the early of morning -- color and fog

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photo by Donald Kinney

It is more or less a bit of a guessing game. Chances are that something interesting is going to be happening just prior to the arrival of the sun. Somewhere...

Will it be the serenity of China Camp on San Pablo Bay?
Or should I hurry down to the Golden Gate Bridge for the prize?
Or might this be yet another spectacular morning for Mount Tamalpais?



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From yesterday, this is a view along Fairfax-to-Bolinas Road. One of the more beautiful, diverse, twisty, and less populated roads on the west coast. Car companies come HERE to film their auto commercials--I rest my case.



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a plethora of Bay Area bridges

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photo by Donald Kinney

With Richmond on the east end and San Rafael on the west side, the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956 replacing car and passenger ferry service. And as a boy I rode the ferry with family and our '47 Pontiac.

It is a long and odd looking bridge. Some call it the "roller-coaster" because of its up and down undulations--higher at the ship under-crossings, but lower elsewhere to economize on the use of steel. Some say it is seriously ugly.



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The Golden Gate Bridge...
Now, even in fog, here is a beautiful bridge. Massive beyond belief. And it has become a symbol--a sign of safe refuge. Many have beckoned its call.

While I stood here snapping my photos two fog-horns serenaded me--one with a single low blast, and another with two higher pitched tones.



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While Joseph Strauss worked himself sick during planning, Charles Ellis was hired (and eventually fired) to solve technical and engineering issues. Irving F. Morrow and his wife Gertrude C. Morrow were largely responsible for the Bridge's beauty--they added the Art Deco elements and chose the color.



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Unlike the Golden Gate, not many swoon or sing to the Bay Bridge. It is more of a serious "get to and from work" mess of cold steel that NOBODY enjoys crossing. Part of the upper roadway collapsed during the earthquake of 1989, but while the 13 billion dollar replacement of the eastern section will improve safety, the commute probably isn't going to get any more fun.

Other Bay Area bridges include the Dumbarton and San Mateo bridges in the South Bay, and the Carquinez, Benecia, and Antioch bridges in the East Bay.


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Lagunitas Creek, once again

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photo by Donald Kinney

After I posted this yesterday I wasn't sure if everybody was going to appreciate the darkness of the scene, but pretty much, this is what I saw.



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Ripples are my reward. These seemed almost electric, sparking and alive.



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A natural mirror in the woods and water.



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And water so colorful and wild that it can sometimes knock my socks off.



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A muted and selectively focused scene might deceive. Lots of activity happens here. The creek bustles with color. 2-inch Coho Salmon swim.


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back to my creek, the colorful Lagunitas

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photo by Donald Kinney

When I returned from my recent trip across the wilderness of the west, one of my first stops was the colorful Lagunitas Creek in west Marin.



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A canvas that paints itself. All I do is take the picture.



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But really, it reminds me of a cathedral. Stained glass windows.



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A crumpled but smooth surface. Water is a busy thing.


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Rodeo Beach, Marin Headlands

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Two dogs; twice the fun. No creature seems to enjoy the beach more than dogs. An exciting place even for humans. Photographers too; especially...



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Waves were churning restlessly this past Wednesday afternoon.
The little storm that rolled in that night was brewing.



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This kite surfer was putting on quite a show. He had great skills.


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Soaring adventure over Mt. Tamalpais, Marin County

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photo by Donald Kinney

It is not everyday that I am treated to hang-gliders and birds flying off the steep slopes of my beloved Mount Tamalpais. Dramatic and exciting to see them take off and soar slowly, in a winding manner, down to the soft sands of Stinson Beach about 2200 feet below. They say it is safe. I don't know...

SPECIAL EDITION

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CLICK for Flight over Mt. Tamalpais and Stinson Beach.

DATELINE:   Ridgecrest Boulevard, Mt. Tamalpais, October 11, 2012
THE FLASH STORY   About 8 years ago I became enamored by the geeky nature of Flash coding. I made a series of Flash examples as I learned "Action-script", a coding language similar to Javascript, useful for controlling each frame of the movie.

