Goofing up and catching up

If you look at some of my earlier posts you will notice that the photos are missing. While cleaning up some old files I mistakenly deleted the folder that held those pictures. That's water under the bridge, but I plan to do more frequent post to make up for lost photos. Here is the first with an assortment of photos from last year. ''

 Near Bishop, CA


 Near Bishop, CA


 Near Bishop, CA


 Near Bishop, CA


Pasco, WA


Creston, B.C.


Christina Falls, B.C.


Anacortes, WA


Avalon, CA


Westport, CA


Death Valley, CA


Death Valley, CA


Death Valley, CA


Las Vegas, NV

        
Hoover Dam


The Grand Canyon


Maui, HI


Maui, HI


Maui, HI


Maui, HI


Paradise, CA


Paradise, CA


Truckee, CA


Lake Tahoe, CA

Viewer Discretion Advised

I made one last trip to Table Mountain for this season. This first picture is the same shot that I posted from  the last trip but has improved significantly.

Before I forget, if you don’t like snakes, you better not scroll down to the last picture.
It’s hasn’t been the best year for spring flowers. There is almost no Lupine , but the Poppies are prolific and beautiful this year.

So, if you like Poppies, here you go.

And for some reason Poppies like to grow right out of the rocks.

They don’t seem to grow out in the green pastures, but in the rocks…

This rock mound is just covered with Poppies. Even more than what you see here.

The above photo is the top side of the same mound of rocks.

OK, this is not Poppies and neither is the next photo and remember if you don’t like snakes stop here.

Yep, those are rattle snakes checking me out!

The Finishing Touches

After our helicopter ride we still had half a day to do something so we set out in the truck to find some of the scenery we had seen from the air.

You never know what you’ll find in the desert but you can bet it will probably be interesting.

Only problem is, it can take quite a bit of hiking to get near what you want to see.

At least there are places to rest in the shade. Oops, this one is taken.

I don’t know what kind of bone that is beside the plant but it makes for an iconic desert picture.

Maybe if  you lived here all your life the scenery wouldn’t be so fascinating, but I didn’t and it’s fascinating.

We contemplated getting in that hole to take a picture but it was pretty crumbly and was almost 100’ straight down in front of it.

This rock at the bottom looks just like concrete with chunks of orange stone mixed in for decoration.

Just to much to see and to little time.

These next few shots were just some interesting scenery on the way home from Vegas.

Like power poles at sunset.

Or a salt flat at sunset.
My next post will most likely be from Maui next month. See you there.

Isn’t it Grand

We’re home now but there are to many good pictures left that need to be posted.

Dave and Cheryl arrived in Las Vegas on Tuesday so Dave and I needed to find something to keep us occupied on Wednesday. What better than a helicopter ride.

We lifted off from the airport in Vegas and the first shot was looking down the strip. Then over to Hoover dam and Lake Mead. That bridge over the canyon was under construction last time Connie and I were here.

There is no end to the wondrous colors and textures you’ll see in the desert. I loved to zero in on some of the better spots.

Here is another of the shore of Lake Mead.

I’m sure glad I have pictures because I can’t absorb all of this scenery during a short 2 hour trip.

Besides, when you cut out a piece of a huge sweeping landscape and examine it a little more thoroughly you’ll get so much more out of it.

If you click on this image to see the larger version you may be able to tell that the speck on top of the cliff in the center of the photo is a place know as Skywalk. It has a glass floor that sticks out over the canyon. Google it if your curious.

Now comes the good part, the Grand Canyon! Between the glare on the helicopter window and the fact that we were flying into the sun it was tough to get really good photos.

Here is a one handed  guess shot of Dave and the pilot. It turned out pretty good considering.

What could I say about this? Incredible!

On the left side of this photo about half way up, you can see the 3 other helicopters that had land just before us.

And now some photos from on the ground in the Grand Canyon.

That’s Dave on the left. They served some snacks and drinks during our 20 minute stay here. I spent all of my time taking photos.

How often do you get the chance to be in a remote location in the bottom of the Grand Canyon? 20 minutes wasn’t near enough time.

Quite a trip! do it if you ever get a chance.