Traveling north of Reykjavik.
Well, maybe a bit more than a year… While I would like to put all my pictures here, I think in the interest of brevity I’ll just put up a few. If you would like to see some more check out my Flickr albums. Continue reading
Wotan’s Throne viewed from Cape Royal.
I had intended to get this post up last week, but as sometimes happens life intervened and I got sidetracked. The month of September kept me busy with two trips to the Grand Canyon – a backpacking trip down to the Colorado River from the South Rim followed a couple weeks later with a photo trip to the North Rim.
Looking into the Canyon at Point Imperial just after sunrise. The low clouds softened the light causing the colors to really pop out.
An hour later the fog had rolled in changing the whole perspective of the view. The sun threatened to break through but never quite did.
A small herd of bison grazing near the park entrance. They kept a cautious eye on us, and soon retreated back into the woods.
Morning view from Bright Angel Point, an easy hike from the lodge.
Mule deer grazing off the Transept Trail.
It being autumn the Aspens wore a surprising variety of color counterpointed by the pines and the clear blue of the skies.
Angel’s Window from the Cape Royal Trail.
We just returned from a photo trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Color images and commentary coming soon, but here’s a monochrome set for a start.
Morning fog at Point Imperial.
Navajo Bridge across the Colorado River.
Sunset view into the canyon from Point Imperial.
A dawn view from Bright Angel Point.
Tree on the Bright Angel Point Trail.
Late summer rain over the Grand Canyon as seen from the South Rim
I’ll be honest… When I first stepped up to the scenic overlook at the South Rim my first thought wasn’t of the beauty of the vista, rather it was (Homer Simpson voice) “Holy Cr@p! I’m going to hike to the bottom of that in the morning?!” Continue reading
A hiker enjoys the view at the Grinnell Glacier.
The hike to the Grinnell Glacier (elevation 6500′) is strenuous, but worth it. It was about 710 acres in 1850 at the end of the little ice age and has been retreating ever since. It’s now something less than 200 acres.
Mist viewed from upstream of Swiftcurrent Falls
Taken from the same location as “Water Under the Bridge” in my last post. This picture is of the view looking 90 degrees to the left and level with the horizon where the last one was looking down on the water. It was taken about 10 minutes later, same conditions.
Near Swiftcurrent Lake, Montana
The Missus cruising Lake Pleasant
One of the things on our to-do list lately has been to try out some kayaking. It seems that several of the trips we’re looking at in future have the opportunity, and quite frankly, it looks like a good way to get to places less travelled. So when one of the local REI stores scheduled a “Learn to Kayak” class we signed up.
The five hour class was held at Lake Pleasant, a county park northwest of Phoenix. Instructors Dannie and Angie brought both “sit on top” and “touring” kayaks so we had the option of trying both types if we wanted. We spent about an hour on dry land learning the gear and how to set it up properly and then proceeded onto the lake where we had a chance to try out the basic strokes and then “rafted up” in a cove for a little more instruction.
The next four hours we on the water learning and practicing turns, different strokes and techniques, sculling, how to exit the kayak if capsized (demonstrated with the option to try it. I did. Fun!) with time to practice paddling around and getting comfortable on the water. Most of the time we were in fairly well protected coves which both kept us away from the power boat and jet ski enthusiasts and protected us from the wind.
The paddle back to our starting point was actually a pretty good exercise in that the crowds of swimmers, boaters and partiers were in full force, and we paddled into a head wind which made it a bit choppier. We had a final demonstration of a buddy rescue technique since getting into a kayak in the water is easier with help – something like getting into a hammock. We finished up around noon as scheduled. Lots of fun!
Over the water
Each day on the trip we sampled a different aspect of Vancouver Island. The variety of photographic subjects and the beauty of the area makes it impossible to describe in a blog post, so I’ve decided to just post a few sample pictures and descriptions to try and capture a little of the feel of the Island.
Jewel observing her new back yard from the porch.
Introducing a new member of the family – Jewel. Interestingly enough she’s from the same litter that Trix is from. Trix originally went to a family down the street, and Jewel went to their brother. As their youngest is starting college soon they didn’t have enough time to keep a border collie occupied and out of trouble, so they offered her to us.
Playing racer/chaser after a refreshing dip in the pool.
I’m not sure if they remembered each other, but they took to playing together right away.
Phil Ryan Photography 