Canyonlands, and the Fjords in Alaska are breathtaking.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/national-parks-from-space?pid=1998
Category: Nature
The Dawn of a New Day from Cloud’s Rest
The Dawn of a New Day from Cloud’s Rest, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
Dawn unfolding her light across the mountains. There is something magical about the way that Alpine glow can reach across the span of a valley and warm, and fill me with inner peace and harmony. In these moments when nothing else exists but me, nature, and God…it’s euphoria.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 18mm ai-s| f22| 1/13sec| ISO 400| Manual Mode| Tripod| Cable Release
Taken from Cloud’s Rest, Yosemite National Park. The Sawtooth Mountain Range is to the right.
Take to the Highway…
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
…and where ever it leads you I hope you find what you’re looking for.
Have a wonderful week-end everyone!
Mount Madonna Surprises
I had the pleasure of hiking with the “Wednesday Hiking Group” today. I haven’t hiked with them in a really long time due to work. Today I didn’t have work scheduled so I met them.
The group split into two groups at 3.25miles. The Rabbits took a shorter route that would loop them back and give them a 6.5mile hike, and the Big Dogs continued on to complete a 10.85mile hike.
There were 5 Big Dogs, and I’m happy to say I was one of them. On the way back we took the Bayview Trail for a bit and there beside it was some wild Foxglove. I’ve never seen it in the wild before. It was a lovely surprise.
Foxglove’
A little later we saw some pretty Pacific Pea.
The fog hung thick in the Santa Cruz Mountain Range today, and several times we got rained on. It was definitely the place to hike on hot sunny day in the valley.
It was great seeing some old friends, and meeting new people today. I hope it’s not long before I can hike with the group again. There was another neat surprise during this hike I’ll share soon!
I’ve made my Hike Stats public if you’d like to see them, and the route map go here.
Info on Mount Madonna County Park is here.
“Remember the dreams you had as a child and realize it’s never too late to make them come true.” ~ Constance A. DeFlitch
“Remember the dreams you had as a child and realize it’s never too late to make them come true.” ~ Constance A. DeFlitch, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
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Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
I got to spend a full day with my friend Big Jay while in Montana. I had read about a Mission in St. Ignatius,MT and wanted to go tour it . Fortunately he was game. While in St. Ignatius we spotted this Barn and pulled over to shoot it.
I was busy photographing it when a young man drove up to the gate and unlocked it to let himself out. Big Jay asked if we could come around the gate to shoot the barn a bit. The young man was very sympathetic. He said he was a painter and was doing an acrylic of the Barn himself. He said he comes out to this very yard with his easel and paints. Wouldn’t I love a photo of that! I also wish I could paint like that. He left the gate open and told us to take our time, and have fun. We stayed about 30 minutes walking through many of the fields getting different angles and views of the barn. I liked this view with all the wildflowers growing over the fences.
Nikon D90| Nikkor 17-35@ 19mm| f8| 1/40| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Tripod| Self Timer
On a clear day…
On a clear day…, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
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Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
On this Sat. morning I rose a bit later than usual and took a leisurely 1.5 hour drive over to East Glacier to meet Ranger Pat Hagan. Pat was leading me and several other hikers up the Scenic Point Trail.
Pat expanded on the trail giving us more of an idea of what we were about to take on going on this hike.
He said, “We’re going to be hiking up roughly 23 stories today, and, we’re taking the stairs.”
The trail has 16 switchbacks getting longer the higher you climb. Every 4th switchback or so Pat had a story. Most were about bears. Bear management, behavior, and safety which I found interesting, and educational.
I turned around to look back here. I’m about halfway to the top at this point. It’s windy up here, and worth the effort to get here. Look at this view! That’s Two Medicine Lake, and way down there by the waters edge is a campground where many of my hiking companions were camping, and about half inch above the Z in my signature in the right corner is the parking lot my Va-Va is parked in under a shady pine tree.
Hike details
7.80 miles rd trip
2,853ft elevation gain
5h57m total time
The trail is steep, but the switchbacks help make the going easier.
See my complete hiking stats here.
My GPS unit is this one here.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35@ 24mm| f5.6| 1/250 second| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held
“…the glory of our parklands is too precious to be sacrificed…Steps must be taken to protect our dearly won recreation lands…”~ J.D. Grant
“…the glory of our parklands is too precious to be sacrificed…Steps must be taken to protect our dearly won recreation lands…”~ J.D. Grant, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
It looks a bit compressed in this view. Please click in the photo to view it larger.
Took a drive out to Grant Lake with Dali today and wandered around. It’s really pretty now. I don’t visit this park often enough.
D300s| Nikkor 17-35@ 17mm| f8| 1/500 sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Tripod
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