Monday Black Cat Blogging

Black Cat - Marin County 2011

Scary little black cat out at the stable.

Pond, Rhode Island

Pond, Rhode Island  2006

Yellow Leaves, Pond, Rhode Island  2006

We came across this small pond in a park outside Providence. Very nice! Autumn colors,overcast sky, reflections . . .

All the correct ingredients.

In fact, one of my "Best Seller" photos was taken at this location.

(Not only that, but once again I'm astounded by the quality of the jpgs taken by the Olympus C-8080. Amazing. Also, how annoying to hear of Olympus' recent problems!)

Doughboys

Iggy's Doughboys - Rhode Island  2006

Narragansett Bay - Rhode Island  2006

The doughboys were excellent!

The scenery was nice, too.

Leaves, Building

Building, Leaves - Rhode Island  2006

Also in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island

Trees, Rhode Island  2006

Leaves, Rhode Island  2006

Taken near Jim and Jose's residence. I'm pretty sure that I arranged the leaves at the bottom.

Mystic, CT

Stream, Connecticut  2006

Trees, Connecticut  2006

More east coast autumn photos. Going from 1999 to 2006, from film to digital.

These two photos were taken in Mystic near the "Denison Pequotsepos" Nature Center. Don't know how that's pronounced.

Gardner's

Gardner's, North Carolina  1999

As mentioned earlier, Mike was in search of not only colorful foliage, but barbeque as well.

He ate two meals at Gardner's, supposedly the best place in Rocky Mount. It was OK, but one interesting thing was that you couldn't order any beer to go with your pulled pork. So the next meal was take-out, accompanied by beer purchased at a nearby convenience store.

Monday Dog Blogging

Dalmatian, Maryland  1999

Frederick, Maryland.

Virginia, 1999

Autumn Leaves, Virginia  1999

Virginia Creeper, Virginia  1999

Mike explored a section of the famous Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, hiking a short section of the equally famous Appalachian Trail. Just prior to turning off the highway and heading for Rocky Mount he stopped at a pull-off that featured grey rocks (granite?) and the bright red leaves of the Virginia creeper.

Fallen leaves scattered near one of those ubiquitous Civil War historical sites and leaves of the Virginia creeper turning color.

Railroad Tracks

RR Track, Virginia  1999

Wandering through the luminous Virginia woods Mike comes upon the abandoned tracks of an old narrow gauge railway. A nearby waterfall echoes through the forest. The tracks round a curve and vanish.

Road & Cloud

Road & Cloud, North Carolina  1999

Mike drove back and forth through the North Carolina countryside, through the small towns and cotton fields, searching for the correct combination of road and cloud.

Head Waters

Head Waters, Virginia  1999

Early fall morning, steam rising off the buildings.

Per Wikipedia, "The South Fork South Branch Potomac River rises north of Head Waters, hence the community's name."

A non-Mike photo looking in the same direction found here.

West Virginia

Tree, West Virginia  1999

I think this is West Virginia, anyway. After the training in Maryland was finished, I headed south looking for autumn foliage and barbeque, travelling for a short spell through West Virginia.

Hurricane Floyd - 1999

Self-Portrait (Hurricane Floyd), Maryland  1999

I was training for a new job in September, 1999 in the town of Columbia, Maryland when Hurricane Floyd swept through the area. As I recall, training went on as usual throughout the period of heaviest rainfall, with some employees leaving early.

I took this photo after hours in the gathering darkness as the rainfall gradually decreased. That's a Minolta 7000i on the tripod, if I'm not mistaken.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cows, Sierra Nevada  2011

. . . near Crowley Lake, in the Eastern Sierra. Taken during Mike's hurried journey from Tom's Place to Modesto.

Reflections

Floating Leaves, Tennessee  2010

Leaves floating on Abrams Creek, sunlit trees being reflected.

Abandoned Building

Abandoned Building, Tennessee  2010

Dan and I had to stop once we saw this crumbling structure in Chattanooga.

High Museum

High Museum, Atlanta  2010

Stieglitz "Dying Poplars"  Atlanta  2010

In Atlanta last year.

Nice architecture, and some interesting photos on exhibit.

"Dying Poplars." Now there's a cheery subject.

