Once you’ve said Buzzi Unicem Cement Plant at night, you’ve said it all. Click on the photo to make it larger.
Here’s a link to some other cement plant stories.
Associated Sheet Metal Eagle
I drove down Lee Avenue in Jackson hoping to find some interesting pictures of Kasten Masonry Sales. On the way down to where the road deadends, I spotted this eagle catching a fish sculpture.
At first glance, it looked too back-lit to be good, so I made a mental note to come back on a day when the light was better. When I looked at it tonight, I decided it wasn’t that bad.
The only problem was that I didn’t know the name of the company.
Google was my friend
Google, as usual, was my friend. I used Google Maps to find the street, then switched to Google Earth.
Not only could I see the company’s buildings, but I saw a shadow of the sculpture on the ground. I switched to Streetview and “drove” along Lee Ave. until I spotted the eagle, and lucked out that a sign reading Associated Sheet Metal Company was attached to it.
So, that’s how you can find out stuff.
Johnson’s Shut-ins 2014
I’m pretty sure the last time I was at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park in Reynolds county to take photos was around 1978. Even though the pictures are old, the post still gets lots of hits. There must be a lot of interest in the park.
Photo gallery of Johnson’s Shut-Ins
You can go to my earlier post to read some of my recollections of going to the park when I was a kid, and you can go to the state’s website for official information. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.
St. Louis City Museum
Kid Matt, Sarah and Malcolm made a trek to the St. Louis City Museum when they were in MO in the summer of 2013. He had the advantage of having a young kid along who would try anything, as these photos will prove.
Curator Jessica and I got to the joint just before closing on a chilly, rainy afternoon, and she didn’t even want to ride the Ferris wheel on the building’s roof.
She kept muttering something like “You’re standing on a banana peel on the steps to eternity, but I’ve got a lot of life left, and I don’t intend to die on a Ferris wheel in St. Louis.”
Everybody was friendly
When we pulled into the parking lot, the attendant said, “We’re going to close in an hour, so I’m not going to charge you for parking.” That earned him one of Miz Jessica’s super-fine homemade-and-carried-from-Ohio cookies.
The same thing happened at the admission desk. Instead of paying $17 for museum and rooftop access, we were only charged $8. All of the workers we met were friendly and helpful.
I got her on the Ferris wheel
With a lot of pressure and a fair amount of shaming, I got Miz Cautious Curator on the Ferris wheel. In return, she made me hop into the dark hole that was a 10-story spiral slide. I didn’t have time to get claustrophobic, but I did get slightly concerned when the rubber soles of my shoes caused me to hang up on some of the tight turns. I wish I had asked earlier how they flush the tunnel of stopped-up slidees.
City Museum photo gallery
Here is a sample of what we were able to see in about an hour. We didn’t spend any time in the museum proper. Your kids will love this place. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to mover through the gallery. Go to the City Museum website for more information.
