Daily Image - Jan 2012 Archive

23 Jan 12. Well, after traveling over 5,300 miles, including of course the sea miles, I think the thing that most occupied our travels, excepting weather, was the number of trucks (18 wheelers) we met on the Interstates. Not a pleasant experience, and certainly not the courteous and helpful drivers of my youth. These guys were about as aggressive as anything I've encountered and only maybe 5% were driving legally which made it especially interesting on those sections of the road that were just two lanes. On our return leg of the trip we were held up for over 3 hours in a 6 mile line up at a checkpoint for required chains on the vehicles near Redding, CA. Four miles of trucks single lane plus 2 miles of trucks in double lane equating to approximately 750 semis bumper to bumper. Leaves one wondering if we can't do a better job with our interstate commerce. Had a short talk with a trucker in Shasta City, Ca who said that backup was small; he had encountered a larger one a couple of years ago that was 60 miles long and he was in it. Minutes after talking with him we traveled a couple miles south to an exit called Truck Village. On the way down to San Diego I had noticed to late to do much about it other then get off the freeway and go back a large plot of cement with dozens of very colorful trucks parked in it (Truck Village). It really caught my eye and I talked about it for a goodly portion of the trip. On our return I was determined to shoot it. We passed it in the dark on the return trip and in snowy conditions, so we stayed overnight in nearby, Weed, CA, and tried again in the morning. The morning was off and on blizzard conditions and close to blizzard conditions when we very carefully made our way to the exit to try and shoot the scene. It took a bit of effort, far more than I had imagined it would, to get my shot, but persistence paid off and I got a couple acceptable images that show what was there. The shot I got in the snow is quite a bit different from what we saw in the 60+ temps and bright sunshine on the way down, but I'm thinking the stormy version is a better shot overall. ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f / 6.3.

24 Jan 12. We left on our 19 day travels, slated to be 21 but cut short by weather, in a steady rain, occasionally a downpour, that stayed with us until we were perhaps a hour into Oregon. From that point on we didn't see any moisture until we were about 30 minutes north of Redding, CA on the return leg. At that point we began to see some snow, followed by a lot of snow but always drivable until we reached the base of the Siskiyou Mountains on the Oregon side. From then on until we were perhaps 15 miles south of Seattle we had non-stop rain and at times we were driving through gully washers. The flooding in Oregon in particular was severe, and had the traffic conditions not been what they were, I would have made a couple stops on I-5 just to show it. In Washington there was a lot of damage but mostly relegated to small saplings. For the remainder of the trip the weather was beautiful, with blue sunny skies and lovely clouds now and then the order of the day. Around the Roseburg area of Oregon heading south on I-5 we began to encounter some very interesting trees that appeared to be dying everywhere we looked. At the next rest stop I noticed a local security guy and asked him about them. "Oh, you mean the oak trees" he said, "they are quite healthy, just covered in moss." I must admit I've never seen anything quite like them, and of course I had to take a shot or two for the record. Winter late afternoon light contributed to their lovely appearance, at least to my eyes, so here is a chance for you to cast your own opinion. ISO 400; 1 100 sec @ f / 5.

25 Jan 12. With snow seemingly a major topic of discussion across our country, good news or bad news depending on your particular viewpoint of snow, I thought I'd go with a shot of just snow. Now we've all been raised to not be fond of yellow snow, but how about blue snow. When I was a very young lad, somewhere around the very late 40s or early 50s, my memory of the exact event being a bit cloudy, Seattle experienced a deposit of blue something, I'm thinking it was snow, which had everyone somewhat concerned. It lasted only for a day, but it was the talk of the city. But even if it was actually blue snow, it was not the kind of which I had the privilege to appreciate last Friday on the last stop of the trip. Visiting with friends, formerly from Gaithersburg, MD, now residing in Gresham, OR., we embarked on a short outing, cut short by a combination of rain and me not wearing the appropriate foot ware, i.e., shoes that leaked, to a location known as the Wildwood Recreational Area. It is a beautiful site at the foot of Mt Hood, and I highly recommend a visit to it for any of you who may have opportunity to be in that part of the country. It had snowed a few days prior to our visit, the area was gated off, but the roadway had been plowed sufficient for walking where it wasn't becoming slush due to the rain. As we were meandering along the road I noticed that many of the mounds of plowed snow were "glowing" blue, something I had never before seen although I have seen blue ice in the ice caves at McMurdo, Antarctica. While one might expect to see snow reflecting the blue light of the sky, Friday's sky was the typical Seattle type, totally gray and raining. So no blue light to get reflected. Those conditions made it a real treat, and I thought at the time it would be something worth sharing, so here you have it, actual blue snow. ISO 500; 1/800 sec @ f / 5.6.

26 Jan 12. Arriving in Weed, CA shortly after sunset on day one, we found our motel, seemingly located in the middle of nowhere, but which was not the case, unloaded the vehicle and then asked for a recommendation for dinner. We were given 3 options, and we opted for the furthest away (two blocks) but that which sounded most promising. We were not to be disappointed. The food was very good, the portions way too large, and the waitress very helpful. I asked about where to go for shots of Mt Shasta and she gave us directions to two very good locations, neither of which would have been immediately obvious. During our time on active duty, we found ourselves being transferred between CA and PA on a regular basis. Now being believers in that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, we made those trips between the two states straight up I-5 to WA, then across I-90 & I-80. Straight line(S), right? As such, we passed by Mt Shasta on a regular basis, to say nothing of the times we traveled from CA to WA to visit family over the holidays. So it would seem logical that we were quite familiar with Mt Shasta, but in reality this was our first time to really visit the area and the only time I've photographed it. So the advice from the waitress was greatly appreciated. She did us well, and we got to take in a lot of the mountain we wouldn't have otherwise. Good thing too, as it was totally socked in by a heavy snowfall on the return leg. In fact, we really didn't appreciate how fortunate we were until the return leg! One of the locations she mentioned was to go into Shasta City, her comment being something like anywhere in the city would offer ample opportunity. Boy was she right. As soon as we hit the city limits marked by a beautiful sign, I parked the Trooper, walked across the street and shot this image for today. I shot several before returning to the vehicle and while crossing the street not paying quite as much attention to the traffic as I should have, I stopped just in front of an oncoming car. Instead of honking at me or something worse, the driver just smiled a BIG smile and waved at me. I think the folks of Shasta City enjoy what they have. Perhaps you will also. ISO 320; 1/640 sec @ f / 6.3.

27 Jan 12. During our years of active duty being stationed in So.CA, travel between Seattle and the three different locations of Grand Terrace, China Lake, and Point Mugu where we resided was not entirely infrequent. We often made the trip in two easy days and occasionally in one long day, even with small children. This time it took us a full 3 days to make the trip. Now I'm a believer in physics, up to a point, but it is blatantly obvious to us that the length of CA has increased substantially since we were last stationed there in 1995. No question about it. That state has never been that long before! Although we have not yet been able to prove it, we are of the firm belief that there is another fault that has resulted in the lengthening of the state, much as the San Andreas fault has had in widening it. Having said this I realize that there will be many who take issue with my premise, but as far as we can ascertain there is no other logical explanation for the length of time it took us to travel from home to San Diego, and in good weather for the most part. While we were visiting friends of 36 years in the Palo Alto area on the return leg, we took a drive to go look at Elephant Seals situated on a beach that the state of CA had made into a park. All they wanted was the measly sum of almost $50 for three of us to see them which I firmly refused to do, especially since the day prior we had watched multiple hundreds of them from the side of the same Highway 1 just three hours down the road, for free! On the drive to see the seals we took I-280 N and then exited on the road to Half Moon Bay. Shortly after exiting we crossed a small bridge that gaped the canyon and lake created by the San Andreas fault. At that point the road was barely two lanes wide, heavily traveled at high speed, and left virtually no room for taking photos. So I parked on the side at the west end where it said absolutely no parking, seemed like an invitation to me, sucked my tush in, squeezed my body against the guard rail barely one foot from the road, and took shots looking both north and south. This shot is looking south. ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f /14.

30 Jan 12. Back in 1973 when I was doing the work with the marine mammals, I received an invitation to interview at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for a newly created position of Director of Hyperbarics. The job was desired by the President of the Univ, but not the Chair of the college in which it was to be located, required that the individual selected build the new department from scratch, design the facility, get the funding for the project, and simultaneously get a Ph.D, if not already held (I had only my Bachelors degrees). This at a time of high unemployment in the local area. I interviewed successfully and was offered the position which came with a starting salary of $150,000 (Canadian). It was somewhat of a dream opportunity but came with a couple of drawbacks, namely a bride who refused to accompany me if I took the position, the disagreement between the two key players (President & Chair) at the University, acceptable housing prices starting around the salary amount, and the fact that an American would have been taking the position from a Canadian. As you have probably surmised, I turned down the offer, but it is often fun to think what if. . . . I drove up for the interview directly from Vancouver, B.C. following a week long meeting of the Undersea Medical Society making the drive in a single day, something I'd never try again (I think Canada may be expanding as well). Along the way I saw several sights I wanted to see better, so after Jan flew up to join me for a couple of days, we took several additional days and drove back to Seattle. Along the way we visited some areas I'd love to visit again, prime amongst them being the Athabaska Glacier. We had an opportunity to both walk along the side of the glacier as well as board a 22 passenger bus that took us out onto the center of that flowing river of ice. It was a very memorable experience, especially the amount of wind that was rushing down over the top of it. I took quite a few pictures, using of course slide film in those days, and guessing as to the correct exposure. And yes, the camera did have a light meter, but knowing the "correct" exposure when shooting primarily white on white was a bit trickier back then than it is with today's modern equipment. This shot, scanned from the original slide, is of the center of the glacier. The little "bumps" you see are about 4 feet in height, if memory serves me correctly. A wonderful experience, and one I need to repeat. As we progress through the year I plan on interspersing shots taken over the past 40 years that might be of interest to the group.

31 Jan 12. The image for today was taken from the edge of the track at the local high school in Mt Shasta City and leaves me wondering how any of these kids get any school work done. I guess with time one can get bored with stark beauty, but I'm thinking I would have had a hard time keeping on track had I attended HS there. The mound to the right is obviously Mt Shasta, and that to the left is Black Butte. Laying a set of straight edges along each of the right and left hand sides suggests that at one time, several thousand years ago, Black Butte was more of Black Mountain than it was a butte, at least from my perspective. The image is a bit deceiving in that Black Butte looks substantially higher than the mere 6,334 feet claimed for it when Mt Shasta is credited with being 14,179 feet in elevation, just a couple hundred feet shorter than Mt Rainier, which logs in at 14,410. The mounds of rock in the Cascade Range are indeed impressive, as are the surrounding lands. Black Butte presented us with some dramatic scenes and weather patterns, and the weather aspect will be the subject of tomorrow's submission, so keep this image for use in comparison with what I share over the next day or possibly two. Getting to this area is a piece of cake, as it is roughly an 8 - 8.5 hour drive straight down I-5 from our house in Ballard, not counting any stops you may elect to incorporate into your drive. We left here on the first day of our trip at 0809 and arrived there at 1818 which included three stops so the trip is very doable. And the first 4 hours were in bad rain, so one could cut some more time off the trip if the weather was cooperating. If you are thinking this might be a place to visit, here is another link that may whet your appetite even further. I worked up this image with a new (to me) piece of software that those of you who work with RAW images but don't have, or don't want the expense of, Photoshop might find worthwhile. ISO 320; 1/640 sec @ f /11.