Late Bloomer

Shooting the moon

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:37:00 +0000

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...

Largest full moon in 15 years.

Since the moon has an elliptical orbit once a month it gets closer to the earth than the rest of the month. This coincides with a full moon only once every 15 years. I was not able to snap the moon when it was low on the horizon but got this shot later that night. In the past I've tried to photograph the moon with my Canon 100-400 lens with both 1.4x and 2.0x extenders. The problem with this is that on a 5D you only get manual focus. This shot was made with only a Kenko 2.0 extender which allows auto focus with the 100-400mm and the 5D.

Canon 5D
Canon EF100-400mm
Kenko 2x teleplus pro 300
1/640 at f/11
Spot metering
ISO 400

North to Alaska: Vancouver

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:36:00 +0000

The first entry in a series describing the Alaskan cruise (and land tour to Denali) that I took with friends in August of 2008.

We all decided on Princess Cruises and that we wanted to sail south to north. Princess was great but I don't know whether South to North of vice verse is better. Going the northerly route put us in College Fjords in the evening instead of the early morning. Other than that I'm not sure if it matters and sometimes wished we were going North to South so that the last flight was shorter.

Our cruise sailed from Vancouver, BC and we arrived a day early to do some sightseeing and to make sure we didn't miss our ship. Vancouver has a lot to offer. It is a beautiful city and honestly the people were very nice. In two half days of sightseeing we only scratched the surface.

We arrived around noon, Pacific Time, and started sight seeing by 2:00. The first afternoon a number of us visited Stanley Park. Stanley Park is on a peninsula sticking out into Burrard Inlet and by one account is one of the best urban parks in North America. There is a seawall path that surrounds the park as well as numerous sights to see within. As it turns out a lot of enthusiasm with little knowledge can get you in trouble. We ended up walking the sea wall for a bit longer than we expected because there is one stretch without paths into the inner part. After a cross country flight and a 4 km walk I was pretty tired and did not do much else in Vancouver that day.

Girl in a Wetsuit (with sulfur depot in the background). They originally wanted a copy of the Little Mermaid statue from Denmark but could not get permission. Another artist created the Girl in a Wetsuit instead as a modern variation.

The next day we had until 2 or 3 o'clock to get on board so we checked our luggage at the hotel and went out sightseeing. This time I set out alone wanting to be sure to see the sights at the top of my list. I took the seabus across the inlet to North Vancouver and then another bus to Capilano Suspension Bridge. There for around $30 you get to cross the bridge and walk a kind of "sky walk" in the trees. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

The construction is pretty high tech but it does swing like crazy

I want this tree fort on steroids

I got back to Vancouver in time to go up to the Vancouver Lookout for some panoramic views of the city.

View of the Diamond Princess from the Vancouver Lookout

Click for the rest of the pics:

Vancouver, BC

Blog Change

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:27:00 +0000

I'm re-purposing this blog and renaming it from "My Life is Broken" to "Late Bloomer". Coming soon: pictures and trip report on my vacation in Alaska.

Glacier pictures posted

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 19:21:00 +0000

Ahhh, wish I was there right now... Here are my Glacier National Park pics:

Glacier National Park

Still to come are the Washington and Oregon pics...

Bittersweet

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 01:05:00 +0000

Today was a bittersweet day. It was my first day back at work after 9 months of being off. I am back at my last job, more or less. Same client, different contractor, same people, different project. It was nice to be back with my old friends and it felt like I had never left. But it was a little sad to see this season of my life end rather unceremoniously.

During those nine monthes (and 10 weeks the previous fall) I accomplished about half of what I wanted. (More on that in further posts.) Not bad, I had some pretty big ambitions. But I have a different outlook on a few things now. Sorry, I won't go into more detail here, if you know me you've probably already heard.

South Dakota and Yellowstone pictures posted

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 02:46:00 +0000

I take a lot of pictures and I have thousands to go through from my last trip so I beg your patience. I've posted my South Dakota and Yellowstone Gallerys on the website:


South Dakota	Yellowstone National Park

Still to come are the Glacier, Washington and Oregon pics...

Wandering West Day - Wrapping Up

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 13:28:00 +0000

This trip was significant to me in more ways than I can explain at this time. I would do it again if I had the chance but probably take a different route. Here are a few lists of things I did:

States Visited:
Maryland
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Indiana
Illinois
Minnesota
Wisconsin
South Dakota
Wyoming
Montana
Idaho
Washington
Oregon
Iowa

Sites Visited:
Alki Beach
Badlands National Park
Crater Lake National Park
Crazy Horse Memorial
Custer State Park
Devil's Tower National Park
Dry Falls State Park
Glacier National Park
Grand Coulee Dam
Iron Mountain Highway
Mt Rainier National Park
Mt Rushmore National Memorial
Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monunment
Needles Highway
Oregon Coastal State Parks (too numerous to mention)
Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
Pike Street Market
Waterton National Park
Wind Cave National Park
Yellowstone National Park

Wildlife Seen:
Big Horn Sheep
Black Bear
Coyote
Elk
Grizzly Bear
Marmot
Mountain Goat
Mule Deer
Osprey
Proghorn
Sea Lion
Wild Turkey
Wolf

8500 miles in 24 days

Wandering West Day 24 - Coming Home

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 13:26:00 +0000

Last day. Lots of driving.