Great Smoky Mountains (Last Year)

Road, A.M. - Tennesee  2010

Whew! After recent exciting blog posts I thought I'd post some older autumn pix. (Some maybe have been posted earlier. Oh well.)

This photo was taken during last year's excursion and hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Kaiser Hospital

Kaiser Hospital, Modesto  2011

By the time Mike got to the imposing Kaiser Hospital in Modesto, he was pretty wiped out. But, Hali seemed to be doing OK!

She had had an operation to repair her broken hip, during which an intriguing-looking titanium rod was implanted. (No cast, which Mike was relieved to discover.) The main issue was trying to figure out how to manage the trip home, given the large amount of camping equipment in the not-large Infiniti. In the end it worked out OK with all the equipment crammed into the trunk and the front seat with Hali sitting in the back.

Oh yes, Mike stayed at a motel that night and slept quite soundly. For dinner, he was surprised to find himself eating Meal #3 at the Modesto In-N-Out Burger on Pelandale Avenue.

Drive to Modesto

Cinnamon Roll, Coffee, Sierra Nevada  2011

Mike left Tom's Place early, stopped at the June Lake Loop intersection to buy a cinnamon roll and coffee. Took his purchases to the Mono Lake viewpoint for breakfast.

Thence over Tioga Pass, through Yosemite to Oakdale. At Oakdale, instead of turning right as usual, he continued straight to Modesto and the new Kaiser Hospital there.

Monday Cat Blogging

Tom's Place Cats, Sierra Nevada  2011

Cats in front of the lodge.

Tom's Place Lodge

Tom's Place Lodge Lobby, Sierra Nevada  2011

Tom's Place Store, Sierra Nevada  2011

Craig, the stable's owner, had arranged a room for Mike at Tom's Place Lodge. After a quick bite to eat at the stable, Mike got in his car and (very cautiously) negotiated the winding mountain road through the darkness and got there shortly after 9:00 PM.

Room #6.

Back to the Stable

Sunset, Mono Lake  2011

Finally. The truck was filled with the various camping, mule and horse equipment that had been taken on the journey, and Mark, Mike and Ivana headed back towards the stable at Tom's Place, some miles distant.

Up over Tioga Pass and down the long grade towards Highway 395, with a quick stop at the Tioga Gas Mart and a nice view of the sunset over Mono Lake.

Pitch black upon arrival at the stable and Mike's car.

Gear in Truck, Yosemite  2011

Ray

Ray, Yosemite  2011

And who should be at the trailhead to meet Mike but Hali's paramedic, Ray Drutis, in his other guise as park ranger. He facilitated Mike's finding out Hali's whereabouts (the Kaiser Hospital in Modesto.)

A veritable wilderness Renaissance Man!

Ray at Desk, Yosemite  2011

Mules in the Tuolumne River

Mules, Tuolumne River, Sierra Nevada  2011

. . . getting a drink.

Return Creek II

Return Creek, Yosemite  2011

Earlier in the day Mike had wandered back down to Return Creek with the Canon G12, waiting for Mark to load the mules and once more marveling at the amount of water still flowing in late August.

Spiller Creek II

Spiller Creek Dropoff, Sierra Nevada 2011

Spiller Creek Reflections, Sierra Nevada  2011

In the early morning, on the way out.

Monday Horse Blogging

Maple, Meadow, Yosemite  2011

Maple again. On the return trip out, Mike went in front (for the first, and quite likely the last time in his equestrian career) and was thus able to get an uninterrupted view of the landscape. But going in front also meant not spacing-out, especially on the downhills, some of which were quite fearsome. (And, it turned out that Maple, although extremely competent, could not always figure out the correct direction to take, since some sections of the trail were not as self-evident as in the above shot.)

15 miles to the trailhead at Tuolumne Meadows: didn't get back until after 5:00 PM.

Morning

Preparing Feed Bags, Yosemite  2011

Bacon & Eggs, Yosemite  2011

Mike dragged himself out of his sleeping bag at 6:00 AM. 39 degrees. Mark was up, getting ready to load the mules' feed bags as well as whipping up a little bacon and eggs.

Spiller Creek I

Spiller Creek, Sierra Nevada  2011

. . . the camp was set up right next to the creek. Actually, probably within the prohibited 100-foot limit.