UTEP

This is the start of our Southwest Trip. We are going to be visiting Las Cruces, Phoenix, and Scottsdale. When we got to the stadium we were only expecting to see the stadium from the outside but the grounds crew was cleaning up the stadium for the Sun Bowl. They left a gate open as they used leaf blowers to clean the stadium. This allowed us to go inside to stadium.

The Start of the Play

To start the play, the center hikes the ball to the quarterback. I was able to take this picture after the ball left the center's hand but before it was able to reach the quarterback's hands. You can see the wide receiver, number 13, running across to fake out the defense trying to give the Texas Longhorns extra yards.

Moments Before Kickoff

The kicker places the ball on the tee then walks back 10 yards. The rest of the team lines up with him before running as the kicker kicks the ball. It is a flag if a person on the offense passes the ball before it is kicked. I took this shot exactly a quarter second before the kicker kicked it. He kicked the ball so fast that after half a second the ball was off of the screen.

On the Run

Texas's quarterback Sam Ehlinger was on the run before throwing the ball away. One of the hardest things to do as a quarterback is run and throw at the same time. This is why if you see a quarterback on the run, the ball is normally not accurate.

Tripped

On the second play after the touchdown, this Texas Tech player caught the ball then ran for a short amount of time before getting tripped up by a Texas defensive player. The Texas player Deshon Elliott grabbed the Texas Tech player's leg and didn't let go until the play was over.

Diving for the Touchdown

As number Hemphill-Mapps dives for the touchdown, several Texas Tech players try to stop him. He ended up getting the touchdown. He was tackled by three Texas Tech players but number 1 pushed him over the line.

Air Time

This looks like one of the hardest hits that I have ever seen. As the Texas Tech player jumped into the air, he was tackled mid-air. He was thrown backward and lost a yard from the catch. Luckily he walked back up and played the next play, which he again caught the ball and was tackled hard again. I guess this is just how football is.

Kick Off

As we start both the game between Texas and Texas Tech and this new series, this picture of the kickoff comes first. Texas kicked it off to Texas Tech who returned the ball to the 27-yard line. In this picture, we can see several Texas players about to tackle the Texas Tech player. The tackle happened just after this picture but someone stood up and blocked my shot.

Lazy Squirrel

On a fence, I found this squirrel just laying with one arm off and the other on the fence. I wonder if he was trying to fall asleep. Probably not because it was around 11:00 am and because as soon as I shot this picture he darted to the right. I have taken hundreds of pictures of animals but never have I found a picture this weird.

Red Bird

Here is yet another very interesting bird. It is only found in North America, excluding Alaska and northern Canada. Like yesterdays picture, this red bird has a nut in its mouth. They must be really hungry. They also are very sensitive to humans, this was the closest I got to any red bird before it flew away.

Bird Breakfast

Early in the morning, the sun was shining from behind the trees. It made the blackbird even more black. Not only is the blackbird standing with his head sideways, but it has a nut in its mouth. If the blackbird didn't have the nut in its mouth, then it would have been just a regular photo.

Blue Bird

While pigeons are common in most places in North America, bluebirds are only found in the western states. Their bright blue wings and body make them stand out among other birds. Even against a bright blue sky, they stand out. This Bluebird was eating a nut which his why he is looking down. Two things that could make this better is if I could have zoomed in more and the bird was looking up.

Birds In Flight

I was hoping to get a close up of a bird in flight, but no bird would come close to me. I saw several flocks of birds flying overhead but they weren't directly over me. I wish I could zoom in on birds and cut out the top of the sky. Then the size of the picture would have a lower resolution and become a terrible picture.

Taking Off

While I was taking pictures of this bird, it took off on me. Like most of my good pictures, I thought I missed my chance. Luckily when I looked at the pictures I saw this. I was extremely happy. We can see the bird's individual wings which are surprisingly small. This might be my favorite picture of all time.

Pigeon

While pigeons may just be birds that annoy us and poop on our cars, they are also cool to photograph.  They have a white stripe on their side which contrasts there brown body.  I also like how the sky is not overly bright and doesn't ruin the picture.

Funeral

A normal funeral procession goes like this, a military band plays followed by a horse-drawn carriage with the body followed by the family and their supporters. This happens most of the time, 28 times per day. Today, there are more than 400,000 people buried there. Some people are worried because they are running out of space to put all of the bodies. They fear they will have to bury the military members at a different place. This is the last picture of the Washington D.C. trip. Next, we will be back in Dallas with pictures of nature in the fall.

Arlington National Cemetery

This is the sight of Robert E. Lee's original house. As the Civil War started, he was part of the Confederation but could see the Union's Headquarters, Washington D.C., from his bedroom. He ended up moving south soon after the war started. After the war ended, more than 17,000 people were buried there. Since Robert didn't want to live with the dead, his son sold the property to Congress.

Pentagon

On the second stop of our night tour, we went to the Pentagon Memorial. This memorial represents the people who died during 9/11 at the Pentagon. The benches show the where the person died. If you read the name faces away from the Pentagon, they were on the plane if the name reads to the Pentagon, they died in the Pentagon.

Civil War to World War

In the back of this picture is the Lincoln Memorial. Abraham Lincoln was the president during the Civil War. In front of that is the World War II Memorial. The president during that war was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Both of these presidents did great things to America. Lincoln abolished slavery and Roosevelt got us out of the Great Depression.

Lincoln Memorial Reflection

I walked to the backside of the World War II Memorial to find this. The clear night with no wind provided me with this amazing picture. The water was clear, still and mirrored the Memorial almost perfectly. There is a slight fuzz but you can definitely tell what this is without seeing the top half.