The Hunt Moves On

The unhorsed photographer is in position to shoot one pass of the line of fox hunters and then move on. As we were on the way to Church, we moved on in our own direction. Some year I will be in position to move in in following the hunt. The event is so classic, so traditional, that it is a treat to watch in person or through the images.
Next post is out looking for fall color.

On the Hunt

After the dogs and the red-clad leaders go by, a long line of fox hunters follows the trail of the scent. Moving slowly, it is an impressive display. More than one style and color of dress can be seen, but all are formal and traditional. The entire group stays on the path, so any photographer can watch and collect the images that capture this great tradition.
More fox hunt photos in the next post.

Where's the Fox?

Every time we drive to our Church in St. Charles, we drive through a small town called Wayne. North and east of St. Charles, south and east of Elgin, Wayne straddles Army Trail Road west of Rt. 59. As you slow for the no-stoplight main section of town, there is exactly one auto repair shop and one retail store. The store, once a General Store and more recently a Tack Shop, has been closed for some years. The houses are quaint but aging and small along this stretch.
Looks are deceiving, though, as the area away from the enclave is a wealthy area with large plots of land, mansions, and many stables for the owners of horses. And the main claim to fame of Wayne, at the far western edge of DuPage County, is the Wayne-DuPage Fox Hunt.
A year ago, we happened upon the hunt by accident, with no camera and no way to capture the event. This year we were ready, and stopped on the way to Church to watch the traditional event pass us. We will look at some of the images in the next few posts.
So where is the fox? To truly hunt a live fox is not considered humane anymore, so the Wayne-Dupage Hunt is a drag hunt. Before the event, a marker is dragged to drop fox urine along the trail, giving the dogs a true and effective scent. Therefore, no foxes are injured in the event.

Until Next Year

The exhilaration of the jumping is a great place to end the visit to Danada. I certainly intend to return in 2010, hopefully with the grandchildren. One of the best highlights of the fall season.
Next post moves on to another fall event revolving around horses. And a missing animal of another sort!

Another Jumper

As promised, here we see the second horse running through the paces at the jumps. As you see the horse standing still, then beginning to move into the jump and finally launching itself above and across the barrier, the power and grace are just phenomenal. After the horses warm up, the first jumps are low and narrow, but they become wider as well as higher as the demonstration continues.
The ease with which these wonderful animals jump and land, powering their massive bodies over the barriers along with their riders, was the most memorable moment of a fine Sunday afternoon at Danada. Our next post will be there for one more look.

Stars of the Show

While the entire Fall Festival at Danada was delightful, and while there were so many sights to see they cannot all be listed here, there was a clear star of the show to my eyes. My eyes including the lens of my Nikon, of course.
Finding the right location to sit or crouch or stand is the first basic in all pictures, of course, and steeplechase-style jumping is no exception. Once in position, though, the photographer is guaranteed action in a pre-determined location. Just be ready and the horses will show you exactly what you are looking for. At the Festival, two horses took turns doing their routines; one is shown here and the other will be featured in the next post.

Pulling a Cart

This powerful yet gentle animal was impressive, making it hard to take your eyes away from him, running through his paces pulling his cart. We tend to think of "cart horse" as a generic term, not particularly important, but if I owned a cart and intended to ride in it, I would want a reliable, gentle animal who could be entrusted with getting me safely home. This horse was clearly such an animal.
Wonder how well he would do pulling an open sleigh?

Another Strider & a Gaiter

Loved the look in the eyes of this horse, another of the striders we have seen in the previous post. With the tall neck posture, the horse looks so poised until something catches the eye.
The second photo is a gaiter, a horse with a gentle stride that even people with back pain are able to ride. Here the rider demonstrates the smooth gait by carting an egg around the arena on a spoon!
More Danada horses in the next post.

Majestic Striders

One of the demonstration events at the Danada Fall Festival was a variety of horses with different abilities in strides. Two horses in particular, showed a class and majesty that is worth a closer look. Today's photos show the proud neck and the precision movement of the legs in a performance quite easy to enjoy, whether horse and rider were crossing your vision or whether they were headed straight toward you.

Another majestic strider in the next post.

Cowpoke

Sights seen at the Danada Fall Festival included many decorations appropriate to the season, and one well-dressed old cowpoke, wide brim pulled low against the sun, leaning on a fence.

Next post will look at some horses famed for the strides they accomplish. Fascinating detail.

Visit the Stables

Visit the stables at the Danada Fall Festival and have the chance to see the horses up close. Many of the trainers and owners (often the same person) are present and more than willing to talk about the animals and their events. It is easy to see that these magnificent horses are loved and well cared-for.

More views of the horses in the next post.

