The lovely West Baden Resort in French Lick, Indiana is full of symmetric beauty for this week’s challenge.
For more of this fantastic hotel, click here.
Category Archives: Special Places
Lambeau Humanity
An enormous mass of Humanity gathered at Lambeau Field, the third largest NFL stadium, for a Green Bay Packers game. With the capture on the big screen this shot includes most of the 78,000 fans. Go Pack Go!
Roman Masterpiece
After nature, the most majestic masterpiece I have ever seen is the entire city of Rome, Italy. Had to give her a shout out for this challenge, so here stands the Colosseo to represent her. Since everyone on the planet knows what the Roman Colosseum looks like, I took liberty and added some magic to this photo 🙂
More Rome…
Red Rocks Amphitheater
Rolling Stone recently named Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado the best outdoor amphitheater in America. We visited this weekend so I thought I’d share its amazing beauty with my WordPress global community. The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and many more have played here. If you ever get to Colorado, it’s worth the trip and is not far from Denver.
More…
Celebrating Fort Collins Artists
Celebrating the artists who make Old Town Fort Collins, Colorado so very special!
More shots of Fort Collins
Photo Challenge: Up the Poudre Canyon
Looking up the Poudre Canyon, Fort Collins, Colorado. 
Here’s another take on the same photograph since I can’t decide which effect I like best…
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2
More art-a-graphs…
Inside Saint Peter’s Cathedral
Prayers for Pope Francis, that he will be the instrument of courage, strength, wisdom, and humility to bring about the needed changes in the Catholic church. Bless and protect him, Lord!
The jaw dropping beauty that is the altar at Saint Peter’s Cathedral:
The splendor of St Peter’s dome:
More Italian Posts…
Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond
Piazza San Pietro, Roma, and beyond. I cannot get beyond this city, it calls me all the time. Sigh.
“The whole city was captivated by a breezy, lilting rhythm, laced with her past glory and laden with a musical joy.” (by me, from my book which will be self published as soon as I get the copyright 🙂
Related Posts
More thoughts on Rome: Italian Loveliness
More thoughts on beautiful places: Power Behind the Beauty
Italian Loveliness
For those who don’t know me personally, I went to High School in Rome, Italy and have adored that country ever since. In this post, I’m sharing a passage about Eternal Roma from my upcoming book:
And then they discovered Rome. The girls were allowed to bus into the city, so each weekend they fled to the effervescent heart of Italy. Their favorite beginning point was the Spanish Steps, where artists sold their wares and drew caricatures for the tourists under the luminous Italian sky. From there they wandered around town, sipping delicious cappuccino and slurping down gelato.
Over the years, as they explored the streets and historical sites, Noel came to dearly love the radiant beauty of Rome, which bubbled with fresh delight every morning. The whole city was captivated by a breezy, lilting rhythm, laced with her past glory and laden with a musical joy. This melody flowed through the people, who were warm and friendly as they unabashedly indulged themselves in the blessings of life.
It was as if God, after humbling the great Roman Empire, had come back in tenderness and dressed her humility with an even deeper richness. Virtually every inhabitant was a Roman Catholic and, whether practicing or not, held a deep respect for the church. As Noel gazed at the Pietà, the breathtaking Michelangelo sculpture of Mary holding her slain son Jesus, or the splendid Sistine chapel mural of God touching the finger of Adam, she was swept into the pulse of Roman worship and believed.
I love Italy!
More posts on Rome:
Power Behind The Beauty
The North Shore of Oahu did something to me. The moment I stepped out of the car and glanced back at the mist covered mountains, the island atmosphere descended upon me like a cloak.
But it wasn’t just the foggy mist, the fuzzy yet craggy green mountains, the deep blue ocean, or the waves with their white crests rolling into splendid, light blue sea-foam. There was an ethereal beauty that settled silently on my shoulders and seeped into my very soul. It changed my mood, it shifted something deep inside me, it slowed my breathing and swept me into its magical, unearthly presence.
The last time I felt like that was at the Grand Canyon. We drove from Colorado to the North Rim and didn’t stop for a peek until we reached the lodge, located right on the canyon rim. We parked and I ran into the lodge to get my first glimpse through the big bay windows. The magnitude, the grandeur, the overwhelming awesomeness of that scene froze me in my tracks; I lost all sense of time and place for a few moments and stood transfixed, struggling to comprehend such majesty. Later that night we gazed at the unimaginable display of stars and I was overcome by the sheer breadth and width of the sky, so big you could almost see eternity behind it.
And that is what makes these places so special. It’s not just the beauty, it’s what lies behind it. It’s that undeniable sense that there is something bigger than us behind these jewels, so much bigger than us! It is soothing, peaceful, and calm, but it also resonates with strength and power as it displays a glory that leaves us in awe.
“From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what he has made.” Romans 1:20 HCSB
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Horsetooth Mountain Ridge
Thunderstorms With A Touch of Magic
Nuggets of Fire
Gleaning the Nuggets 