Mono Lake tufa tower pointing at the moon

It's all a matter of perspective! While returning to Sacramento from a trip to Death Valley, we stayed for one night in the Mono Lake area so that we could get early morning images in the Mono Lake basin. From the south shore, at what used to be the state park, we hiked out to the shore to look at the features and set up our tripods for photos of the lake and the tufa towers. Along the way, Rick noticed that the moon would be setting as the morning progressed and wanted to include it in some of his pictures. He lined up this image to include a tufa tower and the moon so that the tower appears to point to the moon. The early morning sun was lighting one side of the tower and the moon appears to be immediately above it.  In this shot, the moon appears to be the yin yang symbol.

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

A female elephant seal flips sand onto its back to stay cool, at Año Nuevo State Park, California

This female elephant seal was resting at Año Nuevo State Park, in California. Because elephant seals have so much blubber to stay warm in the cold water, they tend to overheat when they're not in the water. To keep cool, elephant seals will try to find cool spots to lie on and will flip sand onto their backs to create a little shade on their skin. 

We observed these elephant seals during a guide hike conducted by docents with the state park. During the breeding season for the elephant seals, hikers must go with a guide on an organized trip to protect the seals. Our guide had a lot of great stories to tell and photos of himself and the elephant seals when he used to do research on this species. He even had a picture of himself using an elephant seal as his pillow while he took a nap.

The elephant seal species was nearly wiped out by sealers, but their population has come back strong. One interesting aspect of their recovery is that historically they would only breed on islands, not on the mainland. Now they are hauling out on the mainland for breeding. So what prevented them from breeding on the mainland in the past? The California grizzly bear, which is now extinct due to human activity.

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

Burney Falls and springs at McArthur-Burney Falls State Park

Burney Falls is within the McArthur-Burney Falls State Park in California. Burney Creek splits into 2 streams at the brink to form 2 waterfalls, but the rest of the cliff face oozes spring water in huge amounts. The park is in northeastern California in a volcanic region that includes the Cascades, Modoc Plateau, and Lava Beds National Monument. The water from rain and melting snow percolated through loose volcanic rock and travels sideways after coming to an impervious layer deeper underground.

This image is a composite of 8 separate images taken with a film camera, scanned into the computer, then combined. The separate images were taken in the vertical direction. We were in the park on the Fourth of July. The park was packed with people and parking was a problem. This view was just off the road along a side walk that stops at a viewpoint. The walk continues down to the creek where you can stand in front of the falls across a pool. Some people even took a dip in the water.

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