Pin-Up Beauty
I recently connected with a local Corpus Christi Photography group who meets once a month and does group shoots with models and makeup artists. No one profits and everyone has a great time. I snapped this shot of cutie Danyelluuh Platz. Her makeup artist and stylist was the fabulous Dolly Munster.
Winter Memories
It’s been a rainy couple days here in south Texas, and no one is complaining. I’m sure as it dries out I will begin my annual rant about the war on bugs that inevitably plagues our 1948 hacienda style house and therefore begin complaining, but until then I’ll enjoy the cooler weather and the calm sounds. I have been flipping through my catalog of images and found this one from the winter of 2013. The earliest arrivers of sandhill cranes flying just over the ridge in my back field. Enjoy and have a peaceful day. 
Pretty Pigeon
Crossroads Yoga teacher Erin Reipe poses in eka pada rajakapotasana (pigeon pose) at sunset.
Birthday Hike- Loch Vale
I thought I would switch up my routine this year and do something different to celebrate the day of my birth. I wanted to climb a mountain. All told, it was a pinnacle bday for me this year and I didn’t think a party was how I wanted to celebrate. Enter Loch Vale Trail.
Weeks before our trip to Colorado I spent time scouring through a book with more information on trails, lake, lochs, and vales than I will ever need. I found a picture of a beautiful lake in Rocky Mountain National Park called ‘Sky Pond”. I turned over in bed and showed my husband saying with certainty- “There. That’s where we are going for my birthday.”
So, we cooked a campfire breakfast of potatoes and eggs, drove into Estes Park for ‘real’ coffee and then set out across the snow in search of Sky Pond. If you have been following my adventures on this blog you will already know that it was REALLY snowy in colorado this year. The snow makes everything slow going and more tiresome. Our first big feature was Alberta Falls (picture above). The glacier melt was just rushing over the rocks. I took a variety shots where the water was stop motion and splashing, but I love the slower shutter speed waterfall photos where the rushing water looks soft and ribbony. 
The views became more and more spectacular as we climbed up. I can almost smell the fresh air looking at this photo.
There are no pictures of the biggest hill I ever climbed because I was sucking wind the entire time. But it was a biggie, let me tell you. An. Absolute. Killer. On the way back I gave up completely and slid down on my rain coat. Who says I have to grow up? This was what we saw as we reached the top and rounded the corner.
Looks cold, right?
As we sat there munching on granola and apples enjoying the view of the loch vale and the lake, a couple of fellow hikers arrived and sat nearby. One of the girls proceeded to take off her winter coat and JUMP IN THE LAKE! Ok, so the trail is about 3 miles one way from trailhead to finish. IN THE SNOW. Yes, hiking makes you warm, I get that, and yes, the sun is hot- I get that, but jumping into a glacier pool is not smart when you have no blankets or dry clothes and you have to hike 3 miles through the snow back to your car. Her friend shouted at her to get out the lake. Her response? Take a photo with her cell phone. Risking hypothermia for likes on Facebook? C’mon now! I seriously hope she made it down the mountain.
So, we never actually made it to Sky Pond. The hill before Loch Vale completely wiped us out. That’s ok. Now I have a reason to go back.
More from the Mountains
Estes Park Colorado may be the world’s most beautiful tourist trap. The mountain view is absolutely breathtaking, but the town center is full of overpriced food, shot glasses and tee shirts. Sitting like a crown jewel in Estes Park is the stunning Stanley Hotel, which has been made infamous because Steven King was inspired to write “The Shining” while staying here. We went in and sat in the lobby for awhile, trying to act like we belonged. Below is a picture of some elk in velvet munching on the grass buffet outside the beautiful hotel.
For all my traveling, I haven’t actually spent too much time in a tent. I purchased this 4 person dome tent off of REI during a sale, and it was fantastic for what we needed during our trip. At about 9 lbs it is too heavy to take into the mountains, and works best for car camping. It was extremely easy to set up and kept us dry the whole trip. This is our site at the Glacier Gorge Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Before the summer sun really got the best of us, we thought we would head to the mountains, pitch tent and get one last chance to play in the snow. The skies were cloudy and yes, we got hailed on some, but the trip was amazing!
