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Posts filed under 'Nature'

Earth Hour Pics – Downtown San Francisco

Justin and I headed downtown to watch the lights go down in the city. It was chilly, but worth the wait. We stood on a pier to see both the city view and the Golden Gate Bridge. Check out the results.

For safety reasons, all of the lights on the bridge could not be turned off, but it is still a rare view to see without the towers lit up.

Not exactly total darkness in the city, but you can see these structures dark: Coit Tower (to the left) and Palace of Fine Arts (bottom right). If you look closely you can also notice other lights that were shut off in various buildings and the glow in the haze around the city was diminished slightly.

Afterward we headed downtown to Market Bar – a restaurant participating in Earth Hour – for a candlelit dinner and some live music powered by people riding stationary bicycles.

Add comment March 31, 2009

Ode to Umstead

Before we headed on the road to CA, we had to go to to Umstead Park one more time with Keego. I am going to miss this park. So here is our family portrait at Umstead.

Add comment February 26, 2009

Day 5: Grand Canyon & NV

Yesterday morning we were greeted with a nice dusting of snow. The roads were a sheet of ice and it was freezing.

We didn’t have much time in the Grand Canyon so we stopped at as many lookouts as we could to get different views. The dense clouds made the bluish/purple tones of the Canyon more visible. This was my first time to the Grand Canyon. It was definitely neat to see the Grand Canyon with snow covering the rim. I was surprised to not see much snow down in the Canyon. It seems like it would be even colder down in the Canyon but researching online it is quite the opposite. (The things you can learn with the internet. ) Next time I would love to spend more time to explore the Canyon up close – camping, rafting, hiking. Can’t wait for that trip!

Back on the Road

We ended our day early in Las Vegas to meet up with Fred and Erin. (Click here to see the post about their wedding.) It was nice to just hang out and catch up. One more day of driving left!

Add comment February 9, 2009

Part 2: The Many Faces of Arizona (day 4)

Here are a few more glances at Arizona’s many landscapes. I would have some pics of the Meteor Crater, but it cost $15 per person to see a hole in the ground, so we passed.

Faces of Arizona

More remnants of Route 66

Old line of telephone poles where Route 66 use to run

Petroglyphs in the Petrified National Forest

Add comment February 9, 2009

Part 1: The Many Faces of Arizona (day 4)

Yesterday we meandered all over the diverse landscapes of Arizona. I can’t believe that everything we saw yesterday was in one state. I have been to Arizona before, but did not expect to see all of this wrapped up into one state. I felt like I was in different states at times. We went in search of Route 66, to the Petrified National Forest, Flagstaff, Sadona, and ended at the Grand Canyon. Here is our route.

First story of the day: The Search for Route 66
So I read online that there was this really picturesque section of Route 66 between Pinta and the Petrified forest. So instead of taking 40 to the Forest, I wanted to take Route 66 from Pinta. We started driving from Gallup, NM and quickly got to the Pinta exit. Getting off the exit, the road twisted a bit and then the cement ended to just a dirt road. The truck stopped…what to do? The website didn’t warn about a dirt road or traitorous travel to get there…Should we keep going or turn around? Knowing me, Justin knew I wanted to keep going, so without saying a word, the started to drive forward. Both of us silently worried that this treasure hunt might come to a bad end with us getting stuck in the mud in the middle of the desert or with nowhere to turn our tahoe and Uhaul around if the road ended…

Pinta Rd turned to dirt

The dirt road looked worse to the eye than it actually felt. It was pretty smooth as long as you drove slow. It also helped that our nav showed the roads that we were embarking on so that gave me hope that Route 66 would still be there as the website explained. We got to Route 66 to find the shell of a road. Most of the pavement had disintegrated to crumbles of pebbles making it like a gravel road. We looked at each other and continued on. This section of the old Route 66 was one lane with not much forgiveness. It was very narrow and the small to large bushes/plants, etc. growing through the pavement along the edges made the road even skinnier. 5-10 mph is as fast as we could go. Noticing that I-40 was an earshot away and we could see all the cars whizzing by off in the distance, Justin was not enjoying the adventure as much as I was. I wanted the authenticity of the real Route 66, not the remade commercialized version.

