Weblog

I spent Memorial Day weekend in Alaska, and while the sun was not up at midnight, it was up at 11:30. Flying up to Anchorage from Seattle, I witnessed a reverse sunset; as I traveled north, it continued to get lighter. It was a very unique experience, and could have afforded me a very nice view if it were a bit less cloudy. It was still dusk when I made it to my hotel 45 minutes later. The following two days were spent on day cruises, one from Whittier, and one from Seward. The first day was beautifully sunny, and the second a bit dreary, but the second offered much more to see. The first boat ride was into Prince William Sound, which has plenty of scenery and tidewater glaciers. The second, though, was through Kenai Fjords National Park, and offered numerous whale, orca, otter, seal and bird sightings (and of course photographs). Although we only saw one glacier on the second cruise, I thought it was more photogenic than those of the previous day. Overall, despite the gloomy weather, which is very common there, the cruise was amazing.

The third day was spent exploring the remainder of the Kenai peninsula. Upon first glance, there wasn't really much to see there. Homer, the supposed bald eagle capitol of the world, was a great disappointment. Not only did I not see any mature bald eagles, the entire Spit area was not much more than a gigantic trash pit with some RV parks thrown in for good measure. I was pretty put off by the place. However, a ranger at the visitor center there told me about a great place I could find bald eagles: Anchor Point. This small state park is home to a few of the birds, and has a few nests as well. At first, I managed only to find some a great distance away in a field, but eventually my perseverance paid off. One of the eagles allowed me to get quite close to him, and I got some great photos. Then, as I was getting ready to leave, I saw more of them by the water, picking at some fish on the shore. So, I spent some more time photographing these birds, until eventually they left. I then made my way back up to Anchorage.

The next day, I climbed Flattop Mountain near Anchorage. Supposedly this is the most climbed mountain in Alaska, but much to my surprise, the last few hundred feet required climbing up some fairly treachorous rock. The view at the top was decent. You can see Anchorage down below, and other nearby mountains as well, but it was far from stunning. After climbing back down, I went to the Moose's Tooth, which was recommended by friends as an excellent pub and pizza place. The pizza was indeed quite good, and though I am no connoisseur, the wheat beer I tried was also very tasty.

The following day, I woke up early and trekked all the way up to see Mount McKinley. The drive was definitely worth it. The 20,327 foot monster dwarfs the surrounding fourteeners; it is truly a sight to behold. Photos do not do the mountain's grandeur justice, though I certainly tried! I was glad that I woke up early, though, because when I reached the mountain the weather was nice, but soon the clouds rolled in, and I took my leave. On my way back south, I stopped in the small town of Talkeetna, took in the small town, and had an excellent vanilla malt before leaving for Anchorage to catch my plane.

Three months this time... I guess that's an improvement! Since I last posted, I have started a new project in Issaquah, Washington, which is a suburb of Seattle. I started there at the beginning of February, and aside from a good amount of sun the first week I was there, the weather has been pretty bleak. It even snowed once, and apparently 2-3 inches is enough to keep people away from work, as half the client's employees stayed home the next day.

I haven't taken any photos to speak of since starting the project, though I did take a couple fun trips just before. In late December, I went on a road trip to Arizona, to see some things that I hadn't yet seen, and to revisit some favorites. My first stop was the Petrified Forest National park, but I had unfortunately forgotten to charge my batteries, and didn't get any photos there. Next on the list was the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Immediately afterward, though, I managed to get stuck in Flagstaff, snowed in by well over a foot of snow. I was stuck in the area for a day and a half, but I did manage to leave on the day I had originally planned, so that was a plus. From there, I went to see Monument Valley again, which was absolutely beautiful after being dusted with snow. The next day, I made my way down to Canyon de Chelly, which was something I had not seen before. Spider Rock is really quite beautiful, especially when surrounded by a blanket of snow on a sunny day. From there, I went to Albuquerque to spend the night, and home the following morning.

In January, a bunch of us on the project in San Jose went down to Los Cabos for a few days, as a sort of last hurrah. I had been working with some of them for over three years at that point, so we had become pretty good friends. It was my first trip to Mexico, and I had a great time there. The Hilton resort there is beautiful, and the two towns of San Jose and San Lucas have plenty to offer. We took a small boat out to Land's End, the very tip of Baja California. We also rented a car there, which was an experience in itself. Nobody drove as crazily as I was expecting, though, so that was a relief.

