[ VIDEO ] After arriving at Flagstaff, Arizona upon leaving the Grand Canyon we leave Flagstaff on the way back to Chicago. Had a long layover in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the way back to Chicago. I shot this video in July 2016.

[ VIDEO ] I'm reactivating this blog for a limited time. I will consider this my physical "videoblog" and mostly for creative purposes. Today I want to share my visit to the Grand Canyon back in July 2016. My first visit there was as a child in 1989 and this is the first time I visited via a tour bus. An amazing highlight after paying my second visit to Las Vegas before that also. I shot video and photos on my iPhone 6 utilizing an olloclip lens taking both wide-angle and fish-eye shots. Edited the video using iMovie and had to utilize Cooper Black for any video titles here. I want to share with you a shorter version that I shared on It's My Mind just last year actually. [ VIDEO ] If you like what you see subscribe to lbj79us ! And to Levois J where I actually have 50 subscribers

You can barely make it out, however, we're looking at Champaign, Illinois early in the morning while coming home aboard Amtrak's City of New Orleans. Sometimes I like it when the train goes through rain and as of late it seems a train I'm on always goes through rain. Even going to Los Angeles two years ago did my train run into some rain on the way to California!

A meme I found on Instagram . If you want to go somewhere find a way. It could be through a job or just your own hustle. Life's too short to just stay in one place and not see what else is out there!

Last month I was in Detroit, Michigan for a family reunion. Another part of the family tree on this day had a cookout on Belle Isle right in the middle of the Detroit River. Only the second time I have visited this island park and this illustrious and hopefully rebounding city. I noticed Michigan State Police patrolling the grounds as the park itself has been leased to the State of Michigan. Probably a sign of the state of finances in Detroit as it had been administered as a city park. BTW, I just really had to use this snapchat filter!

A shot I snapped of a bus sometime in June near 95th Street. This is one show you might have seen if you follow The Sixth Ward on instagram . Indian Trails bus picks up passengers at Greyhound 's assigned berth on State Street near CTA's Red Line terminal . This is likely temporary as work at 95th is ongoing!

[ VIDEO ] Continuing to go through my footage and photos of my 2016 west coast, Las Vegas, and Grand Canyon jaunt. Today I show you some footage I shot of riding through Arizona moving further west through Flagstaff, Arizona and then in the morning Los Angeles! I wish I had kept a journal of this. Even if I didn't blog as it happened it would've been worth sharing in a post with photos (or video) when I ultimately returned to Chicago. My next vacation I promise I'll do much better! Meanwhile enjoy this latest vlog showing southwestern landscapes! 

[ VIDEO ] Video shot on the way to Los Angeles, California aboard Amtrak's Southwest Chief in July 2016. A wonderful vacation and get to see a part of the nation I rarely get a chance to see. This footage was probably shot before arriving at La Junta, Colorado which according to the latest Amtrak schedule is a 15 minute stop before ultimately moving through the Raton Pass. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, however, I've decided to start uploading some of the vids shot on my iPhone over the years to my YouTube channel . Hopefully I can update this blog and It's My Mind with more videos I personally shot.

Another throwback to my wonderful vacation back in July 2016. Me and my family was at the offices of this Hollywood tour company that contained this antiquated film editing device. It was pretty cool to see this before going on our Hollywood tour that took us through Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.

[ VIDEO ] A video version of the scene I had taken a snapshot of that was already posted here on this blog .