Michael

My last full day in Oregon was overcast with a forecast of rain getting increasingly heavier as the day progressed. I was in a leisurely mood this morning and left around 10:00 a.m. My goal was less about photography today than it was about geocaching and hiking.

I traveled about 25 miles southeast of Portland between the towns of Viola and Estacada. I spent most of the day in the Milo McIver State Park. This is a wonderful place full of interesting animals, plants, geology and other recreational opportunities.

I walked and geocached for several hours here. Here’s the thing. It was raining the entire time. Non stop! Steady and unrelenting rain. So, what was I to do. Go back to my hotel and sit in my room. Nope. That’s just not me.

I adapt. I’m here in a state that is known for it’s rain. It’s part of what makes Oregon, Oregon. So, why would I miss out on this opportunity to experience the state’s natural surroundings in one of its natural states?

So, I donned my raincoat for a mile long hike in a meadow and forest area. I had to use my umbrella the rest of the time. It turned out to be an incredible journey. I saw very few people which meant it was just me and the forest. I saw a deer. I got stung by a yellow jacket in the belly of all places. I got half drenched with rain. I found trees with foliage so dense that the rain couldn’t reach the ground. I hung out there and enjoyed the reprise from the rain for a few minutes.

Later in the day, I drove south and visited my cousin and her family. I haven’t seen them for two years.

I think there are two lessons from my trip today. First, don’t let anything stop you from doing what you want to do. Weather, people, events, beliefs and etc. should not be used as an excuse to stop you from fulfilling your desires. Secondly, try to find a way to enjoy whatever is coming your way. That’s what life is all about. Go with it. Extract as much happiness as you can out of every single moment you are breathing.

Hope you had a great day! If not, try again to tomorrow until you get it right.

Michael

Multnomah Falls

What a day! I traveled slowly along the Historic Columbia River Hwy stopping here and there, exploring the vistas from high up and viewing the many waterfalls dotting the cliffs.

It truly is a magical place. Geologically, this area is rich with a history of massive lava flows, repeated over millions of years. Evidence remains in the form of huge basalt cliffs, strange rocks, hills, valleys and unusual erosion patterns.

At Multnomah Falls you can see this geologic record. Multiple layers of basalt, one on top of another, rise up forming the cliffs that Multnomah Creek falls over turning into the 620 foot high Multnomah Falls.

I spent the entire day mostly photographing waterfalls and enjoying the splendor of this region. I had a basic plan, but I really tried to let things happen so that I could find and thus experience places I didn’t know existed before today.

I have really been trying to work on this aspect of living. Letting things happen. Keeping my eyes open. Relaxing into the flow of what my life is turning out to be. Not judging myself too harshly or not at all. Not planning too much. Being relaxed and happy in as many moments as possible in a day.

In other words, just viewing my life as a journey; no goals, no destination, no expectations other than to be happy.

Have a great day!

Michael

Sunset at Ecola State Park

I’m in Oregon this week on a photographic tour. I spent most of the day on the coast around the Cannon Beach and Seaside areas. I haven’t been here for over 10 years. It’s so nice to be back.

The Oregon coast is phenomenal. I can spend hours watching the huge waves roll one after another into the shore. I especially like to watch them from the cliffs that tower above the beaches.

I took the sunset photo at Ecola State Park near the Sea Lion Rocks. It’s funny because I was dreaming of a beautiful sunset all day. Most of the day was hazy and partly cloudy. I continued to see a great sunset in my imagination.

Low and behold about 2 hours before sunset, I started to see the clouds open up and then separate above the horizon in the distance. So, all I had to do was to show up at the place I had picked to photograph the beautiful colors.

I had traveled all the way across the country to photograph a sunset on the west coast, specifically in this exact place. The forecast is rain over the next two days, so I knew my “chance” for the sunset was today.

Tidbit: The sunset at Cannon Beach was even mentioned on the local news this evening. Cool!

Everything worked out perfect.

Michael

Fall is definitely on its way. The fall equinox occurred on Sept. 22nd, but for me it’s a certain feeling and smell in the air. The air is changing; a little cooler and somehow lighter.

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I absolutely love the fall color change here in New England. I go up to the White Mountains of New Hampshire just about every year to try and capture the color spectacle that happens around the Columbus Day holiday.

You just never know what will occur. Some years are better than others. It’s due to a perfect combination of cold night air and how much rain falls during this time. For me though, even in the years that others are complaining about the subdued colors, I’m as close to heaven as you can get here on earth.

I’m able to find certain plants and areas that have vivid colors. The photo above was taken in a year that the colors were “bad.” It’s all in your perspective.

