In the Jungle!

Fireworks during the player intros - taken with my blackberry.

Back in the day, when I used to school my little brother in Super Tecmo football (playing with the Bengals of course), I used to annoy him greatly playing CCR's "Run through the Jungle" or singing the first line of GNR's "Welcome to the Jungle." So it brought a smile to my face when portions of both songs were played to pump up the crowd before kickoff at the Bengals vs Bears game at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati this last Sunday (Riverfront stadium was the original "Jungle" but the name has transferred over to the new stadium as well). What a great afternoon of football! The Bengals dominated and I had a blast... I also got to spend some quality time with an old college friend and his dad and once again saw their Bears fall to my Bengals. Poor guys... I'm glad they are good sports! Below are some photos of the game and stadium. Enjoy and click on a photo for a larger file to view.

Bengal offense at midfield

Palmer throws to OchoCinco

The Ocho getting some YAC (yards after catch)

Cedric Benson looks for the hole

And gets through for a 8 or 9 yard gain

Carson Palmer double pumps and sees Chad breaking free in the endzone.

Chad looks the ball in

Squeezes it and does the toe tap... Bengals up 14-0

This shot shows you our seats and the photos above were taken with my long lens from that seat.

Panoramic of the Paul Brown Stadium from the opposite side of where were sitting. The skyline of Cincy is in the background and Great American Ballpark (where the Reds play) is in the background right.

Autumn in Sica Hollow

I was able to spend some time in Sica Hollow State Park near Sisseton, SD on Saturday. Pretty amazing place... The weather varied from sunny to light rain and everything was already wet and saturated due to rain the previous day. The fall foilage is not quite at full peak, but very eye catching nonetheless and it made for a good day of photography. I recently purchased a new Canon 7D and also took my Canon 50D along to get the photos below. Hopefully later I'll be able to post some video that the 7D captured as well and a panoramic or two. Hard to believe a reasonably priced still camera allows you to shoot high end 1080p video, but it does and it's amazing! Click on the image for a larger file to view and thanks for looking!

Sumac bushes in the foreground and Sica Hollow in the background.

Sumac leaves up close.

Ladybug hiding in the Sumac bush berries.

Hiking the hollow makes you feel like you are in a true forest.

Leaves on the forest floor.

The mid-afternoon sun highlights the orange and yellows of the turning trees.

A horse trail that I hiked.

A stream along the horse trail.

Fallen leaves on the stream's boulders make for an interesting photo.

Most of the fallen limbs had moss and mushrooms all over them.

Scene from the park road that winds through the hollow.

Various colors of foliage under a rainy sky.

It was raining lightly and getting late in the day as I left... If you get a chance, check out Sica Hollow, especially beautiful in the fall!