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Southwest 2015 – Zion, Images of a Winter Dreamland
Monday, December 14th, 2015 Julia and I awoke on what would be our very last day in the town of Springdale. For the last few days, we waited patiently for a snow storm to hit that we had been hearing about all week long, but it never came, that is until we looked out the window this morning. It was snowing and the mountains were covered in it! This seriously could not have been better timed. Rather than pack up, check out, and go home, we stayed for the day and spent our last hours here exploring through a new snow covered Zion. With our camera gear mounted up and…
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Southwest 2015 – Journey Into the Narrows of Zion
Saturday, December 12th, 2015 When the alarm went off this morning, we wasted no time in getting breakfast, showering up, and gathering all our camera gear for today’s adventure. This was not the typical day of hiking or photo venturing, it was an epic voyage into the Narrows of Zion. Julia was excited and so was I. Once we had all our stuff together, we drove to the Zion Adventure Company to get a crash course on the Narrows including navigation and what to do in case the water level rises suddenly due to a flash flood. After watching the short video brief, we got all our rental gear and suited…
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Mini Venture – Giant Rock at Landers, CA
Sunday, December 28th, 2014 For years I had heard about a massive rock that stood out in the southern region of the Mojave near the small desert town of Landers, CA. There were lots of stories about how it was as big as an office building and dwarfed any of the other free standing boulders in the area. Naturally I had to get a look at this thing in person so I invited my mom and pops out for a local adventure and made way to Landers, CA. To get there from Victorville, I had to travel about 64 miles along Bear Valley Rd, then Highway 18, and finally Highway 247 (a.k.a. Old…
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Southwest 2015 – The Land of Towering Sandstone
Monday, December 7th, 2015 Julia and I got hopping to another awesome adventure that would have us traveling eastbound through the Great Navajo Nation today. We had a light breakfast, showered up, then packed all our camera gear and equipment into the Starship. We had a long drive ahead of us and no time to spare. We left our hotel in Page, Az and started our drive along Highway 98 to Monument Valley. About 30 minutes into our drive, I saw a hitchhiker which I typically avoid, but something compelled me to pick him up. I hit the brakes as we approached and stopped to pick him up. Our new…
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Southwest 2015 – The Desert View Watchtower
Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 Today was a good day to head back out to the south rim of the Grand Canyon for some pick up shots and a bit more time for exploration. The Grand Canyon Railway was a most excellent experience, but unfortunately it did not leave us with much time to hike around and get the shots we wanted, so Julia and I took the starship out to the south rim and took in some much desired photo opportunities as we trekked along the regions east of Mather Point. Before we set off for a day at the south rim, Julia and I tried a place just down…
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Day at Point Lobos
Castroville, CA Sunday, May 17th, 2015 On the second day out with my old friend Julie, we set off for Point Lobos just south of Monterey via the Pacific Coast Highway out of Santa Cruz, CA. This stretch of highway is not as spectacular as the drive from Santa Cruz to Pescadero like the day before, but our Point Lobos destination will rival it in beauty no less. If you want to see what I mean, check out the travel blog for the day before here: “Coastal Adventures 2015” Along the way to Point Lobos State Preserve, we would eventually begin running into many small fruit stands and places to…
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Hike to the Devil's Chair
MOJAVE DESERT, CA Saturday, May 9th, 2015 After a trip out to the mountains the day before on my travel blog post: Winter in Spring 2015, I decided to take my parents out for a hike to the Devil’s Chair located in at the Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area. I had done this trail once before when I was 60 lbs heavier and completely out of shape and I remember feeling like I was going to pass out, so I wanted to make sure and create a reasonable pace with many breaks along the way for my parents. The elevation of the region is 4,750 ft at the ranger’s station, however…
