My reconnaissance

Kaddy-corner from the 'brary is a fifteen-story tall Holiday Inn. I go over there occasionally to buy a soda during the day. It gets me out of the office and into the elements and helps break up the day. For years I have been walking past the elevators that take guests up to their rooms. Today I decided to check out the view from up there.

I am a sucker for a good view. I love being up high and looking out over god's creation. I remember as a child my first glimpse of a great view was at a place called Deadman's Hill Scenic overlook. You can look out over the Jordan River Valley from hundreds of feet in the air. You can see a picture of the overlook here. Here is another better picture of Deadman's Hill.

A very under rated view is from the house my father currently lives in up in Michigan. He lives on one of the slopes of a large gradual valley with Clam Lake in the center of the valley. You can see a road at teh top of the map called "Steiner." That is the top of the valley. The location of my Dad's house is south of there just off the map on "Crystal Springs Rd." Glaciation has left its mark all over northern Michigan. Basically you are looking across a valley about 2 1/2 miles wide. It's a unique view and I wish I had a good picture of it.

So I entered the elevator at the Holiday Inn. I needed to see how high I could get and look around. That are fifteen floors accessible from this elevator but you can only access floors 10-15 by sliding your room key into a slot. They must have the real nice rooms up there. On the ninth floor I took a gander out each window. One faced west and the other faced east. Each time you get up in the air you get a unique view of your city. I was disappointed by the views offered up by the ninth floor of the Holiday Inn. The east view was the best because it gave me a nice angle looking down College St which gave a good perspective on how it is a series of low rolling hills. Lovely. Each view was partially blocked by the roof below. I guess I will have to try and hit the seventh floor for a less obstructed view.