Riding a Harley

Hill Climber on a Harley

Hill Climber on a Harley © 2008

Milwaukee is readying itself for the descent of 500,000 Harly-Davidson bikers, all coming to town this Thursday through Sunday for the company’s 105th Anniversary party. Yes, the city will nearly double in size in a matter of days as half a million Harleys and their riders come together in one big demonstration of enthusiasm/love for the cycle that made Milwaukee famous. (Hmm, that might have been another product’s slogan, but the saying goes for Harleys too.)

This statue of a Hill Rider, modeled after a rider and his competition cycle produced in 1930, stands at the entrance to the new Harley Davidson Museum. An H-D artist and enthusiast, Jeff Decker from Springville, Utah, created the bronze sculpture by welding 200 pieces together. It was unveiled earlier this summer at the Museum located just south of downtown Milwaukee.

If you love bikes, it’s a museum well worth your time.

Lake Michigan through the Eyes of the Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee Art Museum on the shores of Lake Michigan

Milwaukee Art Museum © 2008 Bo Mackison

Milwaukee Art Museum on the shores of Lake Michigan

Say Milwaukee and what do people think of? Beer? Bowling? Laverne and Shirley? Actually when I think of visiting Milwaukee, it is usually in anticipation of attending Summerfest, the biggest music festival in the world – draws over a million people every year – or visiting the Milwaukee Art Museum.

The Museum is an amazing place. The newer addition is a “moving winged affair” designed by internationally acclaimed architect, Santiago Calatrava. It’s a great museum, and it has a large collection of paintings by one of my favorites, Georgia O’Keeffe. And the museum is on Lake Michigan’s shores, so spending a summer day there is usually delightful.

Polar Bear Roll

One for the money:

One for the Money

One for the Money © 2008 Bo Mackison

Two for the show:

Two for the Show

Two for the Show © 2008 Bo Mackison

Three to get ready:

Three to Get Ready

Three to Get Ready © 2008 Bo Mackison

Four – slide in the SNOW!

Slide in the Snow

Slide in the Snow © 2008 Bo Mackison

Gray Scale

Grey Scale

Gray Scale © 2008 Bo Mackison

This big guy was one of only a few animals outside at the zoo on this chilly winter morning, though he didn’t seem to mind the 27˙F. weather. While I took his picture, he fed himself his breakfast hay swinging his trunk up and down.

I was so amazed at the dexterity of his trunk, I checked out a few facts about elephants on Wikipedia. This is an Asian elephant – only one “finger” around the lip of his trunk. (The African elephant has two.) And what I found most amazing – scientists estimate there are between 40,000 and 100,000 muscles in an elephant’s trunk. The trunk is such a finely tuned instrument, an elephant can as easily pick up a single blade of grass as he can tear down a medium sized tree. Check out the facts about elephants on Wiki and you’ll come away amazed. Guaranteed.

Milwaukee County Zoo
Milwaukee, WI
March 1, 2008

Take a Seat

Go Find a Seat

Go Find a Seat © 2008 Bo Mackison

After tramping around the zoo for a couple of hours, I realized not only was the snack bar closed, I couldn’t even find a seat for a rest.

Milwaukee County Zoo
Milwaukee, WI
March 1, 2008