Posting will be paused for two weeks while I take some time off

I will post adventures from my travel when I return.

This week’s post will be delayed one day.

My blog is taking a holiday this week.

I will be away for the internet.

Stay safe and see you next week.

“Essentially what photography is life lit up.” — Sam Abell

Various photos from this week. This week we visited all the Great Lakes and the headwaters of the Mississippi River on our way to the WCA North American Rubik’s Cube compitition.

Sunday, 07/14/2024: Posted photo — Lake Ontario.

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border spans the center of the lake.

Average depth: 283 ft (86 m)
Fish: Chinook salmon, Walleye, Lake trout, Atlantic salmon, Coho salmon, Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Largemouth bass
Area: 7,320 mi²
Outflow location: Saint Lawrence River
Cities: Toronto, Rochester, Hamilton, Mississauga
Length: 193 mi
Inflow source: Niagara River.

Monday, 07/15/2024: Posted photo — Lake Erie.

Lake Erie is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest average water residence time.

Average depth: 62 ft (19 m)
Fish: Walleye, Smallmouth bass, Yellow perch, Bigmouth buffalo
Islands: Pelee Island, South Bass Island, Johnson’s Island
Area: 9,940 mi²
Cities: Erie, Cleveland, Buffalo, Toledo, Monroe, Port Colborne
Deepest spot: 210 ft.

Tuesday, 07/16/2024: Posted photo — Lake Huron.

Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan.

Fish: Walleye, Lake trout, Smallmouth bass, Lake sturgeon
Islands: Manitoulin Island
Area: 23,012 mi²
Volume: 850 cubic miles
Cities: Port Huron, Goderich, Sarnia, Alpena, Bay City, Cheboygan, Saginaw, Owen Sound, St. Ignace
Length: 206.3 mi

Wednesday, 07/17/2024: Posted photo — Lake Michigan.

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

Average depth: 279 ft (85 m)
Fish: Lake trout, Yellow perch, Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, Bowfin
Area: 22,406 mi²
Islands: Beaver Island, South Manitou Island
Cities: Chicago, Milwaukee, Michigan City, Muskegon, Holland

The Mackinac bridge is the third longest suspension bridge in the world. It is the longest suspend bridge in the western hemisphere. It was the longest when it was built. It goes over the Mackinac straight between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Thursday, 07/18/2024: Posted photo — Lake Superior.

Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third-largest freshwater lake by volume, holding 10% of the world’s surface fresh water.

Fish: Lake trout, Walleye, Lake whitefish, Muskellunge
Area: 31,700 mi²
Islands: Isle Royale
Volume: 2,903 cubic miles
Cities: Duluth, Thunder Bay, Marquette, Superior, Sault Ste. Marie
Water capacity: 2,900 cubic miles

Friday, 07/19/2024: Post photo — Lake Itasca.

Lake Itasca is a small glacial lake, approximately 1.8 square miles in area. It is located in Itasca State Park, in south-eastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north-central Minnesota, and is notable for being the headwater of the Mississippi River.

Outflow location: Mississippi River
Fish: Bluegill, Largemouth bass, Muskellunge, Black crappie, Brown bullhead
Average depth: 20–35 ft (6–11 m)
Area: 1.815 mi²
Acres: 1065-acre
Islands: Schoolcraft Island
Location: Itasca State Park, Clearwater County, Minnesota, US

Some people call Nicollet Creek the headwaters since it flows into Lake Itasca.

Saturday, 07/20/2024: Post photo — North American Championship.

Traveled out to Minneapolis to be at the North American Rubix’s Cube Championship. My son competed and was on staff. My wife was also on staff. I put in my staff application in too late to be on staff.

Max Park set the world record in the 7x7x7 (single) and 6x6x6 (average) cube at the time I wrote this post. The featured event is Sunday, the 3x3x3 where he has the word record of 3.13 seconds.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.

“Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” — Diane Arbus

Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.