This photo was taken from a scenic pullover on the road that leads to Glacier Gorge and Bear Lake Trailheads in the Long’s Peak area of the park. The sun was shining on the snow capped mountains in such a pristine way.
Lightning Strikes
This is not the first time I have neglected my blog for a couple of weeks, and it probably won’t be the last. But this time I have a pretty good excuse for the first two weeks of my absence- that is- our internet was hit by lightning!
I was laying in bed in the middle of the day reading a book (omg I have a great life) enjoying the sound of the rain on the roof. The thunder rolled in and I didn’t think much of it UNTIL the crack and flash felt like it hit right outside my window!
I jumped up and ran to every window around the house just waiting to see a mesquite tree in flames and yet nothing was out of the ordinary. Just grass and fields and sky.
As I entered the living room I detected the faint smell of burning rubber and noticed the box fan was no longer spinning gently in the corner. So the main living fuse blown. Ok. I wasn’t crazy- something happened, and now I could go back to reading happily freed from any internet obligations as the modem and the computer are tied to that fuse.
Fast forward: The next day I bend down and pick up all these little pieces of plastic shrapnel and curse at my husband for doing something messy and not picking it up. The trail leads me to the modem, which I now see is laying askew on the desk. There is a burn on the wood and I notice that the plastic cover on the modem is lying about 6 feet away from the desk and connections blossom. I realize that it was the internet antenna that was struck!
First, before we could get the internet back, we needed electricity. Well, we totally botched that part. We managed to break the air conditioner looking for the electricity shut off. So for about a 48 hour period, we had no AC, no electricity in the main hang out areas of our house and no internet. #darkages.
The electrician came and fixed the A/C and the fuse, which required two visits, and then the internet people came, which required two visits, and then A/C broke again which require another repair man and then all normalcy was restored.
Did I mention how frustrating it is to wait for repair people without the internet?
The good news is that we left shortly after all that madness to go to Colorado! Here is a picture snapped at the Flatirons in Boulder.
Leipzig, Germany
Leipzig: The home of Bach, the Paris of Germany, the home of the Kartoffelhaus #1 & #2. Also if you visit this beautiful city during Christmas time you get to walk through an interesting little exhibit where Christmas tales staged. The German tales differ slightly from the American milk and cookies shenanigans, so I can’t quite work out what is going on. We had a really fun time in Leipzig. The art museum was our favorite we visited out of all the museums we went to in Germany and Amsterdam.
Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin
In Berlin, many tourists seek out Checkpoint Charlie as their first stop. We stumbled on to it quite accidentally. At the little checkpoint booth under the sign they had two German men dressed in American uniforms. Everyone was having photos taken with them. I thought the entire thing was odd, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, so who I am to judge.
This is the side if you were leaving the American side of the checkpoint and entering into the Soviet Russian side. I have not altered this photograph to make it more or less gray. Except for a minor exposure adjustment I didn’t touch the values in this photograph at all. Winter in this part of the world can be very, very gray.
If you face the opposite direction (the American side) the scene is terribly gaudy. There is a McDonald’s that takes up about half the block. Lots of neon and tacky shops.
Kathakali Dancer, India
Kathakali dancing has been around since the 17th century in the south of India, in the modern day state of Kerala. Kerala is a magic place filled with religion, books, dosas, and coconuts. When attending a performance, spectators arrive early and watch the actors put on their elaborate makeup. A narrator in robes leads the audience in and out of scenes, helping the audience transition from forest to palace and then the dancers would twitch and leap and make the ancient story come to life.
Grotto on the Ecuador Coast
Outside of Puerto Lopez, Ecuador is a national park which has some hiking trails and three different beaches with beautiful sand, smooth stones and millions of little crabs. My niece donned one beach as ‘crab beach’ and it is the only name I have for the special place. The little waddlers were too fast and too camouflaged for me get on my camera, so I settled for the steady stillness of these rocks. The photo fades to darkness, but what was so magical was that you crawl quiet a ways into this little cave/ enclave / grotto or whatever fancy word sounds best to you.
Sparrow. Well maybe.
