The View From the Back Yard
I moved last month From Reno to Washoe Valley. Ahhhhh, the body breathes a sigh of relief……. I need dirt and rocks, grasses, trees and mountains around and under me.
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And The Clouds Put On A Show For Free
Hiked up from Obsidian Campground off of California Highway 395/Highway108 yesterday. Molybdenite Creek is enjoying the fullness of early spring runoff and there is still plenty of snow to come off the surrounding ridges and mountains. The aspen have not yet awoke at this higher elevation but that will happen soon enough. And the clouds! They put on a great show, wonderfully dramatic and active prior to their final performance of rain and hail. I made it back to the car by about a minute. Sometimes the magic works.
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Washoe Walk
Currently, I am house sitting in Washoe Valley. It’s always an enjoyment because good hiking is immediately available or very close by. Went for a walk this morning in the north wetland area of Washoe Lake. Not a ton of birds yet although it is warming up and the lake level is slowly rising as the snow melt finds it way down from the surrounding hills and mountains. None the less- clean air, water, a nice view of the Sierras…..pretty darn nice. Please click on any image to enlarge.
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The lake level is definitely rising.
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Pelicans on the far side of the lake. The garage sale telephoto comes in handy.
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The Sierra Nevada meet Washoe Valley.
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Earthbound now.
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The mighty gull takes to the air.
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The wonderfully melodic meadowlark.
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Good wishes from an earlier beach comber. I second the emotion.
Eavesdropping on Yosemite
This is a fun one to share with anyone who can’t make it over to Yosemite on a daily basis to drink in the beauty of Half Dome,
Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, and the High Country. Yosemite Conservancy.Org has web cams situated around the park in four place.
You can see what the light looks in this amazing place at different times of the day. Just a click and you’re on a virtual vacation without the mosquitoes.
Very calming. And cheap.
Yosemite Falls | Yosemite Conservancy
Here’s the proof: The first two are from around nine this morning, the third from the other day. Have fun. Don’t sprain an ankle!
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Pyramid Lake Part 2
As promised, part two. Please click on any image to enlarge. Have fun.
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Traveling Light
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Taken at Pyramid Lake. I just happened to look up when I had the telephoto on, instantly focused and clicked. Didn’t have a clue what the image looked like till I saw it on the computer. Nothing was done to the photo outside of cropping it and adding a bit of definition. For some magical reason the telephoto gives things a different perspective sometimes.
Pyramid Lake
Ahh, spring fever…… Having performed work related tasks all weekend, today it was Pyramid Lake. A stark, hauntingly beautiful place, the heart of the Paiute Indian Reservation, Pyramid Lake is 40 miles north east of Reno, Nv. The lake is the largest remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan that covered much of northwestern Nevada at the end of the last ice age. ( Did you know that technically we are still in the Pleistocene Ice Age? That’s kinda cool…. ooh-sorry) Pyramid Lake was the deepest point in ancient Lake Lahontan, reaching an estimated 890 feet (270 m) due to its low level relative to the surrounding basins. It is not as deep now, it’s current maximum depth is 356 ft. The air is pristine. And it is a destination spot for avid fishermen.
I indulged in taking a bunch of photos, much like a hungry bachelor being treated to an outstanding home cooked meal. So rather than beating you guys up with visual over lode, I’ll split todays outing into two segments. Please kick on any photo to enlarge. And if you double click on the sign photo there are a lot of good factoids to partake in.
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Hunter Creek Trail
Hunter Creek Trail is a well used trail on the outskirts of Reno. The terrain stems from rocky high desert to dense pine forest in short order as it marches up into the Mount Rose Wilderness. Today was bright and sunny, 60 delicious degrees and a great pleasure to be able to go hiking in a t shirt.
Along the creek the willow and aspen have not yet begun to green out although they still offer some understated elegance to the color mix of the canyon. There is still enough snow on the upper parts of the trail to make photography of the lower trail area more interesting. So here’ s a few shots from todays hike. Please click on the image to enlarge.
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The Not So Wetlands
An understated but enjoyable session of gathering images in the wetland area of Washoe Lake. Fairly dry this time of year, it will soon be home to many nesting birds as the temperatures rise and the snowmelt makes its way down to the valley floor. Please click on image to enlarge.
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High Plains Drifter
Mono Lake with Highway 395 as an underline. Please click on photo to enlarge.
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The Granite Eatery
A good local fresh food and eclectic watering hole in Reno. Borrowed an Iphone for the happy snap.
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Grey Scale
This week I enjoyed re-tuning some of my favorite backpacking photos into black and white or better put, the grey scale. Lifetimes ago in college I took photography courses and spent a good amount of time in the darkroom with all the traditional chemicals, the dodging and burning with your little cut out tools, etc. As we all know the computer changed all that. Finally, I am starting to educate myself more in this aspect and look forward to experimenting.
I definitley like the iconic gravitas that black and white gives to wilderness photography. Here’s a start. Please click to enlarge.
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