Travel and Tourism – Page 3 – Circadianreflections Blog

Whatever Weds- The Stars have It

April 3, 2024April 2, 2024Posted in Comets, Photography, Stars, Stars and Planets, Travel and Tourism, Travel PhotographyTagged City lights, Clouds, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, Comets, Defraction, Nikon, Skyline, Snow, Sparks NV, Star bursts, Stars, Travel, Wide Field Astro Photography47 Comments

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-

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

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…

Wordless Weds. Looking Back

September 28, 2022Posted in Fuji X-T3, Hiking, Nature Photography, Travel and Tourism, Wordless WednesdayTagged Clouds, hiking, Lamoille Canyon, Lamoille Lake Trail, Looking back along the trail, Nature, Peaks, Ruby Mountains, Travel, Trees, Wordless Wednesday39 Comments

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 16-80mm| PS CC 23.5.0

more to come…

Thursday Doors-Upside Down House

June 23, 2022June 22, 2022Posted in iPhone 7 Plus, Photography, Thursday Doors, Travel and TourismTagged Doors, Lee Vining Calif, Thursday Doors, Upside Down House, Wooden houses58 Comments

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

This house is located in Lee Vining, California. I discovered it in April this year while in the area camping.

The house may be upside down, but the door isn’t.

The sign in front of the house reads,

“Upside Down House

Created by Nellie Bly O’Bryan (1893-1984)

A remarkable resident of the Mono Basin, Nellie Bly O’Bryan built this famous tourist attraction in 1956. It was inspired by a children’s tale, “Upside Down Land” ( a story), which Nellie recalled after seeing a tipped-over miner’s cabin. It was originally located along Hwy 395 south of the Mono Inn. After her death, the house fell into disrepair until it was moved here in 2000.

Years before coming to Mono County in 1939, Nellie became Hollywood’s first female projectionist and appeared in several of Charlie Chaplin’s silent films.

The information on the right of the photo of Nellie reads, “Nellie as the masseuse in “A woman of Paris 1923“.

Souvenir cards and more information about Nellie Bly O’Bryan are inside the museum.“

She sounds like a very interesting woman doesn’t she?! The museum was closed at the time I was there. I don’t know if the door to the house is ever open, but I’ll check when there again.

This post is part of Dan Antion’s Thursday Doors Click on the link and be taken to his blog where you’ll see all the entrees for this week’s Thursday Doors.

iPhone 7Plus| PS CC 23.3.2

more to come…

Whatever Weds. North American Elk

February 9, 2022February 8, 2022Posted in Nature Photography, Photography, Travel and Tourism, WildlifeTagged Elk, Estes Park CO, Fuji X-T3, Nature, North American Elk, Rocky Mountain National Park, Whatever Wednesday, Wildlife59 Comments

One of the highlights we had while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park last October were the North American Elk herds. The surprising thing is just how BIG they are. They stand 5 feet tall at the shoulder, and weigh several hundred pounds. The females are half their size. Only the males have antlers which they shed each winter. Their antler can grow up to an inch a day!

One morning while in Estes Park I saw a Bull laying in the shade with his harem and made my over to get some images of them.

The bull …

He had about dozen females (called cows) in his harem. Here he is with some of them just chillin.

Here’s an image of a bull and some of his harem we saw the night before just after the sun went behind the mountains while in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The rutting season begins in October so the bulls were on high alert keeping a close eye on their harems and keeping them close by.

Fun Fact-

Free roaming elk have a lifespan of 10-13 years in the wild.

https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/elk.htm

We really enjoyed seeing these wonderful animals while we in the park. They really do enrich the visit.

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm| PS CC 23.1.1

more to come…

Thursday Doors- The Sherlock Holmes

December 9, 2021December 8, 2021Posted in Photography, Thursday Doors, Travel and Food, Travel and Tourism, Travel PhotographyTagged Nikon Df, Pubs, Tables and Chairs, The Sherlock Holmes Pub, Thursday Doors, Travel and Food, Travel Photography69 Comments

Back in 2019 the day after Christmas He-Man, myself, and Big Baby Boy headed to London for a little British Christmas and New Year’s fun.

Early one morning while on our way to…I’ve forgotten which museum we were heading to I spotted this pub and stopped for a quick photo. While the doors are open I’m not really sure if it was open or not. Don’t you love the flower baskets of greenery?

I did a quick online search to see if there was any information about the pub and found this,

“”The Sherlock Holmes pub is a traditional English pub serving pints and pub food. As well as a bar and restaurant, the pub has a secret – a complete recreation of Holmes and Watson’s study and sitting room with a large collection of objects and photographs related to the characters from the books and adaptations. The collection was put together for the Festival of Great Britain and moved to this permanent home at the Sherlock Holmes pub in 1957.” ~https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/48927-sherlock-holmes-pub”.

I wish we had gone back this route and stopped in for a drink and lunch! I would have loved to see that interior now that I know what it is.

This post is part of Thursday Doors which is hosted by Dan Antion. His blog is No Facilities. Click here to get to his blog to see many other doors from all over the world that other door lovers have shared this week.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 24-120mm| PS CC 23.0.0

more to come…

Wordless Weds.- Autumn on the Fall River

November 3, 2021November 2, 2021Posted in Autumn, Fall Color, Fuji X-T3, Landscape Photography, Rivers, Travel and TourismTagged Autumn, Colorado, Estes Park CO, Fall Color, Fall River, Fuji FIlm Camera, Landscape Photography, Rivers, Wordless Wednesday, X-T344 Comments

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 16-80mm| PS CC 23.0

more to come…

Thursday Doors: Lord John Russell Pub

January 23, 2020January 23, 2020Posted in iPhone 7 Plus, iphonegraphy, London, UK, Photography, Thursday Doors, Travel and Food, Travel and Tourism, Travel PhotographyTagged Blue Doors, iphonegraphy, London Pubs, Lord John Russell Pub, Russell Square London, Thursday Doors, Travel and Tourism, West Central London33 Comments

Whist in London over the Holidays I passed this pub on the way to the British Museum and had to stop to get a photo of the lovely Blue Door. I love the hanging sphere plants and that shade of blue. Lord John Russell

I did a quick search to see how long the pub has been there and found it’s been there a LONG TIME! In 1856 a John Russell was in the postal directory at this address.

Here’s the link to the London pub wiki that shares the pub’s history.

To see more doors from around the world visit our favorite Doorlican Norm here!

iPhone 7 Plus| PS CC 21.0.2

more to come…

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