For a spacey trip, check out my Flash sampler site I completed in 2004 at: http://www.photoarrow.com/flash/index.html

Flash has gotten a bum rap in recent years. And yes, there has been a lot of very tacky ads and other annoying Flash abominations cluttering web-pages. However, in the hands of a totally deranged and/or creative person, magic-like movement and effects can be manipulated to perform all sorts of tasks. Great fun and maybe even educational.

Not everybody allows Flash on their devices, and there is misinformation that Flash is going away. Not true--the only thing that will disappear eventually is the Flash Player, in favor of a "movie" tag in HTML5.

If you are beyond the fringe of sanity and/or into sound-effects like I am, check out my Flash keyboard site at: http://keyboardsoundeffects.blogspot.com


The following 3 images were first published on December 4, 2004
but I think this is such a curious story I thought it worth re-running.
This hang-glider launched in clear sky, but entered a thick fog layer. I see no way the two riders could have been able to see clearly enough to navigate a safe descent. It is still a mystery to me. Perhaps they had GPS. Brave flyers. As dangerous as it appeared to me I suppose they knew what they were doing.



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The ridge on Mt. Tamalpais is a popular place for hang-gliding -- it's about a 1500 foot drop down to a soft landing at Stinson Beach.   The scenery couldn't be any more spectacular.

On Wednesday I was up on the ridge admiring the huge blanket of fog covering the Pacific when I noticed a hang-glider preparing to launch.   If you look at the photo closely you can make out that there were two people riding piggy-back.

Now, I'm still scratching my head about this, but these adventurous souls flew straight into that thick bank of fog and I have absolutely no idea how they navigated through it.   I doubt if they had radar on-board, and fiddling with a GPS unit on the way down sounds just a bit sketchy, so I hope they made it safely -- didn't see anything in newspaper headlines the following day so I guess they landed safely.



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This is the last I saw of them...



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Beautiful, isn't it?   Not much fun to drive through in a car, but these two fearless pilots seemed to show no sign of danger.   It looked terribly risky.




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Tioga Road, Yosemite N.P. -- final stop -- part 10 of 10

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photo by Donald Kinney

One of the benefits of being an old-fart is qualifying for a senior pass to the National Parks and Monuments. I picked mine up at San Francisco's Hyde Street Pier a while ago. The qualifying age is 62--I'm (ouch) 65 now. The cost was $10, but so far I have saved $90 in national park entrance fees. Finally, the Federal Government has done something of which I approve.

BUT, I certainly didn't approve of these two rock climbers scaling this steep cliff. It looked TERRIBLY dangerous and I feared for their safety. I nervously watched them, transfixed. SOMEONE had to stand by in order to summon help had they slipped.



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Again, Tuolumne Meadows was a blast-from-the-past. As a kid my aunt and uncle and cousin my same age camped here, exploring the trails to Mt. Lyell, Waterwheel Falls, and Cloud's Rest. My imagination was once again inspired by the convoluted and artistic designs of Pondersoa Pines.



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This fly fisherman said he had managed to hook three Rainbow Trout. I told him I was having good fun snagging photos. On the right is Lembert Dome. The rock is porphyritic granite, a very strong form of granite. It has a tendency for cracking away (exfoliating) producing distinctive dome shapes.



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Along Tioga Road I spotted this very pretty lake. The bonus was that although other areas along Tioga Road were packed with visitors I was the only person here. I tried to soak up as much solitude as I could.



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The number of visitors to Yosemite has increased dramatically over recent years. People are as thick as are the blood-sucking mosquitos who must delight in the easy pickings. This time of year I did not even consider going into the Yosemite Valley itself. The crowds are thin, however, in Winter. I want to go back.

The entire trip was a great experience. Nice to be have been able to take you along on this whirlwind ten day adventure. Hope you had a good time.


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Nevada & Utah -- wide open spaces -- part 9 of 10

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I'm showing this set in no particular order, but I found this pleasant scene while motoring down lonely and desolate Highway 50 at sunset as I made my way towards Ely, Nevada. I don't know the name of this lake--I can't find it on the map. As far as I know I may have been looking at a mirage.



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This mountain, somewhere east of Death Valley Junction, caught my attention. Nevada has a plethora of interesting sights--many with pointed features.