Horses Everywhere at Danada

Horses everywhere. It was a wonderful afternoon, seeing show horses and draft horses and riding horses and cart horses. The grace and beauty of these animals, many large but other small or amazingly small, is clear. At an event such as the Danada Fall Festival, so much action of so many kinds is jam packed into an afternoon that the scope becomes truly awesome.

And one of the horses dominating the afternoon from me was not there physically but in spirit and in bronze-plaque-marker. Lucky Debonair, winner of the 1965 Kentucky Derby, was trained at Danada and owned by Ada Rice. I worked at a school about four miles from there from 1969 until 2007 and I never knew that until my visit to the Festival. Reminds me again of how young I can be as long as I still seek out new things and new information and new ideas.

More images from the festival in the next post.

Danada Fall Festival

Dan and Ada Rice have and had names as well known in DuPage County as most people, especially since their deaths have turned their Wheaton home into a Forest Preserve District feature. Their names are on public buildings, college facilities, and a major exhibition are at the Art Institute of Chicago. The couples moniker, Danada, is widespread in use in DuPage County. For several years, I have planned to see what their former home was all about. Last week, I did.

Planning to take the grandchildren to see the horses, I was forced to change plans when both Gianna and Joey had fevers and sniffles. But since the Fall Festival is only one day, I decided to check it out for future plans. The 2010 event is already on my calendar!

These two photos are a peek at some of the wonderful seasonal decorations at Danada, provided as a sort of introductory tease. The next post will get into the stars of the show: the horses.

Springfield Illinois Magazine Cover

Our post-Europe decompression plans included an overnight trip to Springfield for a visit to Lincoln's home, the Presidential Museum, his tomb and then to New Salem, his home as a young adult. Several images were featured on these pages recently, and we have just completed the TRAVELING Magazine cover for that trip.

My favorite image of Lincoln this trip was inside the Presidential Museum and outside the tour of Lincoln's young life. The handsome, pensive young man with the crystal eyes shows all the promise of youth and all the innocence of the man who knows not where he is headed with his life. My favorite location this trip was the home Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln occupied during the years just prior to moving into the White House.

Here we see the young Mr. Lincoln daydreaming while sitting atop his future home, with a book in hand and a name plaque from his first business, a General Store in New Salem. Hope you enjoy the magazine!

Next post will be a visit to one of the two equestrian activities that brightened up a pair of Sundays here in mid-October.

Baltic Sea Magazine Cover

My August TRAVELING Magazine cover bases itself on the skyline of Old Town Tallinn. Readers of my blogs during the report on the Europe trip will recall my love for the feeling of freedom in the beautiful city. Above Tallinn is a Russian Church from St. Petersburg, clashed by the ominous sign from the gate of the concentration camp we visited outside Berlin.

Freedom became the key word to the magazine cover and it became the key memory for the trip. As always, it was wonderful to come home to the Land of the Free, the United States.

London Magazine Cover

Recently finished my retrospective look at the Europe trip, and as I have posted earlier, I am publishing my newest issue of TRAVELING Magazine, my original single-page, cover-only collector's edition. Today we see the London issue, including the side trip to Paris.

Image-wise, my memories revolve around Windsor Castle, reputedly the favorite home of Queen Elizabeth II, see here in a view that features the family residence area. Towering over the Castle is a Redcoat-clad, Bearskin-hat wearing Scots Guard on duty at Windsor as well as the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace. An Eiffel Tower elevator pass refers to the Chunnel trip and whirlwind tour of Paris.

Another TRAVELING Magazine in the next post, featuring the Baltic Sea Cruise.

Headed Home

After a pleasant walk along the roads and among the buildings of New Salem, it was time to head for home. A wonderful, vital statue of Lincoln at the age he found himself at New Salem is right at the entrance/exit to the park, and a left turn with a short drive gives you a view of the mill building that is nestled right alongside the road.

Clouds mounted and rain chased us off, happy to have balanced our weeks in Europe with a little look at the heartland of Illinois, the "Land of Lincoln."

Next post will be a look back at our Europe trip in a way we have posted after previous trips.

New Salem

A bit off the beaten path, New Salem is a great place to spend a few hours in a friendly atmosphere not crowded in with tons of tourists. Restored back in the Depression era to look much as it did when the young Lincoln was a shopkeeper, rather than an attorney, the buildings and the sights are refreshing and interesting. Mark it down, stop by New Salem for a look at Lincoln's life before fame.

A few more photos from New Salem in the next post.

Another Replica

Another of the replicas of President Abraham Lincoln found in the corridors of the Presidential Tomb. And this one, too, has been seen more than once. The Daniel French centerpiece of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC is also seen here and in the bright airy light of the Rice Wing in the Art Institute of Chicago. Having seen the two replicas this year, I look forward to seeing the original in 2010. Blog entries of DC should be appearing in July!

