Whatever Weds- The Stars have It

Posted in Comets, Photography, Stars, Stars and Planets, Travel and Tourism, Travel PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Last week He-Man and I had a little get-away for our 43rd anniversary. We didn’t go too far just up to Sparks, NV.

We booked a balcony suite at Hampton Inn & Suites at the marina for the view of Helms Lake, and view of Reno’s skyline. This lake has an interesting beginning.

“The site was once a gravel pit owned by the Helms Construction Corp. (1968-1995) The pit is 100 feet deep. They found petroleum and solvent contamination seeping into the pit in 1987 so it was declared a Super Toxic Sight and clean up began. In 1996 it was declared free of petrochemicals and the site was turned over to the city of Sparks.

Millions of dollars of spill mitigation money was made available to the city, which they used to construct the park and make the pit a recreational pond. They had planned to fill the pit to 30 feet, but in January 1997 the Truckee River overflowed its banks and filled the Helms Pit creating what is now Richard Helms Lake or Sparks Marina Pond.” You can read a little more about how it stays filled at the link. https://www.ndow.org/waters/sparks-marina/

Now for our view-

Our day-time balcony view

It was pretty windy the day we were up there as you can see by the water.

Our Evening View

We both really enjoyed having this evening view when the lights in the city came on.

I had hoped our 4th floor balcony room would afford a great view of the sky so I could also try to photograph Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, but alas we had a storm rolling in and cloud cover.

Finally, Monday night April 1st…no joke! We had a clear night so I went out to my front yard and spied the Comet.

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks with faint tail.
Green Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks cropped in.
Dialing in my focus I got Jupiter and her Moons too.

We had a lovely anniversary walking around the lake both days, and we found a new Indian place we liked a lot for dinner so, we’ll make the drive up for that again when we’re craving Indian food, and we’ll be staying there again when the weather is warmer and we’ll take our kayak up for a paddle around the lake.

I hope the stars have lined up a fantastic week for you.

Nikon D850| Nikkor 80-200mm| iPhone 14 Pro| PS CC 25.5.1

more to come…

47 thoughts on “Whatever Weds- The Stars have It”

  3. Congratulations on 43 years marriage not just any two people can accomplish that. Interesting on how the lake came to be, it looks quite beautiful. I like what happens when you point your camera skyward you always take interesting pictures, and I enjoy them very much.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Happy Anniversary, Deborah. 43 years is a testament to a good marriage. We’re right behind you two.

    I like the photo from the first night. I think the clouds make for a nice mood over the city. The clear-sky photos are great.

    I also appreciate the history of the pond/lake. Seems like it worked out well for the town.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Dan!
      The clouds did add a little je ne said quoi to the image that evening didn’t it.

      That the pond is filled by a natural aquifer was amazing and a really great park was added to the city. It’s been a great birding spot for me as well.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  17. The daytime balcony view and the starry sky are so beautifully shot! Thank you for sharing them. Congratulations on your 43rd anniversary. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. What a lovely way to celebrate. That night view of the city is remarkable. I’d love to see Pons-Brooks, but the light pollution around Houston probably will obscure it. That said, our humidity is going to be exceptionally low tonight, so I’ll give it a go. Comet Lulin was plainly visible from my parking lot, so it may be possible.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  20. Congratulations with your 43 anniversary, Deborah! I looked up Sparks and Reno, and it looks like a fine place to celebrate. The top picture shows Reno in front of a really wonderful back drop. The mountains are still snowy? There is something about the name Reno…. wait, is it in a song by Johnny Cash? Cool that your comet picture turned out so well after all!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes, we still have a lot of snow on the mountains. We had snow down in the valley where I live just last Saturday! Our Spring has been fighting to get settled in but, Winter isn’t letting go just yet. We’re back down to 39 degree F for a high on Friday.

      Yes, Johnny Cash did! Folsom Prison Blues he sang/wrote, “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.” He said later when asked why the man would be in a California prison for murdering a man in Reno, Nevada, ” That’s what is called Poetic license.” 😀

      Thank you so much, Peter it was a lovely place to spend our anniversary.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Lol, poetic license. 🙂 We have this song about a clock in the fishermans village Arnemuiden. ‘If the bell of Arnemuiden rings to welcome us.’ (Fisher boats coming back from sea) Critics noted that Arnemuiden didn’t have a bell in the tower. The author replied: ‘Thats why I use the word ‘if’ and not ‘when’. ‘ 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

A penny for your thoughts...

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.