Ghost Train

We are getting on towards Halloween and I might just put up a few of my weirder photos. This is not a double exposure. I took this just as the ghost train passed the street I was looking down. You might have to click on the photo to see the street.

A Magnificent Glacier

When my wife and I took a cruise to Alaska, I was wondering if we would really get to see the places shown in the travel brochures and videos. It turned out much better than expected. But the interesting thing was, there were over 2000 people on this huge cruise ship and only a very small handful even took the time to look out the windows or walk outside to see this magnificent glacier. A very puzzling reaction to spending all that money and time.

Rivers of Ice

Some of these Alaskan glaciers are fed by huge snowfields nestled in the tops of the mountains. Some of the ones in this photo are separate from the huge mass of snow behind the mountain ridges. Here is a satellite view of the area near where this photo was taken, you can see the huge ice fields and the smaller glaciers on the mountain tops. The area is much more impressive from sea level than from thousands of feet up.

From Google Maps View of Whittier, Alaska

Blue Glacier Ice

Glacier ice is definitely blue. You can stand right next to it and see that it is blue. It is not a reflection of the sky. The reason is that glacier ice is so dense, that it absorbs all of the colors of the light except blue. Sometimes the ice can appear almost green, but usually, as you can see in the above photo, the ice is a brilliant blue color. You may need to click on the image to see the bands of ice visible under the snow cover.

Mountain Fastness

I was wondering if anyone just went around and climbed to the top of all these peaks and mountains? They are probably not high enough to attract dedicated mountain climbers and who else would take the time and effort to climb to the top of an unnamed peak. Then again, maybe they aren't unnamed and someone has climbed every one of them just to do it. Interesting thought.

The Remnants of Erosion

We see the effects of erosion in the iconic photos of the arches and the grand vistas of the Colorado Plateau, but we seldom focus on the more intimate side of erosion. These formations are not more than six feet high and probably would be ignored by any flashy state or local advertising campaign. However, these rocks symbolize all of the reasons I am attracted to the high desert. They are iconic in their own way. They illustrate the capricious nature of the erosional process and the fantastic and unbelievable forms created by wind, water and ice. What is also evident is the efficiency of the process in cleaning up the debris left by erosion.

A Tropical Rainforest

I like contrasts. The last photo I posted was of the effects of an August snowstorm. Today, I am back to Oahu, Hawaii and the tropics. The overall effect of seeing a tropical jungle or rainforest is the color green. It takes a while to differentiate the separate colors that really co-exist in the trees. Not all the colors are green. Here, the mountains are covered with clouds. The central range of mountains on Oahu capture a great deal of rain, rendering the west coast of the Island rather drier than the east coast.

August Snow

When you move from the low desert to the mountains, the change in seasons assumes a great importance. We had a big thunderstorm the night before this picture was taken and we woke up to snow on the mountain tops. Even though it is still August and the desert has two more months of temperatures in over 100 degrees or, at least in the 90s, we are enjoying cool weather and vistas of snow on the mountains. Winter cannot be far away.

The Old Wagon Wheel

A person who makes wagon wheels is called a wheelwright. The trickiest part of making the wheel was heating up the iron tire and then shrinking it onto the rim or feller. There are usually fourteen spokes on the rear wheels, like this one, and twelve spokes on the front wheels. This wagon is in pretty good shape.

Fireworks

Fireworks are pretty impressive, but only last a few seconds. This fireworks show went on for quite a while but ended suddenly when one of the air bursts landed a few feet away in the front yard and almost in the middle of the watching crowd. It made the show more memorable, but also dimmed the enthusiasm of those who had to dive for cover.

Juneau, Alaska Harbor

Juneau, Alaska is similar to the other smaller towns along Alaska's West Coast. It is long and narrow, fitted between the steep mountainside and the ocean. Juneau is the state capital located where there is no overland access. All contact with the city has to come by boat or plane. The city sits at the edge of a huge snow field with glaciers coming down the larger valleys. It is a remarkable city in a beautiful setting, with lots of rain and, I would guess, snow in the Winter.

Flaps Down -- Taking Off

Alaska is reported to have six times the number of private pilots licenses than anywhere else in the U.S. One out of fifty-eight Alaskan residents has a pilots license. Most of the planes fly with pontoons and land on the water, for the simple reason that there are few roads and and even fewer airports. While in Alaska, we saw hundreds of planes on the land, water and in the air.

