Photos: Road Trip 'pictures of the day' collection

On a whim, during Road Trip 2009, CNET News reporter Daniel Terdiman started posting a daily photograph, challenging readers to identify it. He never imagined how strong the response would be.

CNET Reviews staff

July 31, 2009 10:00 a.m. PT

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

The yellow ball that started it all

On July 8, a little more than two weeks into Road Trip 2009, CNET News reporter Daniel Terdiman posted this picture, challenging readers to identify what the yellow ball is. His thought was that this might be a fun, interactive, task that could get people involved.

I didn't really intend to make it a daily Road Trip feature, but the response to the contest was huge--and stayed huge for the next three weeks as, each day, I posted a new photo and a new challenge.

Of the 23 daily challenges, this one generated the most interesting responses--from nuclear radiation measuring equipment (the photo was taken in Arco, Idaho, the first town in America to ever be powered by nuclear energy), to a recycling bin, to a Cloudbuster, to a portable nuclear/electric power-generating device for military use in remote areas. No one seemed entirely sure what the answer was.

The truth was, I didn't either. (In subsequent days, I always knew what the picture was). But it turns out the yellow ball--and the other one just like it down the same block in Arco--is a former marker strung along power lines so that pilots can see the lines. A little less interesting than a portable nuclear energy-generating device, but there you have it.

Thanks to everyone who participated. And stay tuned for the Road Trip 2010 picture of the day challenge next summer.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Bomarc B

Eventually, since I offered a prize to each day's winner, I had to cap the number of times someone could win at two. That was because of one Florida gentleman who, by my last count, was the first person with the right answer six times, and came in second three times. He is, it seems, a master of search terms.

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 9, this is a Bomarc B, a surface-launched, pilotless interceptor missile, from the Hill Aerospace Museum near Ogden, Utah.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

The Sun Tunnels

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 10, this is artist Nancy Holt's terrific Earthwork, the Sun Tunnels, near Lucin, Utah.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Newspaper Rock

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 11, this is Newspaper Rock, a stunning petroglyph near the entrance to Canyonlands National Park in Utah.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Starr Kempf kinetic sculpture

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 13--I missed a day on July 12--this is one of the late artist Starr Kempf's incredible kinetic sculptures, as seen on display in front of his family's Colorado Springs, Colo., house.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Cheyenne Mountain springs

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 14, these are giant springs designed to protect the buildings inside the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, outside of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Painted horse in Ogden

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 15, this was just one of the many painted horses that were part of Odgen, Utah's Pioneer Days celebration.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Dewey Bridge

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 16, this is Dewey Bridge, along Utah's scenic Route 128, near Moab, Utah.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Lexington stamp mill

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 17, this is the Lexington Stamp Mill, in Butte, Mont.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Quake Lake

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 18, this is Earthquake Lake, or Quake Lake, near West Yellowstone, Mont.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort gondola

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 19, this is the gondola that takes visitors to the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming to the top of Rendezvous Mountain.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Crowheart Butte

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 20, this is Crowheart Butte, near the town of Crowheart, Wyo.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Casper Ghosts

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 21, this is a game between the Rookie League (Minor League baseball) Casper Ghosts and Helena Brewers, in Casper, Wyo.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Meyer-Womble Observatory, Mt. Evans

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 22, this is the Meyer-Womble Observatory, on Colorado's Mt. Evans.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Idaho Falls waterfall

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 23, this is a waterfall in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Mexican Hat

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 24, this is the "Mexican Hat," near Mexican Hat, Utah.

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Falconry Heritage Wing at Archives of Falconry

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Falconry Heritage Wing at Archives of Falconry

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 25, this is the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Falconry Heritage Wing at the Archives of Falconry at the World Center for Birds of Prey, in Boise, Idaho.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Independence Rock

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 26, this is Independence Rock, in central Wyoming.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

West Yellowstone painted bison

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 27, this is a painted bison in West Yellowstone, Mont.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Landscape Arch

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 28, this is Landscape Arch, in Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Montana state capitol building

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 29, this is the Montana state capitol building, in Helena, Mont.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Wind River Canyon

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 30, this is Wind River Canyon in central Wyoming. More people got this one wrong than any other--except perhaps the yellow balls. Many people thought it was the Royal Gorge in Colorado.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

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Daniel Terdiman/CNET

No. 119

The Road Trip picture of the day challenge for July 31, and the last challenge of Road Trip 2009, this is Union Pacific Railroad train No. 119. In 1869, it met up with the Central Pacific Railroad's Jupiter, at Promontory, Utah, forming the Transcontinental Railroad. The site is now celebrated at the Golden Spike National Historic Site.

Click here for the entire Road Trip 2009 package.

More Galleries

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Photos: Road Trip 'pictures of the day' collection

The yellow ball that started it all

Bomarc B

The Sun Tunnels

Newspaper Rock

Starr Kempf kinetic sculpture

Cheyenne Mountain springs

Painted horse in Ogden

Dewey Bridge

Lexington stamp mill

Quake Lake

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort gondola

Crowheart Butte

Casper Ghosts

Meyer-Womble Observatory, Mt. Evans

Idaho Falls waterfall

Mexican Hat

Falconry Heritage Wing at Archives of Falconry

Independence Rock

West Yellowstone painted bison

Landscape Arch

Montana state capitol building

Wind River Canyon

No. 119

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