Facing off

If this blog had more readers, I would engage them in a couple of contests, such as Most Beautiful Ohio River Bridge Face-off. Round 1, Roebling vs. Ironton-Russell; Huntington East End vs. Natcher; Sciotoville Railroad vs. Wheeling Suspension; U.S. Grant vs. Blennerhassett Island.

Or a Most Photogenic Towboat: O. Nelson Jones vs. Linda Reed; Charleston vs. Lelia C. Shearer; Detroit vs. Lee Synnott; R. Clayton McWhorter vs. Fred Way.

Hmm. On the boats, I'd probably have to add four more to keep some people happy: Buckeye State, J.S. Lewis, Bridgett Cauley and the Jackson H. Randolph, perhaps. Four boats would have to get first round byes, and now that I think about it, maybe one of these would survive the first round.

As far as the bridges go, it's been so long since I've been to the upper and lower ends of the river that I'm probably forgetting a few that should be on here.

Or I would ask all three of my readers for their thoughts on which cities and/or small towns look best from the river, day and night divisions.

The thing about contests is they reveal as much about the biases of the organizers and the judges as they do about the people or things being judged.

Maybe I'll put all this in the back of my mind for a series later. Any reasonable thoughts out there are welcome. Or if you want to go ahead and share your thoughts on who would win any of these face-offs, I'm open.

Black and white, part 4

Last summer, Adam and I watched the Mary Ellen Jones pass Huntington. Adam was wearing his AEP River Transportation cap that the folks on the Hoosier State had given him a couple of months before.

There may be 10, 11 or 12 parts in this series. I haven't decided yet. Some photos are good, and some just miss being good, but I like looking at them and talking about them anyway.

I have, though, chosen the final photo in the series. It's one of my favorites in black and white.

Although, this one turned out better than I thought it would. It might end up as my favorite.