A business trip to Tahoe- okay, we can handle that! And with a bit of synchronicity added, as today’s Daily Challenge theme is cold. It IS cold with snow on the ground, as evidenced by this shot taken at Incline Village ( a bit of split-toning was added in Lightroom).
These last two photos were taken at the beach- no snow down here!
And now it’s time to watch the World Series- GO, GIANTS!!!!
Coming home from Lodi today, we took a drive through a part of the Delta I hadn’t seen since my teenage years, when I was dragged unwillingly along as my father piloted our cabin cruiser through the waterways. It is a much more interesting place when seen through adult eyes. We walked through the tiny town of Isleton, which I thought I would remember more vividly than I do. As I stopped to take a photo of this prickly pear, two other women photographers descended upon it at the same time, and we all three snapped companionably for a few minutes. Funny.
These wind turbines were definitely not part of the Rio Vista landscape when I was a teenager.
We said our good-byes to the seals and pelicans this morning and headed back home along the Russian River and through the vineyards along the River Road. The trip was broken up by a fun lunch in Santa Rosa with Joan and Rudy, who have been our closest couple friends since before we were married.
And now, alas, we are back home- until our next adventure.
Dozens of seals were relaxing on the rocks every morning when we took our early walks.
Today there was some fog rolling in from off shore.
I spotted this vineyard on our way to the coast on Thursday and remembered to stop today to capture a shot of the golden grapevines.
We spent a lot of time today walking the trails along the cliff tops- and then an equal amount of time recovering. . .
There were many views like this one
and this one
and this one!
There were plenty of tree tunnels.
I left my tripod at home, so this is probably the only photo you will see of us from this trip. . .
And, btw, my camera seems to be working fine today- no problems!
A lovely day- a walk before breakfast along the bluff overlooking the waves slamming into the rocks below and a beautiful drive up to Mendocino for a late lunch. Dinner is cooking, a light fog is coming in and it is time to look through my photos.
Here is my favorite so far: the Point Arena lighthouse (with pelicans flying toward us)
I took way too many photos- and I got an error reading on my SD card. This happened in Twin Falls, Idaho also (EVERYTHING happens in Twin Falls, Idaho). At that time, I updated my firmware, bought a new SD card, and a card reader. I haven’t had trouble since. I may have to bite the bullet and send my camera to Nikon (trying not to panic . . .).
We are away at the coast for a long weekend! My hard-working husband needs a break, and I need a change of scene. Blog readers- there will be something different for you to look at beyond the four walls of my house!
We arrived an hour ago, and I am checking BLOG off my to-do list while Lonnie is at the grocery store. We have no plans other than walking, reading, sleeping, and eating. And I will be taking photos.
We had awe-inspiring views as we drove up Hwy 1, but we wanted to get here and THEN do the photo thing. So, I have no ocean photos for today.
The road into our vacation rental:
The view from the house:
Where I will be sitting in a few minutes:
All of the photos were taken with my 18-200mm and have textures added in Photoshop. The last one also has some de-saturation and split-toning (those chairs are pretty bright in real life!).
We chose Winnemucca, Nevada for our last stop before going home, because my husband’s mother had been born there and my husband remembers childhood visits to the little house where his great-grandmother lived. Grammie and her third husband, who worked for the railroad, lived in a tiny house across the street from the old Winnemucca train station. I also remember visiting her in this house when we were newlyweds.
The old train station is gone, replaced by a small Amtrak structure, but the little house remains. It was hard to take a decent shot of the house, because of cars parked in front, so I took a photo of the same little gate that Lonnie remembers from his childhood. I textured this with Kim Klassen’s kkgrunge for a vintage effect.
I wasn’t planning to photograph the Amtrak station, but I noticed an A, created by the roofline- and remembered the challenge from a few days ago to find something that looked like a letter. In keeping with my own vintage theme, I took the photo into OnOne’s Perfect Effects (my freebie from the Kelby seminar) and had fun adding effects and textures.
Before we left Idaho Falls this morning, we walked across the street so I could take a few quick photos of the falls. which are part of a massive greenbelt going through the town.
Fall is already making its appearance in Yellowstone and the Tetons. As we began the long trek home, we took a leisurely drive through both parks before beginning the drive through the pass into Idaho this evening. We stopped quite a few times in Yellowstone- especially in Hayden Valley and along Yellowstone Lake- and at Jenny Lake in the Tetons. We were delighted to see the grasses turning golden- and eventually the aspens as we came into the Tetons. Unfortunately, due to wildfires, there is a smoky haze everywhere, especially over the Tetons, which are heavily shrouded.
It’s just me and Henry this afternoon- and Henry is blissfully asleep. The boys are out for a ride and hike, and Henry’s mama is working at the preschool. Getting some photos taken during this lull in the day’s activities seemed like a good idea, so I decided to take some photos out on the front porch.
Adirondack Chairs. . .
And the church next door. . .
The theme for my Daily Challenge Flickr group today is veiled. As we drove through the Paradise Valley this morning, we could see the Pine Creek fire still burning on the hillsides. I took photos through the car window- and realized that the smoke had veiled the hills and mountains behind in smoke- a perfect response to today’s challenge.
Miles and Papa:
Upside down
Matching slippers
And then, here is Henry sitting in a drawer. . .
And, to prove that we are at Yellowstone, here is a young male elk making himself at home on the lawn.
And look who was here to greet us!
We got the car back around noon and spent the day swimming in the hotel pool and driving around Twin Falls. Tomorrow we head to Yellowstone!
Here is a view of Twin Falls’ spectacular Perrine Bridge, built in 1927 and spanning the Snake River.
And here are the beautiful Shoshone Falls (evidently less beautiful than usual, because the water is low). I tried the slow shutter speed, silky water thing, but it was just too sunny without a polarizer. I also did some panorama shots, but haven’t had time to see how they worked out. But look at that rainbow!
melinda anderson photography 