At long last Nikon enters the Mirrorless market. But. It’s not what I was waiting or hoping for. I’m really happy with my purchase of the D700 recently because it looks like a replacement for it isn’t coming soon.
This latest release has Charlie Sorrel over at WIRED scratching his head, and I’m sure he’s not alone!
August got off to a slow start. I got home from Glacier Nat. Park and was ever so lazy! Unpacking, doing laundry, catching up with snail mail, bills, and then work kept me off the trails, but I got back in the groove. The countdown to Clouds Rest began!
The month was fantastic. With not just one hike up to Clouds Rest but TWO, and I finished the month with a Backpacking class which was fun, and it’s something I’d like to do again in the future.
The photo above was taken on the morning of my second night hike up to Clouds Rest in Yosemite Nat. Park. I made it up to the top, and across the scary narrow span. Below I am looking back at the Narrow Span. I walked across this in the dark with only the aid of my head lamp and what ambient light there was at 4:30 a.m. Unfortunately, on this hike too I suffered from altitude issues beginning around 9,000ft, but they weren’t as severe as my previous hike up the week before.
Having safely crossed the Narrow Span and making it onto the somewhat wider slab I set up my camera to take a series of shots of the sky, and took a nap. I woke up right before the sun was about to crest the mountains and I was hoping for Alpine Glow. I moved my tripod and camera over to a place I would be able to shoot Half Dome lit by the morning sun and waited. In the very top photograph the sun had just lit up the tops of El Capitan, Sentinel Dome, and Half Dome. It was a gorgeous morning. It’s an amazing view, and as for me… I’ve never trained or worked so physically hard to achieve a goal like this before. It’s been an amazing journey. I cross this goal off my 2011 list with a heart full of thanks for those friends who hiked with me, supported me, and encouraged me all along the way. Especially Heman, who put up with me interrupting his sleep at ungodly hours as I got up to train or came in late from a night shoot, and being gone a lot. I couldn’t have done it without you! ♥
8/4-7.98mi, 1,962 ft, 3h3m, PG&E trail to Vista Point
This beautiful room called Garden’s Court in the Palace Hotel in San Francisco was originally conceived of as the hotel’s carriage entrance – “a gateway to the splendors and remarkable innovations within.”
~The Palace Hotel-History
Today you can have Breakfast, Lunch Mon-Sat, Sunday Brunch, and Sat. afternoon Tea in this gorgeous room. They have a lunch tour I’m checking into. I’d love to do it.
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 Photograph by Deborah M. Zajac
Foxglove’
Foxglove Photograph by Deborah M. Zajac
A little later we saw some pretty Pacific Pea.
Pacific Pea Photography by Deborah M. Zajac
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.
I had read about this mission and wanted to visit it while on my July trip to Whitefish, Mt. It’s only 1.5 hours to the east of where I was staying. When planning things to do with my friend Big Jay who wouldn’t be doing the steep hikes with me I thought this would be a great outing, and we could continue our Mission series that we’d started in Northern California. When I suggested it I delighted that he was interested, and game to go.
The most striking thing to me about this Mission is how different its exterior structure is from the Missions of California. This one is made of brick and mortar, and has the familiar look of a mid-sized Catholic Church , and has no inner courtyard, and large garden verses the Missions in California that are made of Adobe or stucco, with wood beams, and the familiar Spanish arches, and an inner courtyard with a fountain.
Their small garden has a statue of Christ carved by Fr. Anthony Ravalli, S. J. believed to be done during his stay in St. Ignatius in 1863. The statue is next to the Original Log Cabin. The first home of the Jesuit missionaries, built in 1854. Today it’s a museum with a collection of artifacts from various tribes of the Northwest. The clothes, and dolls kept me occupied for sometime. There are several old photographs of the local Indians that would come to the Mission. The man in office was very friendly and shared some facts and stories with us about the Mission.
The Original Log Cabin, and statue of Christ
The chapel is wonderful. The colors are soft and peaceful, and the Frescoes are outstanding in their workmanship, and artistry. There are 58 murals, painted in the early 20th century by artist Brother Joseph Carignano (1853-1919), an Italian Jesuit. He was a cook, and handyman at the Mission. He had no professional training in art.
The paintings depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments, as well as some saints. Below you see most of the Frescoes that are painted on the North and South walls, and the Triptych in the Sanctuary which tells the story of “The Three Visions of St. Ignatius Loyola” the founder of the Mission. To the right of the Triptych is a large Fresco titled, ” St. Joseph and Jesus, and the large Fresco on the left of the Triptych is titled, ” The Immaculate Conception.
Chapel, St. Ignatius Mission, Montana, Full view
Below is a piece of statuary that rests next to the Altar, and behind it one part of the Triptych in the Sanctuary by artist Brother Joseph Carignano (1853-1919), to the left of that are two smaller round Frescoes, the lower one is “Jesus the Bread of Life”, and the one above it is “St. Luke Evangelist”.
Statuary in the Chapel - St. Ignatius Mission, Montana
Below in the foreground is the Altar with the depiction of “The Last Supper”. I really like the soft pastel color palette, and ornate wood carvings that frame it. Behind the Altar another view of the Triptych, and to the right the small round Fresco is “St. Peter the Apostle”.
The Last Super The Altar in St. Ignatius Mission, Montana
The Fresco above the Triptych is titled “The Last Judgement”. To the right of it is a round Fresco titled “Moses receives the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai”,and to the left is a Fresco called “Manna and Water in the Desert”.
The Last Judgement
I shot the whole interior in Natural Light. None of the lights were on inside the chapel except those that lit the Triptych. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting this Mission. I would love to come back and visit it again. If you happen to be passing near here it makes a wonderful side trip.
For the Historians:
Mission St Ignatius, St Ignatius, Montana, USA
St. Ignatius Mission is in Mission Valley on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Western Montana, about forty miles north of Missoula. It is bounded by the Mission Mountains to the east, and the hills of the National Bison Range to the west.
The Mission and the town that grew up around it were founded in 1854 by Jesuit missionaries and named for their founder, St Ignatius Loyola.
The present day brick church was built in 1891 and is now a National Historic Site, along with two small cabins, the original homes of the Jesuit Fathers and Providence Sisters, and the present rectory. The church took 2 years to build. The Indians, and missionaries together built the church of bricks made from local clay, and trees cut in the foothills, and sawed at the Mission Mill.
The building measures 120 feet by 60 feet with a belfry reaching nearly 100 feet.
The majority of the facts and figures I gleaned from a pamphlet I purchased while at the Mission.
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