Saturday, March 27, 2010

Round Robin: Across the Miles

Carly provided the topic for the Round Robin Photo Challenge this week, asking us to go up to five miles away from home and take pictures of what we found there. I initially intended to go five miles Southeast, but John's leaky water pump threatened to derail that plan.

1.5 miles West x NW:


John took my car to work, and I was left with his car and a book, waiting for the garage to open. Then I walked the mile and a half home. Several hours later, I walked a mile and a half back to pick up the car. The good news: I still had time to make a short drive for this shoot.

3 miles SW:


I must admit I chose my direction in the hope that I could find a nice bit of the Boneyard (Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Center) at the five mile mark. But John's car doesn't have a trip counter or show tenth miles, and I made a wrong turn and lost track of my distance. I got to the Irvington stretch of the Boneyard, but it turned out to be only three miles away.

5 miles SW:






Okay, so I bought gas because the light came on, touched base at home and tried again. This time I ended up on a desert stretch of Valencia Road - away from the airport, away from the remains of planes, away from everything. When the odometer clicked I was going 50 mph, with fast-moving traffic behind me and no turnoffs in sight. Then I found this little dirt road and pulled over. After taking some pictures I followed the dirt road for half a mile or so, but it only led to other pointless dirt roads that seemingly led nowhere.

And that's what's five miles away!

Now let's check out the other Robins' explorations:

Linking List
as of 1:10 AM MST

Karen (Southeast) - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Carly - Posted!
Ellipis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

Gattina (South) - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com

Linda (East)
Mommy's Treasures
http://mommystreasures.blogspot.com

Peggy - Posted!
Holmespunfun Memes and Themes
http://holmespunfunmemesandthemes.blogspot.com

Wammy (East) - Posted!
The Ellis Family Cincinnati
http://theellisfamilycincinnati.blogspot.com


Jama
Sweet memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Sherrie (West)
Sherrie's Stuff
http://sherrie-plummer.blogspot.com/

Sandy (Southeast) - Posted!
From the Heart of Texas
http://sandyfromtheheartoftexas.com

carolynUSA (north)
Ford Family Photos
http://carolyn1209.blogspot.com

Manang Kim
My Photography in Focus
http://mgahulagwayko.blogspot.com


Duane (east)
Meanwhile...
http://fdtate.blogspot.com

Mary
Mary Tomaselli's Photos
http://marytomaselli.blogspot.com

Ruth (East)
Scrabblequeen
http://www.scrabblequeen.wordpress.com

ellen b (East, North and South) - Posted!
The Happy Wonderer
http://happywonderer.wordpress.com

Freda (North and Northwest) - Posted!
Day One
http://fredamans.blogspot.com

Sandy - Posted!
From the Heart of Texas
http://sandyfromtheheartoftexas.com

Karen

10 comments:

Jan AKA Wammy said...

Very interesting terrian. Way different from all the hills and grass here in hio. Love all he cacti.

ellen b said...

Love the cactus. I wouldn't want to get up close and personal but it's such an interesting plant...
Happy trails to you...

Sherrie said...

Hi Karen,
Great shots. I love the one of the Cactus. Beautiful! Have a great day!

Sherrie
Sherrie's Stuff

Carly said...

Hey Karen

Hmmm... I left a comment a few minutes ago, and it didn't show up. Anyway, this comment isn't as indepth as my last one, but I want to tell you how inspiring I found your photos. The cactus, the planes, the walk you took, all great ideas for upcoming RR and MPS assignments. :) It's pretty in Tucson. I have to admit it's natural beauty is growing on me, especially the mountains. :) You are making me a believer. :)

-Carly

Sandy Trefger said...

Lovely! I think the trip down the dirt road was so worth it! The cactus photo is beautiful!

Gattina said...

I would have to drive at least 600 miles to find a cactus, or I have to go into a botanical garden, lol !
The Waterloo Lion was built after the battle as a memorial.

Jama said...

I love that shot of the cactus, looks so pretty. I'm a bit late in posting, going to do it now.

Carolyn Ford said...

Nice variety so close by! I am partial to the cactus! Great post!

fdtate said...

Some interesting scenery in your neck of the woods. I didn't know you lived so close to the Boneyard. Have you ever taken the tour? I've seen many aerial shots of the place online and it's neat how they have the planes laid out in geometric patterns.

Karen Funk Blocher said...

I'm a little surprised that you folks like the cactus shot so much - I'm tempted now to post another photo or two from that location. Duane, I've taken lots and lots of pictures of different parts of the Boneyard over the years, but I've never taken the tour, which I think is only offered twice a day, Mon-Fri. One of these days I'll get there. Perhaps I'll do it sooner than later. It's definitely not something you want to do once the temperature gets above 90!