I say that fall is my favorite season, but frankly I love all seasons. For me it’s the change between each that is so enjoyable.

Have a great day!

Michael

Newport Sunset 1

I don’t know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets. – John Glenn

Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven. – John Lubbock

Today was about as perfect a day as any I’ve had. I’m working with a company that helps you to prepare and update resumes, market yourself, improve your interview skills and help you narrow your focus of companies to search for potential jobs.

I found out today that this company also does counseling in the areas of being a consultant and/or starting a company from scratch. Both of those options are what I’m really interested in.

During one of the resume classes today, I met a lady that has all many of the skill sets and contacts that I need to allow me to do research on a particular start up company I have in mind. In fact, she will be able to help me answer three of my most important questions. Cost to me: ZERO. She is happy to help.

Newport Sunset 2

I also gained confirmation that another friend/acquaintance of mine, who has high level marketing experience in the industry I’m looking at, is willing to help me in any way she can in my new endeavor. Cost: ZERO. Unbelievable!

When I walked out of the training session today, a large red-tailed hawk was circling about 50+ feet above my head. Red-tailed hawks are my favorite bird on the planet. I was able to watch him for about 10 minutes.

The day continued with one wonderful surprise after another; some big, some little. It didn’t matter at that point.

Then, at the end of the day, I was able to see one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve seen in months. Quality of color: Exceptional. Quality of cloud formations: Exceptional. I only had my point and shoot camera, but I did the best I could to capture it. (Note: both photos are of the same sunset today.)

The rest of the time I spent enjoying what I was seeing.

It really was a day to remember for me.

Michael

Lupine

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul. – Luther Burbank

Flowers are one of nature’s ways to help adjust our attitudes. Most people are instantly distracted from their negative thoughts and attitudes when viewing flowers. We use them to show our feelings to others, help people recover from illnesses and to celebrate special events. But many of us just want to have their beauty as part of our household for no reason other than pure enjoyment.

The hybrid lupine at the left is a very special flower for me and a very close friend of mine. Six years ago, my friend was very sick. In fact she had only a few days of life remaining. I went to visit her in the hospital but stopped at her house first. When I went into the backyard, I saw this lupine blooming. It had never bloomed before. So, I took the photo and printed out a copy for her. She placed it over her bed to help her connect with her home and better times. The flower photo also helped to make her smile more.

Several days later she finally received the treatment she had needed for several months. It saved her life.

This flower has never bloomed again.

Michael

My Daughter at the Top

My daughter, her boyfriend and I hiked to the top of Lembert Dome yesterday. Lembert Dome sits on the eastern side of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite.

Our 2.8 mile (4.5 km) hike started at 8500 foot elevation (2550 meters) and rapidly climbed to 9400 feet (2825 meters). If it hadn’t been for my daughter giving continual words of encouragement, I might still be walking to the top.

It was quite difficult for me due to two things: 1) I wasn’t used to the altitude and 2) I’m not in that great of shape at the moment. So, I made it by focusing on 75 yards at a time. It was a tough one but well worth it when we got to the top. The wind was blowing quite hard which made it difficult to hold on to hats and things.

Me at the Top

If you look at the photo on the top left, you will see a sliver of road on the bottom right. The small green trees surrounding the road are full grown pine trees; i.e. 70 – 100 feet high. It was like being on the top of the world. We could literally see for miles.

We stayed for a little while, but the wind was getting harder and it seemed to be turning colder, so we decided it was time to walk back down.

I had a challenge coming down. As I was trying to find the best route down along the sloping face, I ended up going too far down and missed the turn for the trail. I then had to climb back up to the correct path. I found that incredibly difficult due to the altitude. My daughter and her boyfriend were getting concerned because they hadn’t seen me in a while. He came back down and found me sitting on the side of the mountain trying to catch my breath. How embarrassing! With his help I got back to the path to get off the dome.

After that the hike down was much easier. My daughter and I saw a mule deer and two osprey on the way up which added something special to the hike.

The lesson for the day was that if we are reaching for a big goal (hiking to the top of Lembert Dome for example), sometimes the best way to get there is just one step at a time. Don’t look to far ahead. Keep your focus on the goal but keep your attention on the next step.

Have a great day!

Michael

Tufa Towers Pre-Sunrise

Around 4:45 a.m. this morning, I dragged myself out of bed to drive from Lee Vining, CA to Mono Lake which is only about 10 miles. For a long time now, I had wanted to take sunrise photos around the tufa towers of Mono Lake. In my excitement about this opportunity, I woke up about 45 minutes too early since the sky didn’t become light until about 5:30 a.m.Oh well!

