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The guard tower and Milky Way. Bright object to the right is Jupiter. (Click on photo to enlarge) One goal was to try and do some night sky photos of the structures at Minidoka. Thankfully, the site is far enough outside of Twin Falls that you get a…

A mostly tin man, with axe, on Hunt Road, on the way to the Minidoka site.  (Click on pictures to enlarge) My photographer friend Ken and I (see his excellent blog, http://greatvisualtruths.blogspot.com/ ), along with Ann’s help, are on the lookout for photos of what we call the…

Tattos AND aquariums! Last Saturday I joined Hanako and another park employee, Sam, at a local restaurant called Koto Brewery. Across the street was a really interesting business called Churchman’s Tidepool Room. Their sign says it is a, “Tattoz & Body Piercing * Salt and Freshwater Fish” as…

Minidoka rangers Hanako and Annette.  (click on images to enlarge) I thought I would introduce the two park service rangers I’ve been working with here at Minidoka, Hanako and Annette. They work out of a small temporary visitor center that used to be the house of the Hermann…

A panoramic view of much of the historic site. (Click on images to enlarge) As a historic site, Minidoka is doing an amazing job of telling the history of the camp, the daily life under pretty horrible conditions, and showing visitors a small part of what was at…

(Click on images to enlarge) I’m standing in the high desert of southern Idaho twelve miles northeast of Twin Falls. The sun is bright and puffy clouds gather on the eastern horizon. I’m reading a plaque that marks the Minidoka Relocation Center, a concentration camp that incarcerated Japanese…

We both get presented lei at the ‘Iolani School Community Night talk Ann and I were in Honolulu last week without anytime to post to the blog. Not on vacation, but working as the ‘Iolani School 2019 McDowell-Oda Chair for Communications and Journalism. Christine, an old friend of…

The beautiful lei of real flowers given to me by ranger Honeygirl. Aloha Honeygirl and Haleakala! Last Friday was my final day of the residency and I said aloha to Haleakala and the rangers. Honeygirl gave me a parting gift of a beautiful lei, this one made of…

Starry night over a coconut tree. (Click on images to enlarge) Many people have told me and Ann, “If Stan is in Maui, he has to take The Road to Hana!” A return trip to the Kipahulu section of Haleakala was in my plans, so this past Monday…

Youshikazu Yamauchi points out stars with a green laser for his “Maui All-Stars” star gazing tour. (Click on image to enlarge). The great thing about being in a national park is that you meet all sorts of visitors who come for all sorts of reasons. Three times I’ve…