at the Denver Art Museum's website. Wonderful pieces include 3 by David Roberts (1796-1864):

St. Peter's, Looking Back on Rome, 1853 oil


Interior of the Cathedral, Pisa, 1859 oil


Egyptian Landscape with a Distant View of the Pyramids, 1862 oil


Pretty cool wearing my blue Superman hat as I'm driving into Cleveland (look up "Superman Cleveland")

Because of the traffic, I arrived at the NASA Glenn Visitor Center in Cleveland at 4:56

They close at 5, but I did get a sticker!

It was still a BEAUTIFUL afternoon in Cleveland

so I used my "Where's the Art?" app to access the Cleveland Museum of Art's webpage, and THEY ARE OPEN UNTIL 8 PM TONIGHT!!


I had previously visited the Cleveland Museum of Art in Sept 2013 and Oct 2015, and I LOVE their courtyard-between-buildings:




Winslow Homer - Early Morning After a Storm at Sea, 1900-1903 oil


Frederic Edwin Church - Storm in the Mountains, 1847 oil


Sanford R. Gifford - A Home in the Wilderness, 1866 oil


Claude Monet - Gardener's House at Antibes, 1888 oil


Vincent van Gogh - Poplars at Saint-Rémy, 1889 oil


My "museum visit" cost me the daylight, but it is ok driving the 97 miles in the twilight/dark to check-in at the Super 8 in Erie, Pennsylvania at 9:16 PM:


THANK YOU GOD for all the Beauty I was able to experience today!

I started today by listening to Terry Tempest Williams The Hour of Land 8/9, 2016:

It is a collection of very nicely written stories of some of our National Parks - both personal stories, and historical/scientific background. I like it. This section dealt with the Grand Canyon.

quote:

"Is it not enough to return home with a fresh idea gleaned while walking in new territory?"

Music for today was more albums from my purple nano:

Rihanna - Unapologetic, 2012 (I like only 3 songs)


U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky, 1983 live album

This is arguably the best live album ever made.

Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table and Dreaming, 1994


U2 - The Unforgettable Fire, 1984


lyrics - "A Sort of Homecoming":

For tonight at last I am coming home.
I am coming home.

(Well, not tonight, but certainly tomorrow night.)

The Byrds - Untitled, 1970 live album plus 2 studio cuts


Herbie Hancock - V.S.O.P.: The Quintet [Live], 1977 live album from 2 concerts


Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece, 1974


various artists (Thievery Corporation) - Versions, 2006


various artists - Verve Remixed, Vol. 3, 2005