Meanwhile Back in Time

Scenes from Bethany beach,

JULY 1940...

George on a Mule






Peter and Pat













George and Bebe, John and Dorothy Monaco

Endless Ice

Here is a recent shot of plate ice on Lake Superior, extending out as far as the eye can see. It sure was an interesting morning to be out exploring the shoreline. There was a wind coming off the lake along with a gentle swell that made the ice fascinating to watch. As each swell rolled in to shore you could see the plates of ice gently moving up and down with each passing wave. It was a very gentle movement, and to me looked as though you could see the lake breathing. With each wave the ice would rise, then fall. It was as if each passing wave was the lake taking a breath, then exhaling. This photo was made at sunrise. I returned to this same location at sunset and all the plate ice was gone. After a full day of being ground against each other by the waves the plates of ice had been ground down to small chunks of ice that "tinkled" against each other as they rolled in the waves that were still coming in throughout the evening.

Redwood National and State Parks

Redwoods are cool. They make you realize that Mother Nature is AWESOME! It is humbling, to say the least, to stand in the shadow of a giant Redwood tree and realize that it has been living for more than 1,000 years. In fact, Redwoods can live to be as much as 2,200 years old and grow to be almost 400 feet tall and 26 feet in diameter. The bark of a Redwood tree can grow to be 12" thick. Yet for all their size and grandeur, Redwoods originate from one of the smallest cones to be found in the world. The cones produced by a Redwood tree are typically only about one inch long.





I spent the last two days exploring different areas of Redwood National and State Parks. This area is in northern California, between San Francisco and the Oregon border. This was my second time visiting the Redwoods and I enjoyed this visit as much as the first. The Redwood forests are, in a way, like the Grand Canyon. Their immense size is a wonder to behold, yet the feeling of that immensity is very difficult to portray in a photograph. More than anything, it is simply a wonder to take a walk beneath the canopy of a Redwood forest.



Above: I saw this plaque on a bench in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. It's a quote from Shakespeare which reads: "One Touch of Nature Makes The Whole World Kin". I thought it was a sentiment worth sharing, and I did my part by giving one of my giant Redwood relatives a hug :-)

Pre-dawn light on the shores of Superior

This time of year its amazing how early in the morning it starts to get light. These images were made at about 4:00 a.m. today! They were exposures several seconds in length (about 5 to 6 seconds). It certainly was a beautiful morning, and a very calm one on the lake.

Bertus, the world-famous cat in Utrecht

During the Christmas holidays Dutchman
and I strolled down Catharijnesingel in Utrecht. Catharijnesingel is a canal
that rims the south western part of Utrecht’s old centrum.





We both love walking, and of course as
part of this activity we have to stop by at a café to grab something warm to
drink. Café de Poort was a very convenient choice as it is located on the
corner of Catharijnesingel and Oudegracht.




In Café de Poort we
met ‘Bertus’. The regulars in the cafe told us that he
is very famous in Utrecht. He is a male ginger cat and he is the house cat of
the café. His favourite spot in the caféis sitting on the top back ridge of the second and
third seats facing the Oudegracht. We were also told that sometimes he can be spotted at the other café across
the road.




Bertus is a very picky and arrogant cat as well.
He has this kingly posture that says—‘Who are you? What do
you want? I am the boss here and do not mess with me, stay away from me!’



He actually gets peeved when people pats him longer than a minute. Interestingly, he doesn’t like women. How did I know? Well, firstly, he doesn’t like me (ouch, that severely injured my ego), and all the female specie that came around to pat him, he sneered and clawed at them.He does allow a few regular male
guys to stroke his back, including the Dutchman, for longer than a minute, and repeatedly as well. UNFAIR. Why is that?!




I don’t know why but cats always fall
under the charm of the Dutchman. He has this magical magnetic animalistic aura in him that
cats cannot say no. I’m envious.






Visit Period: December

Enjoying the blue hour at Bandon Beach

A shot of Jessica and I from our November trip out west. We had spent the day sightseeing and been in and out of rain all day long. As we drew near Bandon Beach just before sunset the clouds started to clear and it looked like sunset was going to be nice. And indeed it was! The sky lit up with glorious colors as the sun dipped below the horizon. We had a blast watching the changing sky and finding star fish and other sea life clinging to the sea stacks. After the sunset color faded from the sky we headed further down the beach to get closer to some of the sea stacks. From a distance they don't look very big but when you get close, WOW are they huge! I just had to get a shot of us posed in between these towering formations. It was a great end to a fun-filled day!

Ingalls Peak

It was like a garden between Ingalls Pass and Ingalls lake. Danielle wants to live there.











The mountain goats were pretty friendly.













Snow on the edge of Ingalls Lake.

Dani exploring the shoreline. Mt. Stuart in the background.












Climbing Mt. Ingalls, North Peak.















Dave, Nicholas, Mark, Mike (and Doug) on the summit.














Nicholas rappelling down.









Ingalls Lake and Mt. Stuart as seen from Ingalls South Peak.