This week is full of sunrises and sunsets.

Sunday, 08/20/23: Posted photo — Sunrise at the Beach.

On one of my past vacations, I took a sunrise walk on the beach with my camera. During the walk, I saw this great sunrise. I stopped and took this photo.

Monday, 08/21/23: Posted photo — Jax Beach Sunrise.

I just loved the way the sunrise looked as we walked to the beach. I timed it to get the bird in the photo.

Tuesday, 08/22/2023: Posted photo — Sunrise at the Pier.

One of my trips to Jacksonville Beach Florida, I took another sunrise walk. I saw this heron near the shore and near the pier. I just loved the silhouette of the bird, so I took this shot.

Wednesday, 08/23/2023: Posted photo — Lightning at Sea.

We had a condo on the beach and there was a storm at sea. I set my camera on my tripod and set the timer for 15 second. I liked the way this photo came out but was disappointed that I did not set my timer at 30 seconds.

Thursday, 08/24/2023: Posted photo — Sunrise on Wachusett.

Morning winter hike up Wachusett Mountain for sunrise. There was a small coating of ice on the summit. The sunshine on the ice took a great photo.

Friday, 08/25/2023: Post photo — Sunset at the Cape.

One thing my wife and I do is have a weekend away on Cape Cod during the off season. This was one of the sunsets we saw.

Saturday, 08/26/2023: Post photo — Sunset on Wachusett.

Here is a pleasant sunset from the summit of Wachusett Mountain.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe. For more photo of other project I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

No post this week.

My birthday week and a family reunion has taken up most of my time.

See you next week.

On a much needed vacation to the city of Pittsburg, PA to see our son compete in the CubingUSA Nationals 2023. He qualified in eight different events: 3×3 one hand, 5×5, 4×4, 6×6, skewb, 2×2, Pyraminx, and the 3×3. He plans on just doing one round of each and then he is on staff, entering the times of the solves.

When rented a home for out time here since it is less expensive then staying at a hotel. When we arrived, we were greeted by a couple of deer. The place we are renting is close to the city yet away from the city.

On the first day of the competition, our son competed in the 3×3 one hand and the 5×5. The 3×3 one hand is solving the 3×3 cube using only one hand. Here is a photo of him solving the cube one handed.

During the day, I took a walk around downtown Pittsburg looking for a location to purchase a light rail ticket for our son so that he can travel to and from the competition. He is working on staff so he will be traveling earlier in the morning than we need to be there and will be there later in the evening. The light rail station is only a five minute walk from the place we rented.

Day two of the competition, some of the top solvers in the world were there. Whenever they would solve, a crowd would gather. The only event without a crowd was the 3×3 multi blind. The winner solved 54 out of 60 cubes blindfolded in the one hour allotted for the event. The former world record holder in the larger cubes (5×5, 6×6, 7×7) did not have the following he once had. The current world record holder in the 3×3, 4×4, 5×5, 6×6, 7×7 had a crowd around him. The current world record holder has autism and started cubing to improve his motor skill and social skills. He still have the mind of a young person, but his mind is sharp. Our son completed in the 4×4 and 6×6 today skipping the skewb event. He would have completed in the skewb, but he did not hear his round get called since he was entering data.

Here are some more things that I saw around the city.

Day three started at the comp and ended at the Pirates vs Phillies baseball game at PNC park. This is my second trip to this park. Not as good as Fenway. The park is clean with all seats facing the field.

As the game continued, it looked like the Phillies fans outnumbered the Pirates fans. Both teams played sloppy. Being a fan in the best division in baseball, the American League East, I am used to better played games.

Great moon over the park. I only took my cell phone and not my good camera.

The Pirates came back to win 7-6.

Due to the unexpected death of my oldest brother, I will not be posting photos this week.

I have been away most of the week so I was unable to compose a post.

Here is a sunrise photo I took this week to tie you over.