I do have a few trips coming up, once the weather gets nicer, some planned in more detail than others. First, I am going to take a week and go see some spots in Utah that I have not yet seen, such as Zion and Canyonlands. I'm hoping to make it out to the Bonneville salt flats as well. After that, I am going all the way to the other coast to see Washington D.C.'s cherry blossom festival, which I am greatly looking forward to. I also would like to visit Vancouver, the Olympics, the Cascades, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helen's while I'm in the Seattle area, but I think I am going to wait a bit before I get to those. I'd also love to make it up to Alaska during the summer as well.

Well, it's been quite a long time since I posted here, and I think it's time for an update. Since my last post, I've been to plenty of places, which are of course reflected in my photos. I've been doing a much better job of keeping those up to date than posting here.

My first trip was an extended weekend in Yellowstone, which was pretty amazing. I have been there before, but it's been a while. As is so easy to do there, I stumbled upon many beautiful photo opportunities. I stayed in Jackson, which made for a long drive to the park, and to compound the issue there was even construction on the road there. Still, I managed to see everything that I wanted, including making the drive all the way around the park's main loop. In doing so, I saw the beautiful canyon, many of the hot springs, Yellowstone Lake, and of course Old Faithful. I was also lucky enough to come across a moose, a black bear, and a brown bear in my short stay.

My next trip was another weekend in Seattle, to see my college roommate Matt. We took a ferry to Victoria to spend the weekend there, which was quite enjoyable. Victoria is a very nice little city, especially the harbor. We also made it up to Butchart Gardens, which is every macro photographer's dream.

In September, I went all the way to Buffalo to see Niagara Falls. I had never been there before, but it has been on my list for a while. I went there with Huy, a coworker who is on my current project (and the same guy that I went with to Vietnam). We visited both the American and Canadian sides of the falls, and I have to say that the Canadian side does offer a much better view. With that said, both sides offer a very unique experience, and I must say I do not approve of the over-commercialization of the Canadian side. The falls are really quite beautiful, though, and I was afforded some very stunning photos, and a fantastic time. It was perfect for a weekend trip.

Next on the list was a trip to Mono Lake via Reno. Mono Lake is a much-photographed location, despite being very much out of the way. It's located just to the east of the Sierras and Yosemite National Park, and a few hours south of Reno. I decided to fly to Reno to get there, though it probably wouldn't have taken much longer to drive from San Jose. I got there in the mid afternoon, took some photos and then waited for sunset. The place was then hopping with photographers, though it was still quite easy to find some wonderfull shooting opportunities. I managed to get quite a few that I liked. I also stayed past sunset, as someone there told me there would be a harvest moon, which turned out to be pretty spectacular. It was dark enough that you could see the glow in the horizon before the moon itself appeared, and it made for a great experience, especially with the coyotes howling nearby. The next day I went to the rather unique Devil's Postpile before leaving for Reno and the airport.

In October, I took another extended weekend trip, this time to New England to see the fall leaves. I had never been to New England before, and I had a great time. I flew into Boston, but wasted no time and went straight up to Vermont. I drove all around, from Smuggler's Notch to Montgomery to Burlington to Montpelier. I also hit up Franconia Notch, the Kancamagus Highway, Conway, Mount Washington and Lake Winnipesaukee. According to Hertz, I covered over a thousand miles in my five days there. The leaves were quite beautiful, and unlike anything I had seen before. Colorado obviously has beautiful leaves as well, but almost all of them are yellow and gold. New England has a broader spectrum, including oranges and very rich reds, which are quite spectacular. The small towns in Vermont add quite a bit to the experience as well.

Still not done! My most recent was a weekend trip to Sedona. I flew into Phoenix, and was lucky enough to be given a convertible Mustang. I then drove up to Sedona, and was greated with some of the most beautiful rock formations I have seen outside of the Grand Canyon. The small town is nestled against them, with many spectacular trails and vistas nearby. I spent a good deal of time at Redrock Crossing, another popular photo location. I also climbed the trail up Cathedral Rock, hiked a bit around Bell Rock, and drove out to see the Oak Creek vista. Additionally, I took my poor rental car up Schnebly Hill Road, a very rough dirt/rock road recommended only for trucks, but with a spectacular view. It was slow-going, but I made it to the vista point, which was well worth it.

That brings my blog up to date with all of my recent adventures. I've also had some other positive developments in my life recently, though I will save them for the time being.