Through the Clouds

Our boat trip along the Kenai fjords in Alaska was one of the most memorable travel experiences of my life. Despite the rain and fog and the constant rolling motion (4 foot swells in places, they said- is that unusual? I don’t know.) and sometimes rough waters, it was amazing! We spent most of our time on deck, except for when the rain became too much, and were constantly awestruck by the dramatic coastline and the opportunities to see whales, puffins, eagles, porpoises, seals, and sea lions. And oh yes- glaciers! My photos of the scenery include mostly gray shapes with water spots- not too many keepers, considering how many I shot.

Here is one of my better land/sea-scape shots- taken while the boat was in motion and there was little rain. I wish I could say exactly where on the map this was. The mountains seemed to rise right out of the sea- with snow and glaciers and clouds to round out the scene.

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Layers of Colour

Don’t you think colour looks better than color? One of my favorite quotes is “Keep calm and fake a British accent,” so this is in that spirit (nothing to do with Brexit. . .).

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The above is from last week’s trip to the Grand Canyon. The hazy sky desaturated the colors, which I brought back with Lightroom’s Dehaze brush and some other adjustments. THEN I added a very slight adjustment with Topaz Glow, which is such a cool little plug-in- it does things I don’t know how to do otherwise. Very fun! The frame is from On1 Effects.

 

Junior Rangers!

We are having a major heatwave, so our two days at the Grand Canyon were punctuated by frequent stops to refill water bottles and stand in the shade. The highlight of the trip was the boys being sworn in as Junior Rangers by a close family friend of theirs, who is indeed a big important ranger at the Grand Canyon.  The boys completed all the required pages (at different skill levels) of their official Junior Ranger books and then were sworn in front of a small crowd of curious tourists. They already have badges from Yellowstone, but this particular badge was significant because of the friend that did the ceremony for them. A sweet moment! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of them wearing the badges. . .

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And here is a shot of the canyon (I’m amazed it’s as sharp as it is, since it was too hot to carry a tripod and the railings were too hot to lean on to steady the camera!):

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Out of Town!

On Saturday, Lonnie and I got OUT OF TOWN! After a couple weeks of illness- and then a water leak which will eventually lead to our floors being replaced- we were more than ready for an outing. We didn’t go far- just southeast to the town of Superior to visit the Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, where we walked and walked and walked admiring all the different cacti and wildflowers. It is a beautiful spot! I took dozens and dozens of photos; it felt so good to get out and use my camera again.

These rocks form the backdrop of the state park, which is right by the highway. Octotillo was in bloom everywhere!

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I brought my Lensbaby Edge 80 along too, which I used on these flowers (along with a bit of enhancement from Topaz Impression).

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Where’s Waldo?

Here’s yet another view of Sunnylands- I just can’t get enough of the palo verde trees! During the editing process of this photo, I discovered something that I didn’t realize I had captured when I snapped the shutter. Can you find it?

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No, it’s not the people in the background- it’s in the foreground, and may be pretty pixelated in this online version. It’s in the orange flowers, and it starts with H!

Sunnylands

The focus of our short stay in Palm Springs was of course our reunion with the Rapunzels. We enjoyed some great meals and spent a lot of time catching up on each other’s lives. Our one outing was to Sunnylands, which had been highly recommended by my cousin, Charlaine who was just there. Sunnylands was the estate (built in 1966) of Walter Annenberg, the late publisher, diplomat, and philanthropist. We hadn’t bought tickets for the tour (which included the house), but took our time walking around the beautiful grounds. I was especially captivated by the palo verde trees (state tree of Arizona!), the trunks of which you can see in the below photos.

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Mammoth Mornings

It’s been over a month since we left Yellowstone, but I still am going through my photos. Here is a shot of the chapel with an elk grazing outside.

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And below is a very early and very cold morning view of the Yellowstone Justice Center. Can you spot the elk in this photo? 🙂

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