Splendid Mother Nature!

Yesterday, Mother Nature gave us a beautiful day, with the temperature almost reaching 60 degrees – not that I took advantage of it or anything – most days (other than Sundays) have been spent at The Library. No “new” ancestors yet but still finding some good stuff!

Today the high was in the upper 30s due to a cold front that came through last night. Late this afternoon I noticed some interesting cloud formations in the western sky and decided to leave a little earlier than usual. I drove just a few miles west of the city on I-80, and took the exit when I saw a small pond alongside the road. The photo below is the result of that little excursion. You can't miss with a sunset when there are clouds and water involved... It was a little chilly, but worth it!

Up and Away :: Evening Version

Depending upon the weather, mass ascensions of the balloons are held in the morning and in the early evening. About five o'clock I made my way back to Rotary Park. I could see a bunch of balloons already in the sky and it was an impressive sight!

Even more impressive was seeing the balloons floating just a few feet above the surface of Lake Havasu. Wouldn't it have been fun to be a passenger in either one of the boats or one of the balloons?

There were reportedly six unusually shaped balloons at the festival. This cute little fish is the only one that came close enough so that I could get a nice shot.

Looking to the west, more balloons were ascending. I counted about 40 all in the air at the same time, though not close enough together that you could get them all in one picture.

Another pilot showing off!

For a few brief moments, the sun came out from behind the clouds and the southeastern sky lightened up considerably. I made my way south, toward that spit of land jutting into the lake.

Several balloons landed there but many others continued on further, landing on the southeastern shore of Lake Havasu.

Meanwhile, there were still quite a few balloons drifting off into the western sky.

Carnival rides and other festival activities carried on into the evening, but I did not! I stayed around a few minutes longer, watching the “glow” of some of the balloons still moored on the island.

I also spent a few minutes simply enjoying the awesome sunset that Mother Nature provided for the ending of another beautiful day!

A note about the two photos of the balloons with the golden sky: Those two shots were taken with the camera at the maximum 35x zoom setting and about 20-30 minutes prior to the sunset photo. I made no changes or color corrections to those shots (or any others, for that matter though several had adjustments to contrast and lightness).

What a Way to End the Day!

Sunday, January 15th – A heavy blanket of gray clouds covered the western Arizona sky all day long. As I was returning to the campground the sun appeared beneath the layer of clouds and quickly dropped behind the mountain range. While driving, I was watching the sky change dramatically - all of a sudden it was as if the sky was on fire! There was no safe place to pull off the road but luckily there was a “scenic view” area a short distance away. I was afraid I would miss the photo op but Mother Nature was good to me, this time!

The “normal” view of the camera just wasn't giving me what I wanted. I was able to get off one panoramic shot before the scene changed completely. This photo has been cropped to about half of that panoramic image, and you just “have” to double-click on it to view the bigger picture! Really.

The Sun's Last Glow Before Night Falls

September 8, 2011 - - Southwest Montana

Extremely hazy skies made for a strange, muted, monochromatic sunset.

A week later, somewhat clearer skies prevailed.

September 15, 2011 - - Southwest Montana

Nature's Trifecta

Monday, August 29th - -

Water + Clouds + A Setting Sun = A Beautiful Montana Sunset!

Lake Itasca :: Day's End

Wednesday, August 10th - - It had been a perfect day! In hopes of catching a nice sunset, I strolled along the beach area. There were no clouds in the sky but the haze turned the sky into a stunningly brilliant orange.

Disclaimer: The image above has been cropped and digitally enhanced! The contrast has been adjusted and a little saturation added, although not all that much.

As the sun dropped below the horizon, the orange color deepened to almost red.

This little duck was all by itself. The kids had gotten out of the lake and it was zig-zagging all around the beach area. I love the patterns it made in the water...

Another Indian Lake Sunset

Friday, August 5th - - As I drove “home” to the campground at Indian Lake after spending much of the day at my “private” beach at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the clouds began gathering. Rain was forecast for Saturday and it looked like it was coming sooner than predicted. I made it back to the campground in time for a stroll along the shore of Indian Lake at sunset.

The ducks (there were others not pictured) were enjoying the water at sunset, bathed in the golden glow of the fading light.

Like most everyone else, I generally take sunset pictures with the camera in “landscape” or horizontal orientation. Because the clouds were so dramatic, along with the reflections in the water, I decided to do a series of “portrait” shots or with a vertical orientation... Enjoy!

Indian Lake Sunset

Thursday, August 4th - - For whatever reason (too many trees blocking the view, just not being in the right place, etc.) I haven't viewed a sunset full-on since leaving Indiana on July 12th! Tonight that “nasty” streak came to an end at Indian Lake State Park near Manistique on the Lake Michigan side of the Upper Peninsula.

Clouds. Calm Water. And a Setting Sun. It doesn't get much better than that!

