JDW Photos and Life

The second goal of our trip was to visit the Kentucky Derby museum at Churchill Downs. We also took a tour of the infield. I'm quite certain that this will be as close as I ever get to the Kentucky Derby! The tour guide did a nice job summarizing the history of Churchill Downs. It had a pretty rough start and history with far more humble beginnings that the monster today. The "recent" owners had a vision and really made it into the spectacle it is today. I'm always impressed hearing such stories as I am pretty confident that I am missing that gene (and that's OK). Some people can just think and dream big but I'm not one of them. The tour entered the starting gate entrance (first photo) and we were proceeded to the ground level seats. The starting gate is a fair distance (1/4 mile?) from the finish line but there is an 8 story video board (didn't photo) essentially across from these seats to see the race and finish. The "millionaire club" seats ar

Wow! Again, I'm amazed at the number of people passing on their congratulations to Chris. Thank you and I'll be sure to tell him (he is also receives these notes). Many leaders and organizations in the Army use challenge coins to recognize significant contributions of individuals. Some coins are handed out like candy and are nice to get but not necessarily all that special - almost like a nice business card. The opposite of that is when that coin is presented by high command recognizing specific contributions or a deployment. Chris has accumulated "many" coins in his time and I saw an idea for a display he might like. As you see in the photo, it is a wooden flag with 9 mm casings for coin support. I used bloodwood (red), maple (white), and walnut (appreciate the beautiful grain in the second photo!) (blue star field) - no dies or stains. I used a template for the stars, laid down painters tape on the walnut, and then cut each star using an x-acto knife. Donnice then p

We just returned from another July 4 timeframe trip to Ft. Knox to visit Chris and Lauren. The timing of the trip was set by Chris' promotion to Lt. Colonel. If you know much about the military, that's a pretty big deal and we were fortunate enough to attend. I'll share a few photos (took very few) from the trip over the next few days starting with the promotion. The promotion ceremony included a re-issue of the oath of office as seen in the first photo. The second photo is the obligatory family portrait. The third photo is where Lauren rips off his old insignia to reveal the new. The turnout was great and we got to hear multiple stories of how Chris has helped fellow Army soldiers in their careers. The presiding Colonel had particularly gracious words about Chris' contributions and attitude. Army Aviation is a tight-knit group of soldiers. Thanks, Doug White https://jdwarchive.blogspot.com/

Another couple and the two of us went to the Texas play in Palo Duro Canyon on the Thursday prior to the reunion events. We at BBQ at the site and you can see clouds were forming up on the Northeast horizon - a bit different than those stark blue skies in the photos yesterday. That is one thing I miss about the panhandle - you can see very long distances as weather moves in. The Texas play had just opened about a week prior plus a mid-week night made for a crowd between 1/3 and 1/2 capacity. The photos of the stage and surrounding  amphitheater  were taken prior to the show. It would have been really fun to take photos during the show but that was forbidden (not unexpected). The show started at 8 with an intermission about 9. Heavy clouds were moving in along with wind and much cooler temperatures. It was pretty neat as the timing of the real weather coincided with the play's scenes of weather challenges for the early settlers. We even saw some lightening to the North just before t