San Diego Zoo - May 18, 2019

Usually I just hang out with the Malayan Tigers when at the San Diego Zoo (or at least that is what one would think from looking at this blog).  This day I actually got in quite a variety.

Mother and daughter Amur Leopards.

Young female Amur Leopard.

Baby Giraffe.

Andean Bears.

Hippopotamus.

Of course, I had to spend some time with Connor, the Malayan Tiger.

Click here to see more images from the San Diego Zoo on May 18, 2019.

      

Lone Pine Road Trip - Day 4 - May 11, 2019

The last day of our Lone Pine Road Trip was a short one.  I got up early and went out to the Alabama Hills to photograph the mountains at sunrise.  Then it was back to the hotel to pick up Heather, get one last breakfast at the Alabama Hills Cafe, pack up the Xterra and try to beat the traffic home.

The sunrise light was amazing. The sun rises over the Inyo Mountains to the east, which are about 10,000' high, and the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is about 14,000' high when looking west from the Alabama Hills.  The Hills themselves sit at around 4,000' elevation.  What all that means is that the tops of the Sierra Nevadas are in beautiful pinkish-orangish light well before you can actually see the sun coming up over the crest of the Inyos behind you.

This is the view east towards the rising sun at about the same time.  The picture above and the one below were taken about one minute apart. 

The biggest thing with trying to photograph the landscapes in the Alabama Hills is all of the RV's and campers that are out there.  I generally try to frame my shots to avoid them, but sometimes it's just not possible.  And sometimes, it's nice to actually have something for scale in the photos.  This Jeep happened to drive by at just the right time.

Click here to see more images from sunrise in the Alabama Hills on the last day of our May 2019 Lone Pine Road Trip.
      
Note: For some reason lately the images on this blog have looked somewhat soft and mushy, which I think has something to do with the blog software.  They look a lot better in full screen view at the gallery website linked above.
     

Lone Pine Road Trip - Day 3 - May 10, 2019

After another great breakfast at the Alabama Hills Cafe we headed north on US 395 to do a bit of exploring around the area near the town of Independence.  Our first stop was the old airfield across the highway from Manzanar.  We had to stop for a "Top Gear" style photo of the Xterra on the old runway.

From there we continued north, and then west on Onion Valley Road up into the mountains.

Later, on the way back down to US 395, we turned south on an unpaved road that runs parallel to the crest of the mountains and to the highway, to see if we could find a less traveled and more scenic way to get back south.  We didn't quite make it, as we got to a stream crossing that was overflowing due to the high water levels, and had to turn around.  Still, we saw some great scenery in the foothills of the eastern slope of the Sierras.

May is a great time of year for flowers in this area, but it can still get cold as you climb in elevation towards the mountains.  We dug out our old Adventure 16 "Elmer Fudd"* caps for a little walk in the hills.

We've stopped at the Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery many times over the years, and for some reason we've always managed to arrive when the building is closed.  For once we finally got to go inside and see the various historical exhibits.

Next we headed out through the Alabama Hills and up to Whitney Portal.  

The views on the road down from Whitney Portal are great; you can look across the Owens Valley to the Inyo Mountains on the other side.

On the way down we detoured off onto the back way (Hogback Road) into the Alabama Hills, on our way back to the town of Lone Pine.

We stopped in to see the Lone Pine Film History Museum in Lone Pine, then had dinner in town.  After dinner we drove back out to the Alabama Hills to wander around bit after the sun went down.

Click here to see more images from the third day of our Lone Pine road trip, including more of the Alabama Hills and the Film History Museum.  I even managed to get a selfie with a Graboid from Tremors.

* I think A-16 actually called them Bomber Caps when they sold them, which was many years ago.
     
Note: For some reason lately the images on this blog have looked somewhat soft and mushy, which I think has something to do with the blog software.  They look a lot better in full screen view at the gallery website linked above.
      

Lone Pine Road Trip - Day 2 - May 9, 2019

It's only a few miles from the Dow Villa Motel to the Alabama Hills, so it's easy to get out there in time for sunrise, and then back to the Alabama Hills Cafe for a great breakfast.  

The sun had not yet risen over the Inyo Mountains behind me when I took most of these images of the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, looking west across the Alabama Hills.

After breakfast we drove east about 45 miles to a scenic overlook in Death Valley that is labeled either Painted Canyon or the Father Crowley Scenic Overlook on the National Park Service maps.  Military aviation photographers and enthusiasts will know it better as Star Wars Canyon or the Jedi Transition.  

We hung out at Star Wars Canyon for several hours, but only saw two planes transiting the canyon.  The first was a B-1B bomber, who stayed above the rim of the canyon, but went right over our heads before heading out across the Panamint Valley.

Next up was an F-35, who ventured well down into the canyon below us before kicking in the afterburner and blasting out across the Panamint Valley.

Our Nissan Xterra, looking out over the Panamint Valley.

Click here to see more images from Day 2 of our Lone Pine Road Trip in May of 2019.

      

Click here to see more images from Star Wars Canyon.

      
Note: For some reason lately the images on this blog have looked somewhat soft and mushy, which I think has something to do with the blog software.  They look a lot better in full screen view at the gallery website linked above.