Remnants of Route 66

We kept forging ahead as the tire marks of other brave souls showed in the gravel ahead making both of us believe other people have traveled this road recently and made it. My secondary goal for this trip down Route 66 was the ruins of the Painted Desert Trading Post, a popular stop along Route 66. After driving 5-10 mph for 3 or so miles, we finally made it.

From the trading post, the Petrified Forest was about 4-6 miles away or we could turn around to head back to 40. We decided to keep going forward. The road got even more narrow and less traveled as went forward. We passed over a bridge and by an old wooden house which I imagine would have been where the owners of the Trading Post lived. We kept going as there was really no turning back at this point. The road had no shoulder and the bushes on the edges would have made it impossible to turn around. Then what you would expect happened. We came to the closed gate of the Petrified Forest – no entry! UGGGGG. Luckily others came to the same result as there were tracks of other cars looping around to head back. I wish the website would have mentioned this tiny, important fact. So we headed all the way back to Pinta Road. Thank God for no flat tires, crumbling bridges, or other mishaps as it would be hard to explain to a toe truck how to pick us up. It was a crazy little trip, one I won’t forget.

More to come about the rest of the day later…..

Add comment February 8, 2009

Snow Day called before snow is even on the ground??

Last night I watched How I Met Your Mother and the News. The whole time, there were school closings being sprawled across the bottom of the screen due to the “possible snow storm” hitting the Triangle in the morning. At that moment, there was no snow on the ground and it was still about 40 degrees outside.

There was the possibility that we could get 1-4″ of snow and that is enough to shut the city down. Before there was even a snowflake on the ground, schools were closed. I understand that it is different here than it is in Detroit. Raleigh is not equipped with all the abundance of tools needed for snow removal like Detroit so it is always better to be safe and call off school. And for the maybe one time a year of snowfall we get here, how can you blame the city for not having that equipment? Not really cost efficient to have it for one day a year.

However, I remember when I was young waiting in anticipation in the morning right before school. Hoping…praying… that by 6am there would be enough snow on the ground to close school so we could have a snow day. There was no early announcements of school closings in Michigan like there are in Raleigh. Schools in Michigan wait until the morning of to make the call if they are going to close or have a delayed start. For this miracle to happen (a true miracle to the kids in Michigan as snow days are few and far between), there would have to be at least a foot of snow on the ground with more on the way. It would have to be falling at the rate that snowplows, etc. could not keep up and the roads were completely buried.

It kind of looses some of the excitement if you know the night before about a snow day. In Michigan, you would wake up early and sit in front of the TV crossing your fingers that your school’s name would pop up. Many times, no such luck. So when it did actually come up on the screen you would go from zero to 60, grab your gloves, and head outside to play with a big smile.

In the spirit of the “Snow Day,” Keego and I took some photographs outside. Happy Snow Day!!

keego checking out the snowfall from the balcony

1 comment January 20, 2009

Small Weddings Have Big Impact

A small, intimate wedding…Can it be done? Many start out with hopes in having an intimate wedding with a short guest list of only your very closest family and friends. But soon, after you write down all the names, the list takes more than a few pages of paper. Andrea and Jon proved that it can be done. I congratulate them for achieving the long sought ”small intimate wedding” and sticking to their goals from the start. With less than 20 people in attendance, you could really feel the closeness of the group and all eyes smiling happily on Andrea and Jon. I felt as it was an honor to be part of such a personal affair; to be invited to witness and document their marriage. Andrea and Jon where married outdoors at William B. Umstead State Park. The weather was a little on the chilly side, but the rain held off. The Pavilion was such a perfect location. Surrounded by nature and their very closest family and friends, Andrea and Jon were wed by Reverend Kayelily Middleton. The reception was at the Umstead Hotel. They had a private dinning room with all the guests around one large dinning table. Again, such a great feeling in the room. I was happy I was there to share in the day. Congratulations again to Andrea and Jon!