Category Archives: Places



Sitka delight

Lox at LarkspurThis year’s Sitka Summer Music Festival is just getting underway, and although the first concert will be after our departure Saturday, we were treated to a wonderful preview tonight at the Larkspur Caffe. Having heard of this opportunity from some locals, we arrived early to be sure of a seat, and were pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of luscious treats on the menu. Fondue and lox appetizers, chowder, panini, and local Baranof Island Brewing Company Spruce Tips IPA and Dark Lagers were all excellent as we enjoyed conversation with other folks at our large table.

The real excitement began, however, Read on →



Thank you Ketchikan

Between our RVsThink Ketchikan, and your mind should overflow with images of eagles, mink, bears, humpback whales, fishing, and eating seafood, all set amongst glorious mountain and ocean vistas. (See the Clover Pass album for a small sampling.) To that, I’ve now added a note of awe for the cheerful, generous, helpful nature of Ketchikanites (Ketchikaners? Ketchikanians? Others wonder too.) in response to these three incidents.

The gum where my tooth was extracted in March was feeling a bit tender. Read on →

 

HDR at Mt Lemmon

Mt. Lemmon 2 We were delighted to see trees, water, and, yes, even snow on our visit to Mount Lemmon today. About an hour north of Tucson, the Catalina Highway winds 26 miles through Coronado National Forest, climbing about 6,000 feet up the Santa Catalina Mountains to the village of Summerhaven atop Mt. Lemmon at 9,100 feet. Ski Valley, the southernmost ski destination in the USA, was closed for lack of snow, but we enjoyed a chat with the caretaker who cheerfully filled us in. The big story was the Aspen Fire of 2003 which destroyed over 90% of the area’s buildings, leaving only 20 residents today compared to some 2000 before the fire. Touring with friends Terry and Sue is always fun, and pizza at The Cookie Cabin was great. You can see some of the pretty vistas in the 12-02-29 Mt Lemmon album.

Continuing my HDR experiment (see previous post), I made several images that, as seen in the side-by-side comparisons below, Read on →



HDR at Pima Air & Space Museum

AQM-34 Firebee Recon DroneOur visit to the Pima Air & Space Museum on Friday produced the usual (for me) dichotomy of feelings: awe and pride for our country’s military prowess and accomplishments, interwoven with a profound sadness that we do not find ways to direct more our formidable ingenuity, resourcefulness and will toward the good of mankind instead of its destruction. Sigh.

The time was enhanced by good friends Terry & Sue Baughman and Jim Zimmerman. Jim further spiced up an already interesting day by sharing many of his experiences as an Air Force mechanic before the start of his farming career, and as a restoration volunteer at this museum since his retirement.

The day also produced lots of photos. I frequently thought of Susi’s dad, Tom, who has taken me to many an air museum throughout the years, which further pushed me to try and get the best images I could. Tom, I hope you enjoy the images in this 02-24 Pima Air Museum album.

Several of these images were produced with HDR photography (i.e., High Dynamic Range, Read on →