Saturday, March 14, 2020

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California


I, Bob, was looking through a folder of photos from a trip to Death Valley in January 2009 when I came upon this image.  The longer I looked at it, the more intrigued I became with the texture of it.  I was on the top of the tallest sand dune in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dune near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park, California when I took this photo.  I was looking down into a valley of sorts between the dune crests.  The foot tracks along the top edge give you a sense of scale.

I took this photo with the still function of a Sony high def Handycam, so it's not a high resolution image and will probably not look good if it's enlarged very much.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park


A view from the brink of the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park.  After viewing a major eruption of Steamboat Geyser in late July 2019, we enjoyed the rest of the sights in Yellowstone, including a hike to this brink.  The height of this waterfall is 109 feet and it always seems to kick up a lot of mist.  After falling over this brink the Yellowstone River takes a leftward turn toward the even-higher Lower Falls.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

McWay Fall, Big Sur, California, nearing sunset


In the Big Sur area on the coast of California is a state park name after Julia Pfeiffer Burns. Part of the park includes this waterfall that drops directly onto the beach. This waterfall is called McWay Fall. It is 80 feet (24m) tall and used to drop directly into the ocean. Mudslides and rockfall after the very wet year of 1983 caused a sandy beach to build up where there was none before. Now the water falls onto the beach, except during high tide. There is no trail to the beach, access is only by boat, due to the crumbly, unstable slopes.

There's also a sea arch in the sandy cove beyond the fall in this picture. We were able to see it during a visit in 2004, but the trail is partly closed now and moving beyond a barrier is not allowed.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!