Tag: Houston TX
Wednesday Night Photo Post: New = Improved
Sunday Driving: Seeing the Sights Otherwise Not Seen
A Sunday drive around the Houston we never visit had me missing our camera. Fortunately, Google’s all-seeing eye will eventually eliminate the need for cameras, eyes and and, eventually, memory. Included in our adventures were unexpected sculptures, roads less taken and a four-lane path to salvation. I’ll start with the roadside art.
Near the 610 and 288 interchange, a collection of steel sculptures; a standing figure, flying planes, a roadrunner, a spider and more all live along the Frontage Road. Geocentric website Platial (“What and Who’s Nearby”) has a local user (ShootHouston) who attributes the works to the Texas Pipe & Supply Company. So… it must be true. Google Earth does seem to back it up, with a collection of industrial buildings and stacks of pipes neighboring the art.
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After that, it was a visit to the Buddha Light Monastery, which we read about on Swamplot. The for-sale property had a big, unkempt lot, a cute house, a large garage/shed building, the temple structure and separate bathroom facilities. For a working artist with a desire to be removed from the Houston inner loop, this would be a great place to create far (but not too far) from the city and its distractions. Live in the house, make art in the garage, display it in yard or covert the temple to a gallery (easy!). When we stopped by, it looked like a black church congregation was looking at the property. It would be perfect for that too.
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Lastly, the large statue off Synott Rd. is part of the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple Houston JET Vedic Learning Center.. This stretch of road is chock-full of churches, temples and houses of worship, making it a place that I hope to revisit once a camera is purchased.
Wednesday Night Photo Post: The Odd and the Childish
This last month has been adventure-free, thus explaining my few actual blog posts. While the photoposts have been a lazy way of adding a weekly update to the blog, they were never meant to be the main content of the site. That being said… here is this week’s photo post.
Stickers from the Children’s Museum of Houston adorn the corner street signs near the venue. The closer to the main entrance, the more complete the coverage.
Sign at the Heights Lodge 225, Independent Order of Odd Fellows – Houston TX, originally uploaded by Mr. Kimberly.
The 14th St. Odd Fellows Lodge. Home to the David G. Burnett Museum of Texas History. Oh, you know I got to see that place!
Wednesday Night Photo Post: Other Houston Photographers – Nighttime at IAH
More Things I Will Never Do: Dangerous Exploration of Unusual Places
Between marriage and cowardice, I have an aversion to risky behavior. While I would love to skydive, I’ve been informed that that is no longer an option (as is going to a strip club, which I never did despite 5 years single spent in New Orleans). While the idea of exploring abandoned buildings has intrigued me for some time, it will never happen. So it is through others I live vicariously, and no more so than the folks of Sleepy City.
If it was just exploring forgotten century-old tunnels behind the base of Niagara Falls or an abandoned rocket aimed at the center of the earth, that would be more than enough. But the adventures of visiting unused Soviet-era bases in Mongolia are just the icing on the cake. Living a dream I never even thought of having, these guys just amaze. So, scoff at their intentions or even disbelieve that anyone would even take an adventure like that. For me, it is proof that these guys carry on the traditions of great explorers long before them, this time with digital cameras and tattoos.
Other UE sites I like:
- No Promise of Safety – click this link and be in awe of a kid with steel nads!
- Infiltration – “…The zine about going places you’re not supposed to go…” I got all 24 issues.
- Urban Exploration Resource – “…Featuring Urban Exploration stories and a huge database of locations and pictures…” Houston included.
- Forbidden Places – Huge list of sites, introduced me to the Canfranc railway station
- UE on HAIF – 5 year-old tales of local adventure on the Houston Architecture Info Forum.
Neon Poisoning 