Down into the gorge

The Northern Pacific Coast of North America is characterized by its abundant rainfall and thick forest cover. In some areas, where the rainfall is abundant, the forest is often characterized as a "temperate rain forest." This photo taken on Vancouver Island is a good example of such a temperate rain forest. In addition, despite the rain, it is also a wonderful place to take photographs.

Like a rock in a stream

A person who values integrity and honor, may sometimes feel like this rock in the stream of life. The world is rushing by and ignoring fundamental values of truth, morality, charity, kindness, dignity and honor and standing for values may seem impossible. But as this rock illustrates, a solid foundation can resist the negative influences of the world if we are based on firm foundation.

High Water

Focus on the logs in the middle of the image. They are lodged across the river from bank to bank because that is where the ended up when there was that much water coming down this canyon. This is not unusual unless you have been around when all that water was coming down the river. Logs wedged in the rocks are also fairly common in the slot canyons of my own desert Southwest. It is impressive to see the size of the logs and imagine the force of the water that placed them there.

Cheese

I eat a lot of cheese. I also enjoy taking photos of the patterns made by lots of similar objects. You can look at this image in a lot of different ways. You can even see shapes and patterns in the way the packages of cheese are arranged. The longer you look at such an image, the more patterns and ideas appear. I also like the color and the random nature of the arrangement. This is not you usual supermarket display where some obsessive clerk has lined up each package.

I Love Wisteria

This wisteria covered doorway was irresistible. It is located in the Country Market of Coombs on Vancouver Island, B.C. We had an opportunity to visit during the time of year when it rained every day and this day was no exception.

A Bright Spot in My Day

Sometimes I find a flower that is so unusual that I have to take a photo. I recognize perhaps thousands of plants by name, but every once and while, I find one that seems to defy my identification. This is one of those. It is probably very common in Canada where I found it, but it is certainly unusual here in the Desert Southwest and Utah. But on the cloudy and rainy day I took this photo, it was certainly a bright spot in the day.

Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site, Vancouver Island, B.C.

The Fisgard Lighthouse was the first lighthouse on Canada's west coast. The light was automated in 1929, but from 1860 to 1929, the lighthouse was home to a succession of lighthouse keepers. The Lighthouse is impeccably preserved and open to the public for self-guided tours. The Lighthouse is located on Fort Rodd Hill and marks the home base for the Royal Canadian Navy. While we were visiting the Lighthouse, it was raining off and on and I was trying hard not to get rain on the lens of my camera. I was going to take the flying bird out of the photo, but decided to leave it in.

The Effects of Lots of Rain

Depending on where you live, this image is either very strange or very normal. I have lived most of my life in the desert. Now, that I live in Utah, technically, since the average rainfall in Provo is between 19 and 20 inches a year, I no longer live in a desert. But it is much drier than this hillside on Vancouver Island, B.C. where the average rainfall is closer to between 36 and 37 inches a year. Some of the locations on Vancouver Island average almost 140 inches of rainfall a year. I could get used to that.

Falling Water

Yes, I am aware that Frank Lloyd Wright named one of his famous houses "Falling Water," but then he did not have the experience of traveling through Canada and Alaska with a camera. This is really falling water and it is very, very unlikely that anyone will build a house over the top of this waterfall.

Standing in a Tide Pool

I have decided that taking wildlife photos and especially those of birds is a complicated and taxing task. The conditions, such as here in the middle of a rainstorm, are not usually ideal and you subject is not likely to cooperate. But it is important to note that this heron just stood there, waiting, I am sure for a meal to swim or crawl by. That made it a little easier to get off the shot, so to speak. This photo was taken on the main beach of Victoria, B.C.

Skagway, Alaska

Skagway, Alaska is a "first-class borough" in Alaska with a permanent population of 920 and a tourist population, during the summer months, of over 5000 people a day. It was formerly a city but was re-incorporated as a borough in 2007. This is one of the few places along the Alaskan Panhandle that there is a road and rail connection to the interior of the State. Skagway was one of the ports for access to the Klondike Gold Rush or 1896.

Crystal Clear

If it weren't for the ripples in this stream, you could not tell the water was there at all. There are very few places in the world where it is possible to see water this clear. Arizona certainly has only a very few places where this is possible. This is not one of them. This happens to be a stream in Alaska.