We came across this Elephant Seal Vista Point as we drove the Cabrillo Highway. We were impressed by the sight, one more experience that I had not encountered before. More info of the Elephant Seals
Elephant Seal Vista Point
Category: Traveling US
Breakfast at Joe’s
Before we left towards our drive to Big Sur we had a nice american breakfast at Joe’s Place in Paso Robles. The owner is a patriot, by the look of the memorabilia and photos on the walls.. Also lot of old movie stars pictures- Ladies room had pictures of old leading men. I did not visit the men’s room, but I heard lovely ladies covered the walls. We do not have these kind of diners/ breakfast places in Finland so this was a rare opportunity to do this kind of breakfast. I was going to skip this part, but my husband let me understand that this should be in the “diary” of our trip.
A Wine Lover’s Paradise
Our next stop is Paso Robles, A Wine Lover’s Paradise. We stayed one night and visited Sculpterra Winery & Sculpture Garden and Tooth and Nail Winery ( my next post). These are from Sculpterra our first pick. It had a lovely atmosphere, serene, musicians playing in the garden. I really enjoyed our visit.
Sequoia – Sunset
What can I say; the sunset was beautiful. The sky changed colors constantly and the point of focus changed the tone of the shot dramatically. I was even able to capture stars ( white spots on the photo) with out a tripod.
Sequoia – Moro Rock
Moro Rock is a granite dome rock formation in Sequoia National Park, California, United States. It is located in the center of the park, at the head of Moro Creek, between Giant Forest and Crescent Meadow. A stairway, designed by the National Park Service and built in the 1930s , is cut into and poured onto the rock, so that visitors can hike to the top. The view from the rock encompasses much of the Park, including the Great Western Divide.
My husband took the photos from top of the Moro Rock and I edited them. I was not able to climb up due to my foot injury, I have been there 30 something years ago.
Memories from years back 🙂
Sequoia, Giant Forest
The beautiful redwood trees are HUGE, unless you see them it is hard to imagine the size them. To think that there are people who think they should be cut down. I am blown away of the majesty of the trees. General Sherman is a giant sequoia tree located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park it is the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth.
Height 83.8 m (275 ft), Diameter 7.7 m (25 ft), Volume of trunk 1,487 m3 (52,500 cu ft), Date seeded 700BC – 300BC
The Giant Forest, famed for its giant sequoia trees, is within the Sequoia National Park. This montane forest, situated at over 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above mean sea level. The giant sequoia tree is the most massive species of tree on earth and they are impressive for sure.
We caught up with a group of people who had a guide with them and so we discovered this three that you could crawl into and you could also see though the tree to the side and the top of the trunk a hollow tree. One more thing to be amazed about.
Memories from 1990’s
Sequoia National Park #2
The beautiful trees and mountain views were spectacular as we drove up.
Nature is so versatile, so serene, beautiful. I am at awe. Continuing to share photos of natures wonders. Art form that I so appreciate.
Sequoia National Park
We arrived to Three Rivers at dusk so the only thing was to book ourselves into a motel and find a place to eat. There was nothing to take photos at this time.
Next day we are meeting old friends and heading to the Sequoia National Park to see the beautiful red woods, mountains. These are from the way up. I mean really, this is such a lovely place. I have tons of photos from out trip up, so be prepared to be overloaded with natures wonders. Art form that I so appreciate.
on the road #3
Still on the road. What you see when you travel and stay awake..
On the Road #2
I loved spotting the trees on the rolling hills. Considering I took these from a moving car I think they came out rather good. For some reason this kind of images appeal to me. I often take photos of a lonely tree of few trees? Do you have a favorite topic you come back to?
All the rolling hills on this part of the drive appeal to my aesthetic sensibilities 🙂
On the road
My dairy of our trip continues, as we left Las Vegas. We started our road trip first destination was Three Rivers in California. Here are some shot taken from the drive, you quest it, there might be a # 2 and even #3 for this topic too.
