Some of the aftermath...

The Rose Parade is a huge event in Pasadena every year.  Millions of people line Colorado Blvd. on January 1, some camping overnight from the December 31, just so they can get a good spot to see the massive floats.  And depending on who is playing in the Rose Bowl, we have people traveling hundreds of miles come to root for their favorite college football team.

This year is a little different though.  February 18, 2010, the Boy Scouts of America will have been around for 100 years.  To commemorate this, there is a huge semi with a specialized trailer touring the nation with what they are calling Adventure Base 100.  Basically a museum on wheels and BSA kicked it off yesterday with having a float in the parade.

The floats are always on display to the public for a couple days after the parade and this happens to be less than a block from where I work.  Today I thought I'd go see the floats; something I haven't done in years.  In fact, I think the last time I went, I went in a stroller.  Now I went specifically to see AB100 and BSA's float, but all the other floats were a nice bonus. 

I guess I didn't really pay a whole lot of attention when I first went into the viewing area.  I knew there were a lot of people there, more because of the people walking in front of my camera just as I pressed the shutter than anything else.  But, on my way out, after a couple hours of walking around, I felt the urge to turn around... Holy crap there were a lot of people there.  I don't think I've ever seen that many people just milling around.  This was solid people, on a 4 lane road, for about a mile; not counting the people on the median, or the people around the corner on Washington.... Several hours later, I'm still amazed.