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Over the years the Amargosa Opera House at Death Valley Junction has been a popular and somewhat quirky destination for people of refinement and taste. Unfortunately, the lovely and accomplished Marta Becket gave her last performance on February 12, 2012. This vacant structure is nearby.



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Jumping way ahead here, but I thoroughly enjoyed the wide open spaces on my journey across Utah coming back from Capitol Reef National Park. The area still retains a bit of its pioneer flavor.



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Hmmm... 565 acres of Heaven. As close as I will probably ever be...


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the way to Capitol Reef National Park -- part 8 of 10

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photo by Donald Kinney

After I posted this set of Aspens as yesterday's header I started having second thoughts. The images weren't living up to my expectations. I DO have my standards. But this morning I think I found a way to salvage them. I re-Photoshopped and reduced their "clarity", producing what I think is somewhat of a dreamlike veil taking out a lot of the offending and extraneous detail. Click if you would like to see the unacceptable versions.



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The Paria River snakes its way through the convoluted wastelands of the "Giant Staircase" area in Utah's Escalate National Monument. It is a wild ride along the crest of ridges, with dramatic drop-offs on each side of the road. I was on my way, barring an unplanned plunge down these cliffs, to Capitol Reef National Park.



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I had never visited Capitol Reef National Park, so I was pretty much lost. These tourists on horseback plus their guide were more than happy to reassure me that Capitol Reef was just down the road--I couldn't miss it.



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Capitol Reef, with a 75 mile long "spine" of tall cliffs was a major obstacle for pioneers making their way west. The word "reef" was given to this rugged up-thrust of jagged peaks, domes, and cliffs by a wagon-train guide who had prior experience navigating at sea.

The ancient petroglyphs in Capitol Reef were a highlight of my trip. These are attributed to the Fremont Indian culture, from approximately 600AD to 1300AD. According to Utah.com;  the figures include a wide variety of zoomorphic (animal-like) figures include bighorn sheep, deer, dogs, birds, snakes and lizards. Abstract designs, geometric shapes and hand prints are also common.


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"Hoodoo you do" -- Bryce National Park -- part 7 of 10

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photo by Donald Kinney

My first visit here was 50 years ago with relatives, and I revisited 40 years ago on my own. Not much has changed, EXCEPT the number of visitors seems to have increased dramatically. Busloads of Germans, especially, probably taking advantage of the current weakness of the dollar.

I had to laugh as I watched a group of Germans disembarking from their bus. Instead of first heading over to the viewpoint, many of them were checking out all the cars in the parking lot. I heard one lady screech "TEXAS", and the rest of the group rushed over and started snapping the license plate. Apparently they were having some sort of license plate photo contest.



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I hiked quite a ways down what I later found out was the most strenuous trail--the "Peek-a-boo". Technically this is not a canyon formed by one central stream, but an amphitheater, carved out of ancient rock deposited in the Cenozoic age. Erosion has exposed delicate and colorful pinnacles called hoodoos that are up to 200 feet high. Something, I thought, might be found on some distant planet.



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The brown, pink and red rock gets its hue from hematite (iron oxide); the yellow rock from limonite; and a splash of purples come from a mineral named pyrolusite.

Hoodoos, complete with arches, natural bridges, walls, and windows, are composed of soft sedimentary rock and are topped by a piece of harder, less easily eroded stone that protects the column from the elements. Bryce Canyon has one of the highest concentrations of hoodoos of any place on Earth.



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I think this photos is illustrative of the erosion process which has been going on, along with fracturing and uplift, for the past 50 to 70 million years. Impressive numbers, but perhaps less so these days with our government throwing around numbers in the billions and trillions. We are indeed a silly lot. A tiny blip in the scale of time. Completely insignificant, in my opinion, when standing next to a towering and colorful hoodoo. "Hoodoo you do?"


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Zion National Park, Utah -- part 6 of 10

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photo by Donald Kinney

Life is a zoo. And zoos are--well, never mind... But I was reminded of just what a "city" boy I am when I spotted these Desert Bighorn Sheep in Zion National Park. To be honest, at first I mistakenly thought they were Mountain Goats--after all they certainly didn't look like any type of Sheep I had ever seen.



