First, an apology for the spacing and formatting of my posts. I am using Blogger, Google's version of online blogging software. The primary attribute is that it's free. And I'm getting what I'm not paying for. Blogger allows me to "preview" a post before publishing. Unfortunately the preview bears only a small resemblance to what the published post becomes. I tried to upgrade to Wordpress which is also "free" but it is so stripped down that once you begin adding needed features, it is not at all free.
Since I'm not trying to monetize the blog (translation for the reader: no pop-up advertisements) & I only do this a few weeks a year, we'll just have to take the posts as they are...sorry!!!
And I misspelled "rainy"; the spell check didn't catch it & neither did I. Curses be upon you, Blogger!!!
Back to business. The Montana State used-to-be Prison:
What it looked like back in the day.
The cell block, straight out of a 50's film noir movie. But this is for real.
The dining hall. Note how monochromatic the place is. Without the ketchup & mustard bottles you'd think I shot this in B&W.
The warden's office, complete with a short-lived policy of having the guards dressing professionally. The prison's first warden (1871) looks on.
A typical cell, maybe somewhat comfy until the prison became overcrowded & they stuck more than two in each.
I have lots more but this is depressing enough so on a lighter ending note, even prisons have gargoyles, not nearly as artistic as in France:
The auto museum was much more uplifting. I could regale you with tons of photos, but will boil it down to a few either interesting or significant to us.
The 1920's produced elegant cars; the museum had dozens. Here are just two.
Susanne loved the hood ornaments. This one is from a Packard, as I recall.
Another hoodie:
My father had one of these, a 1947 Plymouth, in black.
For a time I had a '53 Chevrolet, from Aunt Martha. She installed air conditioning, but repainted it with a pink top & white bottom. It was a great car until a lady in a VW bug ran a red light & smashed the front. Bye-bye old Chevy.
I had one of these a '55 Chev Bel Air sport coupe, but not so grandly restored. The divorce hit, the money was very tight, so I sold it for something more dependable...a Toyota.
Susanne had one of these, a '67 Pontiac GTO with a big engine and the Hurst shifter. Also not so pristine. Hers had a grey-blue bottom & a white top. It also lacked dependability at a time when she needed it, so it was replaced with a '76 Dodge Dart.
OK, enough cars & prisons. Back to nature...big sky, etc. An odd cloud formation taken while rolling along a 70mph road behind a 50mph camper rig.
Sun hidden by clouds, color and B&W:
Susanne is a great photographic companion. She sees she little stuff with lots of details, that I pass right by.
=========
We went to a tango party last night, no dancing but a social gathering to see a tango movie. Lots of fun & good company. We've become part of the community, for a short time anyway.
==========
In March, 2009 there was a huge gas explosion in downtown Bozeman. One person killed, several injured. Multiple buildings destroyed. Some have been rebuilt, but there are still two empty lots. The first building on the left is original. The next group is an attempt to keep the traditional late 19th century style. Then there's an empty lot, another new building and an empty lot behind the trees.
Almost at the very center of the photo is a vertical red lit sign "FIN". We ate there our first night & will walk there this evening before a milonga at a teahouse across the street. Small town, everything's easily accessible.
That's it for this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment