8x8 Gallery// 365 Project: Week 21

I've committed to a photo-a-day project for 2015. I may not always post them to Facebook or Instagram, but they'll be collected and archived here on the blog and I plan to print them all out. It's fun to see how the year unfolds. Here's week 21: 

141: Night Lights @ High Knob in the Shawnee National Forest

142: Happy @ Buzzard's Roost in the Shawnee National Forest

143: Sometimes you have to take a crooked path in order to reach the light. 

144: The Road Home

145: Cattle Drive in Thomas Hollow

146: Half & Half

147: Ozark Water Park 

Thoughtful Thursday

An evening with the Budweiser Clydesdales

Into the sunset. (No edits to this one -- yet! I may try playing with it in PhotoShop.)

The Budweiser Clydesdales are an American icon. If you ever get a chance to see them in person, do it. I was lucky enough to get to see them up close and personal Friday night at the Partners For Progress fundraiser at the Lake County Fairgrounds. I'm the social media chair on their board of directors, so most of these photos are also posted on their Facebook and Instagram pages. 

I couldn't have asked for better weather or a better time of day for the clydesdales to be out. The light was perfect. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

Sparkle.

The long walk.

Getting ready.

Cadence.

Standing guard.

Nice ride.

Fern Canyon & Avenue of the Giants

The second full day of our Redwoods vacation centered around a day trip to the natural wonder that is Fern Canyon. Nestled within Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, this canyon is filled with ferns in the summer. It's spectacular, with walls that are 50 feet high and carpeted with five different kinds of ferns. If you think the photos look a little familiar, it's because Fern Canyon was used as a location for the filming of Jurassic Park: The Lost World.  

To get to the canyon, you need to take a long, winding dirt road, then hike about 1/4 mile to reach the canyon entrance. Even if you're not a hiker, it's an easy walk and worth it for the view alone. A word of warning if you have small children: keep your kids under control! Apparently someone's kid behind me went AWOL and tumbled down a small ravine. Lucky for him, it wasn't very steep, and he didn't get hurt. I only noticed because the people walking in front of me turned around abruptly and look in my direction (I suppose there was some yelling going on). Curiosity aroused, I looked behind me, and saw the frantic parents hauling a frightened kid back up on the path. I bet he didn't wander too far from safety after that. 

There weren't as many people in the canyon as I expected, which was nice because it meant I was able to grab some photos without any people in them. But some of the photos I've included needed people in them just to show the immense scale of the canyon! 

The entrance to Fern Canyon

Tiny people: see them? That's Brenda & Sophia! 

Logjam near the end of the Fern Canyon trail

Banana slugs were everywhere. They were pretty cool. 

After checking out Fern Canyon, we picnicked on the beach and headed further south to check out the Avenue of the Giants. This 31-mile stretch of road is full of groves of redwoods and stops where you can get out and walk among the giants. We could have spent days exploring the area!  

Human vs. timer shot. 

I really, really wanted to go stand in the middle of the road and take a photo. But I didn't. 

Founders Grove -- Brenda is in the photo for scale. If you look really carefully, you can see Sophia's sitting on the bench! 

Experimenting with the camera from the car window! 

We were treated to a gorgeous sunset as we drove north along the coast! 

Ocean Views

I love the water. Next to being around horses, being in or near the water is my second-favorite place. The Redwoods vacation did not disappoint -- there were plenty of ocean views, overlooks and beach stops. Add in some tide pool exploration, a lighthouse, and a picnic lunch in the sand, and it's pretty much perfect. (Except for the snake I saw slither by our first picnic stop. Don't worry -- we moved pretty quickly!) 

The first day (the day my camera battery died!), we explored Jedediah Smith State Park (see this post) and then after getting a late lunch at the Good Harvest Cafe, we drove south on 101 to explore a little more! It didn't disappoint. 

Highway 101 is winding and steep and goes off into the redwood forest in parts of the drive. It's a beautiful, scenic drive. There are a lot of turn-offs, roads to trails, and camp roads and it's very tempting to take every. single. one. of them! The ones we chose were beautiful, even when it was foggy. There were times when we were above the blanket of fog, and it was neat to see. 