Meanwhile, next post will stop in Mr. Lincoln's New Salem.

Lincoln Statues

Inside the Lincoln Tomb, each visitor walks around the perimeter of the building until reaching the burial site exactly opposite the entrance. After seeing the site, one continues out the other side. And in several places along the way, people stop to see replicas of various Lincoln statues from other locations. One had personal interest for me, as I know the original by Saint-Gaudens. It is outside the Chicago History Museum in, of course, Lincoln Park.

This year I have seen the two most famous replicas of the statue in Lincoln Park. One, shown here, is from the marble hallway leading to the resting place. The other is obviously outdoors, where the President stands, just north of Westminster Abbey, looking across at Parliament. In London.

Longtime followers might recognize the London picture, as it was posted here earlier, on July 24, as I began my series of Europe photos. Another replica statue in the next post.

Presidential Rest

Quiet, peaceful, muted light, respectful. Classy. Here is the honored place where Abraham Lincoln, considered by many the greatest President in the history of the Republic, will rest forever. Anyone from Illinois would certainly feel uplifted by the visit.

A look at one of the statues inside the Tomb in the next post.

Good Luck Rub

Several statues of Lincoln in various locations have become noted for bringing luck to those who rub the nose of the figure. This becomes quite obvious over time, as the rubbed areas shine as the rest of the statue ages gracefully.

Outside the Presidential Tomb in Springfield is the statue that I believe began the tradition. First I rubbed, then I snapped the photo. Perhaps if you rub your monitor right on the nose, the Lincoln power will be strong enough to come through the Internet.

Good Luck! We look inside the resting place in the next post.

Lincoln-Herndon Law Office

The Lincoln-Herndon Law Office, where the future President worked on cases, told stories, and wrote his First Inaugural Address, is right across the street from the Old State Capitol in downtown Springfield.

Seeing the desk at which he apparently wrote that speech is a real highlight of a visit.

A trip to Lincoln's last resting place in the next post.

Colorful Rooms

The rooms in President Lincoln's home are quite colorful as we see in these two shots from the family's parlor. Both shots show the bright color of the carpet on the floor, one of the shots in a closeup. The other photos shows a table with a deep red tablecloth and holding one of the family's favorite pastimes: photographs. But these were not just early attempts at photography, these were stereographs. The large wooden box would hold the stereo photos, much like the View-Master photos I had as a child. Since our eyes generate full 3D sight by using the slightly different views of our two eyes, the stereographs show slightly separated views that can be combined in a viewer to see a quite effective 3D view.

Following the relaxed and interesting visit to the Lincoln home, we walked back downtown to another of the future President's favorite places: his law office. Some shots from there in the next post.

Kitchen & Bedroom

Interesting items on display in the various rooms of the Lincoln residence in Springfield are today's focus. The kitchen naturally centers around the stove mentioned in the previous post, an item that has been here for a century and a half. Even on a bright summer day it is easy to see the warmth and aroma that would have surrounded the stove and the kitchen all those years ago.

In another room, we see colorful carpeting in a bedroom. And those of us with indoor plumbing might not understand the pottery bowl under the bed, as we can get up and step to the bathroom when the need occurs. At a time when the facility was an outhouse, sleepers were provided with a handy alternative.

More items from the Lincoln house in the next post.

Home of the President

Nestled in a National Park today, the last home owned by Abraham Lincoln is situated into a small community of period buildings. The house has been tended and refurbished in a major effort that must have hundreds of people involved. When we last visited the site about 18 years ago, the house was in good condition, filled with furniture of the time, but not the furniture owned by the Lincolns. I recall our tour guide telling us that only the cast iron kitchen stove was from the family as it was too heavy to move.

Today the house is in excellent condition, everything well-preserved and easy to see. And many of the rooms feature actual Lincoln furniture and possessions. Photography is encouraged, and we will look into some rooms in the next post. And a unique setup kitty-corner across the street, shows the famous vista of the house as seen through a Civil War-era camera. A nice semi-historical touch.

Lincoln Images

The Lincoln Presidential Museum is bright, airy and beautiful, filled with interesting facts and many life size dioramas of the statesman who is often considered the best President in the history of the Republic. Images of family members, scenes from campaigns and wartime, and speculative looks at the life the famed President when he was miles away and years earlier than the fame that was to come.

Perhaps my favorite image from the entire museum is outside a cabin mockup featuring scenes from Lincoln growing up. As you see, a pensive young man, book in hand, seated on a stump. A fine image and a great experience.

Next post will visit the last home the President owned, his home before he left for the White House.