8:45 pm

8:58 pm

9:04 pm

9:14 pm

9:20 pm

9:24 pm

Hovenweep Revisited

Wednesday, May 11th - - My stop for the night was at Hovenweep National Monument, just inside the Utah border, about 45 miles west of Cortez, Colorado.

Yes, I went through Colorado rather quickly. Blame the weather. Call me a wimp if you will, but these extemes in temperatures are not easy to handle. Anyway, I'll be back someday. (I did spend several days in Colorado last year at Mesa Verde National Park.)

Earlier in the day, I had checked the weather forecast for several places along my route. The forecast for Hovenweep was quite favorable and I knew from my visit last year that they had a nice campground. The temperature going through Cortez wasn't much better than it had been after going over the San Juan Mountains but as I continued westward it warmed up to a most comfortable 66 degrees.

I also spent several days at Hovenweep last year and wrote about the National Monument, The Square Tower Group, and The Holly Group in detail. Since the weather was nice, I walked the two-mile trail around and through the canyon to view the Square Tower Group once again. The sun was playing hide-and-seek with the clouds so I waited for some shots until the sun decided to come out. It wasn't an extremely bright light like it was last year and I'm using a different camera so the pictures have an altogether different feel to them.

The largest structure in the Square Tower Group, which is near the campground, is the Hovenweep House. It includes several outbuildings. Here it is seen from the south side of the canyon.

From the north side of the canyon looking at the Twin Towers, Boulder House, and Rim Rock House. Unless you know it's there, it is hard to tell a canyon exists in just a few steps.

A closer look at the Twin Towers, Boulder House, and Rim Rock House.

An even closer look at the Twin Towers (above) and Boulder House (below).

I still find this place to be fascinating, especially how and why these structures were built.

Mother Nature put on another magnificent show at the end of the day.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - sometimes the best sunset pictures are taken looking toward the east (or any direction other than west)! Rain was blowin-in-the-wind and captured the colors of the sun's fading rays.

Central Kansas :: Another Sunset

Sunday, May 8th - - After my brief visit at Mushroom Rock State Park I continued west a short distance to Ellsworth. Then I spent a few hours driving around Russell County, part of which lies north of Interstate 70, and Barton County, which is to the south of Russell County and also south of I-70. You may be asking, Why?

After residing in Iowa for a short time (circa 1866-1868), my third great-grandparents, Lysander and Lydia (Robison) Joslin returned to Whitley County, Indiana. In 1877 they once again sold their land in Whitley County and headed west, this time to Odin, Cheyenne Township, Barton County, Kansas. Here they remained until 1891 when they moved to near Lyndon in Osage County in eastern Kansas.

I really couldn't do research – it was Sunday! Poor timing on my part. I did make a stop at the library in Great Bend for several hours and took a look at some of the books they had. Basically, I simply wanted to see what the countryside was like. The terrain to the north of I-70 differs dramatically from the land that lies to the south, at least in that immediate area. Russell County north of I-70 has hills, large hills. And gullies, deep and big. Southern Russel County and most of Barton County are relatively flat in comparison. Good farming land.

I considered staying in the area another night but decided against it, for various reasons. Instead I continued west on State Road 4 and stopped for the night at Cedar Bluff State Park near the small town of Brownell. It was another hot and windy day, with the temperature nearly reaching 100 degrees. And the air conditioning in the van wasn't working.

The site I had selected was in the shade near the beach. Even in the shade the heat was almost unbearable and I was thankful for the strong breeze that was blowing. My neighbors were a nice young couple. We weren't so lucky with the group that arrived in the early evening. They were loud with the stereo blaring, really inconsiderate. After about 15 minutes I left to find another site (it was a self-serve campground) in another area of the park. The new site turned out to be much better – flush toilets nearby! ;-)

It was also a better campsite because it offered a very nice view of the lake and the sunset, which was once again highly colorful due to the hazy sky. Thankfully, once the sun went down it cooled off considerably!

Sunset over Kanopolis Lake

Saturday, May 7th - - After such an exhilerating visit to the Center of the US and the Largest Ball of Twine, I headed south and ended up at Kanopolis State Park. It is located 33 miles southwest of Salina. It was a scorching 95 degrees by the time I arrived – and the air conditioning wasn't working in the van! I found a nice primitive campsite with shade and settled in for a late afternoon nap.

Toward evening, it started cooling down and I went for a walk down toward the lake. There I found just the “right spot” for viewing the setting sun. The skies had been hazy all day and the haze created the perfect atmosphere for an amazingly colorful sunset.

Greetings from... Oregon!

Mount Hood (as seen from “a few” miles away near Columbia Hills, Washington).

Arcadia Beach.

Manzanita Bay.

This and the following photographs were taken at Nehalem Beach State Park.

All photos were taken on September 21, 2010.