The beauty of the desert took me by surprise.
Joshua Tree National Park
April 6, 2011
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The news about the fires in Yosemite National Park has me concerned. If you never been there, you might not understand why. Isn’t it just a bunch of rock and trees? I guess that’s true.
It took me to age 36 to get to a National Park. Yosemite was my first. I wish I had gone there sooner, as it changed who I am.
If you’ve never been there and seen the giant sequoias, you might not understand. Unfortunately photos can’t begin to relay the enormity and grandeur of these monster trees. At 200-300 feet tall, and hundreds to thousands of years old, it really puts one in their place in time and space.
Wait, stop, think…yes…thousands of years old. These have survived much of history as we believe we know it.
We learned when we were there that fire actually helps the trees survive. Fire causes the cones to open, spreading seeds for new trees to grow. They say the fires won’t hurt the trees, but one can’t help to worry for them. If you haven’t seen these, please add them to your bucket list. I suspect they will change you too.
Photos below from September 11-13, 2007. (Click to enlarge photos/open slideshow.)
It’s little wonder how fires can start in California when it looks like this. This was taken a ways west of Yosemite Valley.
The entrance to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.
With the rental car for perspective.
These trees look like they’ve survived a fire or two.
I never went bird shooting before. I learned that shooting birds in a tree is not that hard. Catching the mallards as they fly up the river at probably close to 50 MPH is going to take some practice.
At/Near 1000 Islands Nature Center.
1/26/13
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“Observing Orcas”
Five orcas passing the Lime Kiln Lighthouse
San Juan Island, Washington
September 14, 2012
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After giving out some tips to someone today about what to see and do in Alaska, I wanted to revisit what was the highlight of my trip…A two and a half hour flight-seeing trip that included landing on a glacier in the Sheldon Amphitheater at the hiking basecamp.
There is so much to tell about this photo. It’s probably worth at least a couple thousand words. I’ll have to save those for another time.
In the photo:
The 50+ year-old plane we flew in.
Huge glacier (name unknown)
Mount McKinley
Above Denali National Park & Preserve
Alaska
June 7, 2010
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My first star-trail photo.
I wish I had framed this better, but I really didn’t expect this to turn out at all. It was merely a test shot as I had not ever taken a long exposure like this. I had no idea what I needed for exposure, ISO, or anything, especially considering the trees would catch some light from the porch light. 3007 seconds, ISO 1000, f8
Up north, WI
November 21, 2011 10:20 PM
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Two down from Kelli’s. Everyone is OK. With three trees in striking distance, Kelli’s house is OK. The huge (1″+) acorns must have been like bullets though as there are shredded leaves plastered to the siding. Mom & Dad a few blocks down lost half of their 5″ tree. The old part of town just a few blocks away (where I grew up) may not be so lucky though. Mailman came by Kelli’s about fours hours early because he said he couldn’t get down any streets in that part of town. Another round of weather is supposed to be on its way…
Police officer checking in. The white stuff is attic insulation.
The driveway below the grassline is Kelli’s.