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I noticed four or five cars pulled to the side of the road. People were pointing. I knew something was up. And there they were, a whole group. I hesitate to call it a flock--as in a flock of Sheep. Maybe the correct term is a tribe. Or perhaps a herd. Oh, but I KNOW it isn't a gaggle, as in a gaggle of Geese... Oh, as usual, for Don, ignorance is bliss.



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They were close by, down in a ravine carefully foraging on what looked to be a fairly prickly and dry dinner. Three males in the group, but it was pretty clear which of those males was in charge. He was unabashedly going from female to female, "investigating" opportunities. Like I mentioned, I am a "city" boy--I don't know exactly how these things work, but I think I got the general idea. (L.O.L., as they say)



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According to Wikipedia, the park's unique geography and variety of life zones allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches.



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Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of Native Americans; the semi-nomadic Basketmaker Anasazi (300 CE) stem from one of these groups. In turn, the Virgin Anasazi culture (500 CE) developed as the Basketmakers settled in permanent communities. A different group, the Parowan Fremont, lived in the area as well. Both groups moved away by 1300 and were replaced by the Parrusits and several other Southern Paiute subtribes. Mormons came into the area in 1858 and settled there in the early 1860s. In 1909, U.S. President William Howard Taft named the area a National Monument to protect the canyon, under the name of Mukuntuweap National Monument. In 1918, however, the acting director of the newly created National Park Service changed the park's name to Zion.



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The geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area includes 9 formations that together represent 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation. At various periods in that time warm, shallow seas, streams, ponds and lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments covered the area. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateaus lifted the region 10,000 feet starting 13 million years ago.

Thank you, Wikipedia... I don't know what I would do without you.

That night I took one look at hundreds of campers getting ready to bed down in the tent camping area of the park. I knew that wasn't my style so I found a great spot to spend the night as the guest of the Bureau of Land Management in a remote area east of Zion. During the night I was treated to a cacophony of howling and singing by what sounded to be a large pack of Wolves. Or at least, I THINK that's what they were--like I mentioned, I've discovered I am more of a "city" boy than I had previously thought.


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Death Valley, California -- part 5 of 10

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photo by Donald Kinney

Death Valley can be a very hot place, indeed. Fortunately while I was there the temperature only climbed to a fairly bearable 101 degrees. 99 years ago on July 10, 1913, the current world's record was set here at 138 degrees.

But ask me about the "coolest" spot here, and I'm not referring to temperature, I'd have to give the prize to Zabriski Point.

About 9 million years ago the geology in the Zabriski Point area was formed by sediments of saline muds, gravels from nearby mountains, and volcanic ash. Wikipedia tells me that weathering and alteration by thermal waters are responsible for the variety of colors. Furnace Creek, a hot-spring, still flows through this area at a fast clip. Erosion over millions of years have sculpted complex and convoluted drainage patterns in the soft rock.

So, what else does Wikipedia say is "cool" about Zabriski Point?

Zabriskie Point is also the name of a 1970 movie by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni; its soundtrack features music by British band Pink Floyd and Jerry Garcia.

The philosopher Michel Foucault called his 1975 acid trip at Zabriskie Point the greatest experience of his life.

This location is featured prominently on the cover of U2's album The Joshua Tree.

This location was used to represent the surface of Mars in the film Robinson Crusoe on Mars.

Zabriskie Point is the name of Radio Massacre International's album released in 2000. This location was used in the film Kill Bill: Volume 2.

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The sand dunes of Death Valley... With all that sand, one might expect a beach and ocean. Photographers consider these the holy-grail of artistically sculpted dunes. Click for my photo of the dunes with fresh critter tracks.



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I have been to Death Valley a handful of times but I had never travelled the extra miles down to Badwater at 266 feet below sea level. Reflected in the water here is Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range.



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The scenery leading down to Badwater seems like it could have been imported directly from a distant planet. Golfing enthusiasts might find Devil's Golf Course the ultimate challenge. Good luck finding your ball...



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And I'll wrap this up with the sunrise that greeted me as I arrived in Death Valley. I knew it was going to turn out to be a great day, and it did.


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