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To the Poppy Fields or Bust!
“On the Edge of the Mojave Desert is a place of Momentary Vibrance. “ Saturday, April 15th 2021After being pummeled by numerous atmospheric rivers, California has been mostly pushed out of it’s persistent drought status. With the fall of so much rain, comes the after effects in the western most regions of the Mojave Desert. A super bloom of wildflowers that Jenny and I would not allow ourselves to miss out on. The California Poppy was the main attraction at this location. There were acres and acres of them splashed along the hills and open fields along with a few other wildflowers. The saturation of color was almost uncanny and…
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Lone Pine Winter Storm 2017 – Chapter 03
DAY 04 – “That morning light on high sierra granite.” Tuesday, January 24th, 2017 I woke up at 6 AM again on the nose and took a quick look outside to see what the weather was like. It was mostly clear and the Eastern Sierra peaks where definitely in view. I geared up fast and loaded everything into the Starship. I knew that I had to get out to a decent point along Whitney Portal Road if I was going to capture some Mt. Whitney alpenglow. Once it begins, good alpenglow will only last from five to eight minutes tops and the rose-pink color then becomes typical daylight. The sun had…
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Lone Pine Winter Storm 2017 – Chapter 02
DAY 03 – “A break in the storm brings some blue skies.” Monday, January 23rd, 2017 The past couple of nights were rough due to the sound of howling winds blasting ice pellets at my door and window. The wall heater also joined in the midnight orchestra by occasionally popping loud enough to startle me awake when it cooled and then roared when it fired back up. None of that mattered however because I was having a wonderful time and looking forward to what the weather would bring for the following day. I got up at 6 AM again without the need for an alarm. My body and mind were in “Venture Mode”…
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Lone Pine Winter Storm 2017 – Chapter 01
Saturday, January 21st, 2017 DAY 01 – “Journey to the north.” For weeks the Eastern Sierra has been pelted over and over by multiple storms being swept in from the Pacific Ocean in the form of what meteorologists are calling an “Atmospheric River”. As a photographer, the one thing you get very good at is watching the weather forecast like a hawk and predicting more or less what kind of photo opportunities you will be getting. I had taken notice that the Eastern Sierra was scheduled for one last big winter storm. The forecast after that revealed nothing but sunny days for a while. I knew this was my last opportunity to venture into…
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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 – Where the Wild Things Are
Saturday, December 5th, 2015 After sleeping in the past couple of days, Julia and I felt a lot more charged upon waking this morning. We got up super early and even decided to take a walk through downtown Williams to get the blood pumping and decide what where we were going to have breakfast this time. It was brisk, but not freezing like the previous mornings so taking a stroll was perfect. We had seen a place called Cruiser’s Route 66 Cafe on the way into town and even photographed it last night, so we figured we should give it a try. “Ready for a morning walk through Williams, AZ.”…
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Day Venture – Exploring the Lucerne Valley
Saturday, April 9th, 2016 Today I decided to take my parents out on a small venture to the areas east of Victorville. We had driven past this place many times on the way to Joshua Tree National Park and sometimes while taking a day trip to the city of Big Bear up in the mountains. This trip would be different as I decided I wanted to actually explore this region of the Mojave a bit more which lies at the northern foot of the Big Bear mountains. For years I had always seen a massive switchback road leading up one of the mountains, so today my curiosity had me place…
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Southwest 2015 – The Grand Canyon Railway
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015 Julia and I got up very early to get ourselves some breakfast and prepare for a ride on the rail to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We were so close to the train station that we could walk there. When we arrived, I picked up our prepaid tickets and we made our way to a small arena where we could catch a quick gun show before we boarded the train. It was a comedic gun slinging performance between the infamous Cataract Creek Gang and the Sheriff. They even got someone from the audience participate as they cheat on him in a game of poker.…
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Southwest 2015 – Chapels and Cathedrals
Tuesday, December 1st, 2015 Julia and I woke up in some very cold weather that morning. We spent our first night at the Roadway Inn & Suites in Williams, Arizona and the night was a very balmy 16ºF (-8.8ºC). Fortunately for us, the heater in our room was blasting heat out like summer’s day. Our room was literally on Old Route 66 and everything in town was a quick walk away, so we got ourselves up and ready. Our breakfast was actually more of a snack as we decided to just hit the road for Sedona that morning and figure out what to eat for an actual meal when we…
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Death Valley Super Bloom 2016
Thursday, February 18th, 2016 Death Valley is a place of extreme heat and desolation with wide valleys well below sea level and surrounded by tall and eccentrically featured mountains of the Amargosa Range to the East and the sierra like peaks of the Panamint range to the west. Of all the times I have visited this beautiful park, never have I had the opportunity to catch the annual flower bloom, let alone the even more rare “Super Bloom” which was happening this year. The last Super Bloom occurred over a decade ago in 2005, so I was certainly not going to miss this! Victorville My day started off somewhat later than…