Sundays are a calm day. A day to look out the window and see what flying around. I took this photo last spring when I was shooting for the Coastal Bend Wildlife Contest or otherwise known as Wildlife in Focus. I spent a good while trying to figure out the exact species of sparrow this little guy or girl is, and now I’m second guessing if its even a sparrow. I thought at first it’s an oven bird, but that doesn’t quite fit either. And since I have work to get on with today, I’m letting you see the cute picture of a small bird and moving on.
We Light Amsterdam
Riding our bikes through the crowded, windy Amsterdam streets one night, we stumbled along this public art installation. Even though it was beginning to rain a little, I demanded that we pull over and so I could take a picture of the field of lamps. Later I connected the dots and realized it was a part of the Light Festival that Amsterdam hosts over the winter holiday season. Looking up information online after the fact, I guess the lights actually spell “WE LIGHT AMSTERDAM” from above. I had no idea it spelled anything and thought it was beautiful just as a bunch of lamps willy nilly. To see the lights spelling out the phrase you can click here.
Red Lights in Amsterdam
A view of the Waag from one of the many canals running through Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dam Square still festooned with decorations from the winter holiday season.
Ingapirca
Ingapirca is the site of the ancient culture of the Canari. There is a ~ or the n in Canari, but I am at a loss to work out how to make that happen on my keyboard. Accessible by car or bus, the hour and fifteen minutes ride to Ingapirca down on windy roads in the Andes is absolutely breathtaking. I find the geographic look of the Andes thrilling. They are not just steep and harsh; Hillside valleys and habitable spots that make for comfortable weather and staggering views. The sky is always blue, so so blue, and the grass is always green. I have not even saturated the photos below.
The Canari people (from Ecuador) put up a grand fight against the Incan army (from Peru). Over the course of a year or two (or more?) the Canari depleted a good number of opposing force before being completely taken over. From what I could understand at the site, once the Incan’s held the community, they enslaved the Canari. But the slave masters were women. In one of the ruins the bodies of 30 women were found which apparently confirmed this fact.
The Incan’s arrived at the Canari homeland sometime in the 14th century, but the Canari people lived in the region for some 3,000 years. They are known as terrific stonemasons because their structures needed no mortar. Needless to say, they are still standing. Tetris masters long before the Russians. Unfortunately about 50 years ago when people began to move back into the region they pillaged the site for ‘free’ rocks to build their homes with. The site would stand taller today if something more had been done to preserve this ancient spot sooner.
The Canari had advanced techniques of heating, cooling, and chipping at the stone to mold them into a shape. They even went as far as to make channels and locks. These folks didn’t stop at stones either; they made delicate jewelry from gold and fertility statues from clay. All of which I wasn’t allowed to photograph at the Pumapungo museum in Cuenca.
lovey dovey
Dove in south texas are mostly prized for the ability to provide a reason to go hang out in a field all day with some beers and good friends. They are related to the pigeon, and well, basically are just rural pigeons that because you call them dove you can eat them. They are decisively more skittish which makes taking their photo sort of fun.
South Padre Island, Port Isabel, TX
In a stoke of good luck I was sent out of town to Port Isabel for a work conference. Although the days were long, and I only got to stare at the fantastic blue waters and bougainvillea festooned pools of the Isla Grand hotel, I had still had a lot of fun. I popped out to the beach one morning to grab some quick photos. Also, if you are ever in the area Gabriella’s Italian is a must! I have been dreaming about the ravioli since I got back. Enjoy!
Here ducky, ducky…
Here are some waterfowl photos from the contest that didn’t make the cut. We had a great variety of ducks out on the pond this year, so it was difficult to choose the best images. I should have left for work about 15 minutes ago, so I better cut the chit chat short. Have a great Monday!
Female blue winged teal
Male blue winged teal
The lonely mallard. We think he might be a cross of a couple of different ducks. He had a hurt wing, so he was hanging out at the lake nearly every day, relaxing, floating and healing up.
A whistling duck. These guys almost look like decoys in real life. There is something wooden or toy-like to their appearance, even up close. As a super communal duck ,these guys are a fun crowd to watch.
Ranch Reflections 