Tufa towers are composed of calcium carbonate that forms unusual shapes typically underwater. The reason that some tufa towers at Mono Lake can be seen above water is simply due to the fact that the lake level now is much lower than its original level.

Coming to the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve feels like being dropped onto an alien planet. The towers are so unusual that one cannot stop staring at them. Many birds use them as perches. In fact, I was able to see two ospreys that were tending to their nest on the top of one tower.

Tufa Towers at Sunrise

I feel very fortunate to have come here. Nature is never anything less than fascinating for me. I am continually amazed at how life adapts and thrives in harsh and seemingly unsuitable environments. The ecological balance in the lake is based on a very simple food chain. Bacteria and algae use the minerals and sun to proliferate. Brine shrimp and alkali flies eat them. 80 species of birds eat the brine shrimp and flies. That’s basically it in a nutshell.

I was the only human in this vast natural place on this very early morning. I enjoyed watching all the birds and other species (jack rabbits for example) go about their morning ritual of feeding, talking and generally hanging around.

I plan on visiting here again in different seasons. Mono Lake is ever changing naturally but new legislation in California will now help to restore the lake level to 6392 feet elevation. This is not as high as 1941 but it is a good balance for the wildlife in this region. Please go to the Mono Lake Organization website for detail information about the restoration.

I feel fulfilled and elated. Time stood still for a little while this morning and that’s a good thing.

Michael

Mt. Lassen with Lake Helen

Our day started in Arcata, CA. The temperature was 49o F. By the time we arrived in Lassen Volcanic National Park the temperature was 95o F. Wow! What a difference a couple of hundred miles inland will do.

The drive through Six Rivers National Forest and the Trinity Alps Wilderness was beautiful and at the same time difficult; lots of twisting and turning roads through this wild land. We followed the Trinity River for many miles. This is a popular river for white water rafting and kayaking especially in the late spring and summer.

Our destination for the day, though, was Lassen Volcanic National Park. Less than a quarter of the annual number of visitors to Yosemite visits this park, but that doesn’t distract from its natural beauty and unusual landscape. I like the fact that it is less crowded.

Most of our day in Lassen was spent touring by car and previewing potential areas for hikes in the future. Of course, numerous photographs were taken also.

Steam Vents - Mt. Lassen Park

Lassen is an active volcanic area which means that you can find steam vents and hot acid springs in certain areas of the park. Mt. Lassen is a plug volcano, so it doesn’t spew lava but instead explodes when it erupts. The last time it exploded was in 1915. We felt no tremors today. The volcano gods were resting peacefully.

This area of California is ever changing which is one of the attractions for me. I’ve been here several times and will be here again in the future. It makes me appreciate even more the stunning diversity on this planet that is our home. I’ve only scratched the surface but feel like I’ve seen a tremendous amount.

Have a great day!

Michael

P.S. Our adventure continues south. More about we saw and experienced on my upcoming Wednesday post in 2 days.

Note: please use my photo link to see the photos mentioned in the my post below: Northern California photos.

I had a fantastic day. We traveled north from Arcata, CA to visit the Redwood National Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Patrick’s Point State Park and Trinidad, CA. We walked many miles and saw some amazing sights.

The morning started with heavy fog. So, we decided to go hike the redwoods first and then come back down to see the coast in all it’s glory. Our first stop was a surprise as we saw a herd of wild Roosevelt elk feeding in a large meadow. We were within 50 – 100 feet of the herd. It was fantastic. I had never seen wild elk before. (Photo #1)

Two short hikes were next on the agenda. Both of them turned out to be beautiful. (Photos #2 and #6) The second trail meandered through some very tall and large redwoods. We all enjoyed this almost spiritual walk. The silence penetrated to our very core. I can’t wait to go back and explore here again.

We then drove to Fern Canyon where part of Jurassic Park #2 was filmed. (Photo #3) The hike wound through cliffs of ferns. You could easily see why the movie was filmed here. It has a primeval feel to it.

We drove back down towards Trinidad, CA to stop at lovely Patrick’s Point State Park. It is an incredible place to see. Towering cliffs of rock cascading into the ocean with massive waves pounding continually. You can see whales from time to time. (Photo #4)

Our final stop for the day was Trinidad, CA. This is a lovely town on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We walked the beach for a bit and viewed the harbor from very high vantage point. (Photo #5)

Travel and exploring the world we live on are some of the happiest times I have. I don’t see an end to my desire to see and experience more of this planet. I go to sleep tonight with a huge smile on my face.

Michael