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Snowblast in the Mojave Desert 2018
An Evermore Rare Event in the Mojave Desert – “Snow!” Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 The year of 2018 started with a rather large period of hot spells and dryness. The approaching storms that encroached on the Mojave Desert always managed to dissolve before getting the opportunity to quench the Mojave’s insatiable thirst. The transverse range that separates the desert from the coastal valleys is mostly to blame for this as it creates what is referred to as a “rain shadow”. Now, I am not a meteorologist by any means, but I do have a very fundamental knowledge of how it works in this area seeing as how I have experienced…
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Whitney Portal Road 2017
Hiking the Whitney Portal Road – “Taking the slow lane!” Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017 My travel companion Julia and I wanted to visit the Whitney Portal today because it had been years since our last trip to this place. The weather was perfect and we started our ascent early that morning. As we drove up Whitney Portal Road, we were suddenly stopped by a ‘suggested’ road closure sign. Now typically I will cruise around signs like this, but I knew of the serious damage that occurred up the road by a massive rock slide in late January 2017. I also knew that the debris was recently cleared with dynamite and heavy equipment, but what I didn’t know…
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Wintery Spring in the Eastern Sierra 2017
Cruising the 395 from Lone Pine to Mammoth – “Allergies be gone!” Tuesday, March 21st, 2017 With the winds blowing strong and the pollen abound, my allergies were wreaking havoc on my well being, but we still pushed on with the day. It was Julia’s first time visiting this grand region again since our last Eastern Sierra romp in 2014. I felt bad because I was dealing with headache’s shortness of breath, and wanting to blackout which did not make me the sort of company you’d want to have around on a trip like this. Despite all my symptoms, I was determined to help show her a good time today. We had started…
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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 – 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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Mini Venture – Big Bear Winter Drive
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 Today I wanted to get out and renew my Annual National Parks Pass for 2016 which meant I was going on a winter drive to get a new one. One of the great benefits of living in the Mojave Desert is knowing how close it borders several of California’s mountain ranges, particularly the San Bernardino mountain range. During the winter, this becomes one of my favorite local mountain destinations. It is home to many beautiful mountains communities including the popular city of Big Bear. The drive there is only an hour via Highway 18 from Victorville and in the winter, it can often be a pretty…
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Winter in Spring
MOJAVE DESERT Friday, May 8th, 2015 After taking a few days off from work, I traveled back to the Mojave Desert to spend some quality time with my parents. It had been over 4 months since I last seen them over the holidays, so this was very much needed. When I arrived, there was a very powerful wind blowing through the entire High Desert region and by the next day, the local mountains were being capped by clouds attempting to roll over the tops and on occasion you could see what appeared to be snow hiding on the partially hidden peaks. The weather in the desert was in the low…
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Eastern Sierra New Year 2015
Wednesday, December 31st, 2014 DAY 01: “Victorville to Lone Pine, CA” On December 31st 2014, I made a last minute decision to hit the Eastern Sierra Nevadas yet again. My mission was to get a lot of pick up shots that I may have missed on my last great adventure there with the talented Julia Starr. Our previous excursion took us on a Giant Eastern Sierra Photo Venture for seven days and resulted in the biggest blog entry to date. Although I had the time of my life with Julia, unfortunately I would be flying solo on this trip. “The Starship was ready to hit up some serious highway travel.”…
