Daniel and I went down to Indianapolis, Indiana and saw our friends JR and Steph for breakfast then we went on to Russellville to visit his niece Ashlee. Daniel brought hair extensions and all his styling stuff to make Ashlee perfect for her Senior prom. Following are photos of she and Dan, her date (we saw her dad Gene and brother Michael). IMG_6787 Our good friends Melissa and Steve let us stay in their house in Indianapolis even though they were out of town - they even left us cookies! IMG_6789 Such a comfortable place - it even had GE appliances! IMG_6792 Ultra-realistic (or post-modernist) flowers IMG_6795 It's Yertle the Turtle! IMG_6798 Steve is a quite accomplished artist and architect and he made these cardboard levels of interlocking stairways during school I believe IMG_6799 IMG_6804 Thankfully Steve didn't have to go to school starting in 1922, but these are some interesting schematics from Milwaukee Public Schools Boys Technical High School from March 9, 1922 IMG_6812 Fascinating beads hanging from the ceiling IMG_6820 Spring reaches Indiana faster than Wisconsin... IMG_6828 Next we met my friend JR and his wife Stephanie and their son Ashton for breakfast at a quiant bagle shop in Broadripple. What fun toys children get! IMG_6830 Here JR and Steph secure Ashton into his stroller for a walk. IMG_6831 Again...early spring...whee... IMG_6833 Ice delivery is very useful IMG_6835 This was a very nice set of trails in Broadripple (and beyond I think) - the Monon Rail-Trail (the name sounds kind of ominous like a war memorial or something though...) IMG_6837 A colorful bridge IMG_6838 If you feed one... IMG_6844 A colorful flag next to a salon IMG_6848 Daniel, Steph, and JR IMG_6851 Ashton IMG_6852 Sadly someday old people will say "I remember when gas was only $3.49 a gallon" - hopefully they'll also say "I remember when cars ran on gasoline...or even oil derivatives" IMG_6856 Driving out to Russellville - what a pretty piece of infrastructure IMG_6869 The theme of the prom was "Midnight at the Oasis" IMG_6872 Daniel brought all his fancy Paul Mitchell tools and products IMG_6877 Luckily the extensions he purchased (for something like $90) were almost the exact shade of Ashlee's hair IMG_6879 Her nails were already done IMG_6882 Lots of curls IMG_6885 It's ALIVE..well it was alive...or came from a real living person at least IMG_6890 The screws that Michael (Ashlee's brother) works with for plating/machining/etc IMG_6892 Doesn't Ashlee look pretty? IMG_6894 IMG_6896 IMG_6900 Enter Ashlee left IMG_6903 Ashlee and Dan pre-fancy clothes IMG_6908 Photos by rustic buildings are always nice IMG_6915 Trees are good too IMG_6925 Kids these days and their cellular telephony devices! IMG_6926 Just one last finishing touch IMG_6931 IMG_6934 The gas station was closed in Russellville, but when the population is 340 I suppose one can wait or head to another town for gas IMG_6935 Gene drove us around a tour of the countryside near Russellville and here's quite a grand publics work project likely to put into a new water line IMG_6941 Could Betsy Ross have concieved of fuzzy dice with an American Flag theme? IMG_6951 Covered bridges were built because it improved the lifetime of the bridge by a factor of 8 or so (80 years versus 10) due to protection of structural elements from the weather. It also helped that cattle were less startled when transported over covered bridges. IMG_6956 This building was the first general store in the area and is quite old, but not too operational anymore IMG_6958 This is obviously a modified photo - in this space used to be a neat tree with a harvester or other conveyor belt routed from the branches down to a rock to appear as a giant slingshot. However, all that was left of the tree was a burnt stump so either the owner decided to burn the tree to get rid of wacky tourists taking photos or someone wanted to neutralize this weapon of mass destruction before it fell into enemy hands. IMG_6959 See the definition of quaint - a place for the childrens to wait for the bus! IMG_6960 Driving around the countryside in a pickup truck Return to Features