Crescent Beach Overlook 7.15.2014

Klamath River Overlook 7.15.2014

Wilson's Creek Beach 7.15.2014

Wilson's Creek Beach 7.15.2014

Wilson's Creek Beach 7.19.2014

Wilson's Creek Beach -- the black sand was awesome! 7.19.2014

Sunset at Crescent City Harbor. There's nothing like an ocean sunset. 7.15.2014 I didn't get a lot of sunset photographs because it was foggy most of the time the sun was setting! 

Battery Point Light in Crescent City, during high tide. You can walk up to the islet during low tide, which we did. The lighthouse was built in 1856 and is still in operation, although as a private aid to navigation.
7.17.2014

Crabby (found in the tide pools near the lighthouse) 7.17.2014

Anemone in the tide pool. And no, I didn't drop my camera in the water! 7.17.2014 

Last view of the Pacific beaches 7.20.2014

Next blog: Fern Canyon and Avenue of the Giants! 

Chicagohenge

Spring has officially arrived in Chicago, at least on the calendar. The thermostat says otherwise -- it's not even 30 degrees as I write this. Authentic spring weather will be much appreciated once it arrives! 

I went to Chicago March 20 to chase the sunlight as it set downtown. Thanks to this post by Nick Ulivieri (one of many talented photographers I follow on Instagram) I learned about Chicagohenge. During the spring and summer equinoxes, if the weather cooperates, the sun will rise and set in near-perfect alignment with the "canyons" in the Chicago Loop. I couldn't miss that! 

I went downtown way too early in the afternoon and wandered around, visiting the Bean and popped into the Chicago Cultural Center, did some writing at a Corner Bakery, then went over to the Art Institute of Chicago. There's a pedestrian bridge that seems custom-made for photographers -- I've taken quite a few shots from that bridge. I got there way early, and was not the only one there waiting for the light to change. As it got later, more and more photographers congregated on the bridge. I'm sure anyone who saw us up there was wondering what the heck we were doing. It was pretty fun because I knew a few of the photographers from Instagram and 8x8 Gallery photowalks around Chicago. It's a big city but a small world. 

The sunset was really something to see -- the weather was perfect! I took some photos with my Galaxy S4 and more with my Nikon D3000. If you go on Instagram and search the tags #Chicagohenge and #urbancanyon_henge14, you'll find plenty more fabulous photos. 

Check out this Flipagram that shows the progression of the sunset. 

And a few favorite photos: 

My favorite because of the sunbeams. Nevermind the top of someone's hat on the bottom right Taken with Galaxy S4.

Alignment. The only way this would have been better? If there was a train on the El tracks and I had a zoom lens. And had the settings on the Nikon a little different. Taken with Nikon D3000. 

Another one I like because it has the flare, and because I got the plane in there, too. Not quite sure which camera this one is from, but I think the S4 because it's a bit grainy from zooming in.

quotables

Abraham Lincoln was born 205 years ago today. I know President's Day isn't until Monday, but who likes postponing (or, if we're being honest, sharing) birthday celebrations? So, happy birthday, Mr. Lincoln!

Adventures in Missouri

Hello from the Ozarks! I got out of Chicago just in time to miss Chiberia 2.0. And while the temperatures here in Thomas Hollow are what the natives call "cold," it's still at least 20 degrees warmer here than up north. And there's no snow. Or ice. Plus, it was in the mid-50s Sunday -- gorgeous hiking weather.

It's a completely different landscape than my Chicago photowalks.

The Lonely Oak 

Field of Dreams

The country here is beautiful. I lived here for almost 10 years before I moved to Chicago. While I had the horses to ride, train and show, the remote location wasn't really an issue. But when I'd sold all but one horse and he died unexpectedly, leaving me horse-less for the first time in more than 30 years...it just didn't feel like "home" anymore. It's a lovely place to visit, and I have family here and some very dear friends who I miss terribly when I'm gone.

You can't beat the sunrises -- "obstructed" only by the trees...

Morning Walk

Or the sunset views:

Evening Shine

So far on this visit, I've been able to watch the bald eagles, learned the art of knife throwing, sampled some homemade beer, saw my dog kill a possum (yes, that happened), wandered around the Wal-Mart SuperCenter (it had to be done) and checked my mom out of the hospital. There will be plenty more adventures in the next few days. I'm hoping most of them will be positive ones, including bringing my uncle home.