Palo Alto Trees

The stark beauty of a bare oak

Palo Alto Trees is a selection of images from my recent hike up to The Dish in Palo Alto, California. Although I have lived here for nearly six months this was my first walk up to the iconic dish overlooking Stanford University. In this first image I love the curvature of the background suggesting this is a particularly special tree rising alone on the top of the world.

The sun makes the air visible to me. Since I was child the trees in my hamlet in Texas were mysteries to me and places to ponder my misery and also my plans to triumph. I lived a life like a Wes Anderson film and trees in this pattern are beautiful reminders of where I come from and the imagination it took me to get here.

Juliet spotted this lone stump brimming with character. This seems like a signpost in Dodge City or along some wagon trail to hell. The texture in the wood is in such harmony with the grass and the tree behind. I like this image very much.

The final Palo Alto trees are opposite forces sitting in the deep Serengeti-like grass. The area is known to be a haven for mountain lions and coyotes and they strictly usher everyone out by dark. I found myself walking with an eye to the heavy rocks I could grab in case I needed to go a round or two with a Puma.

I took all images of Palo Alto trees with the Nikon D7000 with 18-205 lens. I used Snapseed only to process the images and all were tweaked in numerous ways.

San Francisco Lands End

Maritime Dream

San Francisco Lands End is my short photo essay on one of the city by the bay's greatest natural assets. The image above is my favorite shot of 2013 thus far and it reminds me of the stark beauty surrounding this city on all sides. Land's End is part of the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy and after years of work is now one of the most pristine parks I have seen in the US. I say that because I actually preferred the place when it was bit more ramshackle and difficult to maneuver. Now, there are buses, tourists, and a gift shop?

I took the previous shot and this one from the ruins of the 19th Century Sutro Baths. In this image the pool of the baths overlooking the Pacific gives the impression of an exotic resort on the ocean rather than a graffiti mired wasteland which is now the home of a cute little river otter. I love the clouds in this image and when I am here I feel so far from the inner grit of San Francisco.

The Cliffhouse is a famous SF restaurant on the Pacific. Mavericks are waves that come in sometimes that bring surfers on emergency flights from around the world to surf 25-40 foot swells. I loved seeing these bad boys break and the shimmering light on the sea behind them.

Just on the edge of Sutro Baths are these craggy rocks and the cappuccino-like foam of the Pacific this day at San Francisco's Lands End. There are amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge on this walk around the park but I was a little late for the good light on the bridge and my images were not up to standard. Next time :-)

With the challenging light I was able to capture a final image worth sharing. I had hoped to present a few more images but this day at San Francisco Lands End proved to be more for hiking than photography. I recently read some Ansel Adams quote about if one gets one good image a month they are doing well. I feel like I am doing pretty well.

Ciao Tutti!

M

Boulder Colorado - Pizza - Drinks - Coffee Hike

Juliet and I were feeling cooped up yesterday after poor weather forced us to cancel our 4 day weekend in Moab, UTAH. On a whim Juliet suggested we go to Boulder to eat Salumi and Pizza at the wonderful Pizzeria Locale.

This wonderful and true Italian pizzeria always delivers an outstanding product indicated by the perfect pie above with mushrooms, buffalo mozzarella, and a wonderfully tangy tomato sauce.

The wine in the glass there was from Sicily - A Cerasuola

The electric Aperol Spritz was Juliet's starter drink for a lunch that would continue for nearly 3 hours. While this lovely beverage may appear like Kool-Aid is it actually wonderfully rounded with flavors or orange, prosecco, and the brilliant Aperol aperitivo liqueur.

I chose the venerable Americano a drink made from Campari, Red Vermouth from Turin, soda, and also an orange. Once you down one of these the appetite is ready for full consumption.

After salumi (prosciutto, salame, and mortadella) we both had lovely salads, meatballs, and the pizza you saw before. We each had a cocktail, 2 glasses of wine, and finally this wonderful Amaro from Nonino to wash down this Butterscotch Pudding called a Budino

These drinks cause clumsiness and Juliet dropped her iPhone onto the very cool subway tile under our table. This photo indicates how my head feels today.

Of course after a big Italian lunch one must partake in the coffee ritual. So we headed across the street to the wonderful Boxcar Coffee Roasters for a couple of killer Macchiati - espresso with a spot of milk and more people watching.

We decided it was too soon to drive after all the yummy booze and we headed up to Table Mesa for a short hike (I was wearing a sports coat and dress shoes)

Juliet looked so hot in her scarf and that always makes the hike more fun.

It was a steep grade up and Juliet and I were both huffing

This tree really spoke to me (see my poem it inspired from last night)

On the way down it began to rain/snow/sleet on us and so we double-timed it back to the car and drove home.

We invited Juliet's colleague over where we made Insalata di Caprese as well as Risotto with Saffron and Gunaciale. We drank a killer Gruner Veltliner and a lovely Barbaresco from Paitin 

Sorry no photos from last night, it was just about chatting and laughing together. I could honestly host people at our home for dinner 5 nights a week.

This was a wonderful day and I am so excited Juliet is off again today for us to explore.

Cheers Bliss Adventurers :-)

The Lair of the Bear – A Colorado Hike

Yesterday Juliet and I went on our 3rd hike of the season. The Lair of the Bear was the name of the trail and while we never saw the Bears or their lairs we did encounter much more snow and mud than we anticipated.

I already have a very high center of gravity so trudging through slush, ice, and mud at steep angles makes me quite nervous carrying $2500 worth of camera. Hence, the pace was slow and once I strapped on my WinterTrax over my shoes, I was on my way; albeit slowly.

Enjoy the shots and let me know if you know any other great (and less snowy) hikes within 20-30 minutes of Denver.

I think I am starting to dial in my newest lens a bit. I will post the other 15 photos on FLICKR this afternoon.

Intermittent sun made for some fun colors on the banks of the snowy creek.

Our First Hike of 2012

Juliet and I were supposed to go on a very fun cross-country ski lunch on Sunday. Our accountant had other ideas and for 2 full days we languished under the weight of nasty numbers and numerous receipts.

Yesterday the temperature in Denver hit 66 degrees F and we had to go outside. We decided to hike Green Mountain in our neighborhood as it promised good views of the surrounding area and much-needed exercise.

Basically the hike stomped on our lungs and made us feel every bit of our elevation and leftover holiday heft. In addition the winds were approaching 50 mph at the summit which did not make for the tranquil jaunt we expected.

As soon as we returned home from only a 2 hour hike we ate almost everything in our fridge and the passed out in the bed for well over an hour. Clearly it is time to get back on the horse and make something of myself physically.

To add insult to injury I did not check the settings on my camera and I shot everything yesterday at 3200 ISO. It may have been the brightest day in the history of Denver yesterday so there was no need for anything above 100 ISO. Oops...

Here is what I could manage from the D7000 (still pretty sweet even handicapped) and a shot from the iPhone.

Happy Monday :-)