We sure were happy that on this Friday we were heading out of Las Vegas as the traffic towards was rather congested. Nice long lines of cars. This was to be our longest drive at one time the following stops we had planned to be shorter. So we listened to music, looked at the changing scenery and I took photos from the moving car 🙂
Hoover Dam
It was sad to see how the water level had gone down. It for sure is not a promising sign to Nevada’s water supplies. You’ll see a visual reminder of the area’s changing water levels in the high-water mark apparent on every rocky surface. Jokingly called a “bathtub ring,” the revealed stone is lighter in color, with undulating lines marking water heights through the years
Bootleg Canyon
We ended up at the Bootleg Canyon as one of our friends started to talk to a local at a small local Mexican place. Told us that you can see to both sides to town and hoover Dam from there. So we drove the gravel road up to the top and took some photos in the afternoon and returned at nighttime to see the valley light up. Those photos did not turn up well as I did not have a tripod with me.
The images above are from the afternoon.
So much light, with a better lens and tripod I think I could have had some great shots from this place 🙂
Lake Mead
Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, Bootleg Canyon were the destinations on one of the days during our visit to Las Vegas. These all happened on on the same day, but I am going to post them one by one, because I have so many pictures to share. I have some great memories or shoud I say memorable memories from Lake Mead, Once we were caught in a sandstorm and hide in the water with just our head out of water. I nearly lost may angles – life during a water ski accident… Yeah I remember this place.
Mount Charleston
This place is about hour and half away from Las Vegas and it baffles me that even the locals do not visit it that often. Lovely , cooler nature sanctuary form the hotness of the town. Mount Charleston, it was on the second day of our trip that we decided to refresh our memories from this place. It was worth the drive. We drove to Mt. Chaleston lodge that is hidden at elevation 7,000 feet among the juniper and sweet ponderosa pine of Kyle Canyon.
The not so glamorous side
it has been years since my prior visit, but I have to say that the sadness and poverty in so much more prominent today on the streets of Las Vegas. Also the ways various people are trying to make a living. I am posting these just to remind me and us that there is always the other side to glamour. I am not so used to seeing it. so it made me very sad.
Neon lights galore
No, I am not finished yet. These are mostly from the Las Vegas strip and from our hotel window. Light treatment continues in this post.
Downtown Las Vegas ~2
Those who have followed my blog know that I always take tons of photos, so did you expect me to have taken so few from downtown, really did you?
Here goes the blast of neon lights continues – sorry 🙂
Downtown Las Vegas
If you travel to Las Vegas downtown is a must see, but I have to admit it is not my favorite place in Las Vegas. It is too loud, crowded for my taste. Different music surrounding you from every direction, the total cacophony of sounds. People just everywhere. But the lights are something different, not something you see at home that’s for sure. Though during the dark months they surely would considered as light treatment to the people who walk in in the darkness for several months.
Never lose Hope
I will still remain in Las Vegas, I am trying to keep the timeline right, I will also remain colorful even if it is not nature photos. Las Vegas night life and lights will be my next topic for several posts.
This is from down town Las Vegas. The sign caught my attention that is the reason for the topic.
Valley of Fire~5
my last post, for now , from Valley of fire. I thought we could do with a splash of warm orange hues, sunshine and warmth that has been in these photos. Sorry for the overload. This also works as my diary I gather my memories here. So these are smaller details, textures from this location and a bird and a lizard.
Valley of Fire ~4
Valley Of Fire ~3
Valley of Fire~2
Valley of Fire consists of bright red Aztec sandstone outcrops nestled in gray and tan limestone mountains. The sandstone is from the Jurassic period and is the remnant of the sand left behind by the wind after inland seas subsided and the land rose. Early man moved into southern Nevada as far back as 11,000 years ago. The most obvious evidence of occupation from about 2,500 years ago. Here is the first set of photos 🙂
Valley of Fire~1
Valley of fire in Mojave Desert in Nevada. It had been about 35 years since my previous visit to this colorful place of red Aztec sandstone outcrops nestled in gray and tan limestone mountains.
The area plant community is dominated by widely spaced creosote bush, burro bush and brittlebush. Several cactus species, including beaver tail and cholla, are also common
Las Vegas Desert
The second day we where contemplating as what to do. As stated we do not gamble so instead of heading to the casinos we went to see sights. Our first place to visit was Valley of Fire in the Mojave Desert. It is unbelievable that in the middle of the desert you can find these beautiful red rock formations. I will post several post from there as I did take so many photos of this colorful place.
These photos are from the drive through the “normal” Las Vegas desert with the mountains surrounding it beautifully. It does not look that spectacular, but if you look closely you can see beauty here too. What do you think, have I captured beauty of the desert?
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 