For a long time I have wanted to travel to Death valley and see the Racetrack. For those who don't know, the Racetrack is a playa or a dry lake bed where the rocks move, leaving "tracks" where they have been. The Racetrack is dry for most of the year. I have never even seen a picture of it wet. Unfortunately when I arrived, it was really wet. The scenic rocks were in the middle of the playa, and walking through the mud was not an option. The mud is thick and builds on itself; within a few steps you would have several inches of mud stuck to your boots and leave damage to the playa for years to come.

Although beautiful in its own way, the photo's were definitely not what I was hoping for. That night I camped on the dry part of the playa and enjoyed it for what it was.

 That night was extremely cold. I had not expected the freezing weather with a 60 degree day. I awoke early the next morning and headed back towards the racetrack area. Once I arrived I could not believe what I saw; the Racetrack had frozen solid over night. I skated out and waited for sunrise.

Once sunrise hit, the true race began. I ran/slid from rock to rock to utilize as much of the gorgeous light as I could.

 It is amazing how far the rocks have gone over time.

I searched the area and found one small rock on the dry playa. This photo is similar to what I would have had without ice. Lucky me, I ended up with the best of both!

 Mono Lake is a extremely salty shallow lake located in Mono County California. The salinity is due to the lake having no outlet. The inlet is fresh water but Los Angeles diverted water from it causing evaporation and lack of inlet flow to lower the lake level.

 Once the lake was lowered, these tufa's showed up. The tufa's are formed when freshwater springs containing high carbonate levels mix with the salt water creating stalagmite formations.

 Some of the formations are small, but many are 10-12' in height.

 A sand tufa is lit by the moon while airline traffic flies overhead.

 Alpenglow at sunset.

 The blue hour after sunset

 A quarter moon illuminates the foreground while stars shine brightly.

 This is a sand tufa at Mono Lake. Some are so delicate that even a touch will cause them to crumble. Above is a black and white image looking down on a sand tufa — 

A flashlight creates shadows on sand tufa's just before sunrise.

Oregon

Morning at Punchbowl falls. The water was cold but oh so worth getting in, as the view was great.

Dog Mountain had quite the breathtaking view for the name. I have never seen so many wildflowers. The storm that was rolling in had people running down the mountain. I froze with the howling wind in minutes, and retreated half way down the mountain for warmth reasons. After this I always had a hat, jacket, and gloves.

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Another view of Fairy falls. The light seemed to dance with the falling water. Great day for waterfalls.

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Tunnel falls was a great experience. The whole experience was incredible. I couldn't keep from thinking about Indiana Jones. Great stuff.

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The trail was pretty but a fall would have been deadly. It was over a hundred feet to the bottom straight down in some places.

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Sea Stars (Starfish) are really neat creatures. Sea stars have a tough covering on their upper side, which is made up of plates of calcium carbonate with tiny spines on their surface. A sea star's spines are used for protection from predators, which include birds, fish and sea otters.

 

This waterfall required a climb over a slippery log jam that I just about fell off. We were warned that a man had died last year from falling into the log jam. Then once we neared the falls we were required to climb the slippery rock, or wade neck deep through freezing water while carrying our camera's over our heads. Although nerve racking, the climbing worked out.

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Ocean Waves roll over a stone in this long exposure near Canon Beach Oregon

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Punchbowl falls. I really want to kayak this someday.

I did not think that this one would be even worth seeing due to the size. The scenery at the bottom was great.

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I noticed this tiny spider in one of the wildflowers. I think that spiders are the coolest looking insects.

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Sea stars move using hundreds of tube feet, which are located on their underside. The tube feet are filled with sea water, which the sea star brings in through the sieve plate, or madreporite, on its top side. Sea stars can move more quickly than you might expect. If you ever get a chance, try visiting a tide pool or aquarium and take a moment to watch a sea star moving around. The sea star's tube feet also help the sea star hold its prey, which includes bivalves like clams and mussels. The sea stars attach themselves so tenaciously to the rocks that it is impossible to pick them up without harming them, even if there are only a few feet holding on.

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Instead of blood, sea stars have a water vascular system, in which the sea star pumps sea water through its sieve plate, or madreporite, into its tube feet to extend them. Muscles within the tube feet retract them.

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It was fun running away from the waves while trying to capture the wave coming in.

I waded waist deep through fast moving water to get this shot. I used my tripod to stabilize myself so that I did not fall. The water was so cold I could not feel my legs after a while.

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Camping

These trees were lit by the campfire, turning them the red hue. I set up my camera just in time to snap one single shot before the clouds came in. The photo below was my second 30 second exposure. I light painted the trees in the center with my flashlight, and left the red to the sides. Unfortunately only the brightest star made it through the clouds.

The photo below was taken on a campout with my son. The fire was almost out, and only coals remained. What looks like fire is really the smoke from the coals being lit up. I love having a camera that can capture the things that I never could before.

Grand Teton

Upper Mesa Falls

We stopped by Yellowstone on the way. The pools were highlighted by a stormy sky. The above picture I loved, yet of the hundreds of people that I saw, not one of them stopped to even look or take a picture. It makes me wonder how many times I personally walk by something truly beautiful, and don't notice.

When I arrived home and saw this image, I thought that I had done something wrong. The tree's were yellow, not red. People have asked whether I "pushed" the colors. The answer is no. The light behind me was a purple/pink color. This sunrise color really gave this image the glow.

This image was shot with a 17-50mm lens! The coyote came within 5 feet of me before I shot to my feet with rocks in my hand. (my camera was in my backpack still.) After that he would never let me get within 20 feet.

These are the same trees as the red ones above, only in full sun.

I had to hold my camera above my head to get this. I think that I took about 10 that I did not like before I got this shot.

USAFK National Point-Series Free-style Kayak Championship

Eric Jackson took first place with huge tricks, and plenty of them, racking up over a thousand points per ride.
Crowd pleaser's like this monster loop after the buzzer, kept everyone on their toes for what he might do next.
Although I missed junior men's, women's, and everything else, it was announced as I arrived that Emily Jackson had won the women's division, and Dane Jackson won Junior Men's.
Bryan Kirk ended up in second place, hitting big air and great style points as always.


I went to the USAFK National Point-Series Free-style Kayak Championship at Kelly's whitewater park in Cascade Idaho yesterday. I wanted to attend the whole thing, but work had a different agenda for me. I did not think that I was going to be able to attend any of it, but Sunday was slow, and I left just in time to see the men's k2 finals.