1050 miles in 16 hours

Wandering West Day 23 - It's a Big Country

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 21:20:00 +0000

DES MOINES, IA - Today my mapquest.com generated driving directions can be paraphrased as so:

Take a right onto the highway

Drive 887 miles east on I-80

Take a right off the highway

951 miles in 13.5 hours

Wandering West Day 22 - Leaving the West

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 20:58:00 +0000

GREEN RIVER, WY - (Ok, not quite leaving, but almost.) As of this trip I have been in every state west of the Mississippi except North Dakota, Hawaii and Alaska. I have been continually amazed at how much different the landscape is out there. There is incredible diversity, from the rich forests of the Pacific northwest to the rocky coastlines to the stark deserts of Death valley or the rich deserts (to me anyway) of southern Utah. But I'm also amazed at how much is the same. The terrain I crossed in eastern Oregon reminded me of California, Montana, Wyoming or eastern Washington (now that I know what that is like). All in all, though, there is nothing east of the Mississippi is anything like it.

Eastern Oregon

801 miles in 13 hours

Wandering West Day 21 - Silver Blue Jewel

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 13:38:00 +0000

BEND, OR - I have always wanted to see Crater Lake so I worked it into my route home along with the Oregon Coast. It did not disappoint and was one of the highlights of my trip. Fascinating in a number of ways, I'll just list the highlights. Crater Lake:

Is 6 mile wide at its widest point

Sits in a caldera which was created by the eruption and collapse of Mt. Mazama almost 7,000 years ago

Is 1,932 ft deep, deepest in the US and second deepest in North America (first is Great Slave Lake in Canada)

Is 20 miles around

Contains Wizard Island which is also a volcano formed after the collapse

Has no inlets or tributaries and is filled exclusively by rain and snow melt

Has an elevation of 6,178 at its surface making the entire lake (to the bottom) above sea level

Gets and average of 533 inches of snow per year

Crater Lake

Indian Paintbrush

About 190 miles

Wandering West Day 20 - D U N E

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 13:35:00 +0000

On the Oregon coast there is a large area of sand dunes in what is called Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. No small piece of real estate, it is 40 miles long and a few miles wide with dunes up to 500 ft. You can enjoy the dunes by foot or dune buggy. I thought it would be different to hike through the dunes to the beach. Ok, so think about any desert movie you have ever seen, Lawrence of Arabia, The English Patient, Dune, whatever, and its definitely like that. No real trail, just a series of posts in the sand. On the way to the beach I walked from post to post, sometimes struggling to find the next one. One the way back I walked along a high dune ridge, keeping the posts in sight. Sometimes the sand is hard and sometimes its soft and you sink. I must have emptied my shoes out four times. On the way back I finally gave up and walked barefoot.

Along with most of the Oregon coast, it's very, very, very windy all the time. On the beaches it was funny to see a group having their family vacation on the beach, blanket spread out, in jackets and sweatshirts, holding everything down. Very different from an East Coast beach experience.

Footsteps leading nowhere

View to beach with fog

More sand

Wandering West Day 19 - This is Oregon!

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 03:24:00 +0000

NORTH BEND, OR - At this point I'm getting ready to go home but I have always wanted to see the Oregon coast and Crater Lake. Meandering through Oregon before the big drive back east, today I drove from Portland, OR to North Bend, OR.

About 225 Miles.

To a photographer, rocky coastlines are "da bomb" as they say. And Oregon didn't disappoint, delivering your standard beautiful pacific coastline.

Sea Lions

In Oregon you can't pump your own gas. It took me two stops before I figured it out. At the second gas station I wasn't quite sure so I figured I'd test the system. The pumps are just like any other self serve pump and there are no signs telling you to wait for an attendant. So I pull up and begin the process, swiping my card and putting the nozzle in the car. Then the attendant runs up to me and shouts, "What are you doing? This is Oregon! The customer cannot touch the pump. Otherwise the customer gets a fine and the station gets a fine." Well, exxxxcuuuussse me...

Wandering West Day 18 - Those Monstrous Beasts

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:55:00 +0000

PORTLAND, OR - Today I drove from Federal Way, WA to Portland, OR. I stopped at Mt Rainier National Park and, due to time, close enough to Mt St. Helens to get a good picture. Mt St. Helens wasn't spouting off, otherwise I may have been tempted to get closer.

About 250 Miles.

Both Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens are monstrous beasts. That is, that really stand out in their surrounds. Since they are both volcanic, they are much higher than the surrounding mountains and dominate the landscape. In the Rockies you often need a reference to know which mountain you are looking at is highest. For the record, Mt Rainer is 14,410 feet and Mt St Helens is 8364 feet (9675 ft before the eruption). I would love to visit both again with more time. Mt Rainier has lots of hiking, though climbing to the top is a more serious endeavor. The high camps are still over 4000 ft from the summit. Also, interesting to note, Mt Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the contiguous United States

Mt Rainier

Mt St Helens

Wandering West Day 17 - Why Would You Want to Do That?

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 02:39:00 +0000

(No you didn't miss anything, spent Day 16 crashing from all the travelling)

FEDERAL WAY, WA – Today I forced myself to go into the city once rush hour had passed. It was recommended that I check out the waterfront and the Pike Street Market among other things. Notice I said “forced”. I don't like cities that much though I have been known to enjoy Washington, DC, San Diego or San Francisco on occasion. But my experience here in Seattle can best be described by the following stream of consciousness i.e., rambling:

Traffic, traffic, guess the exit, wander through one way streets, pedestrians, look for parking, parking, parking meters not working, parking meter working, graffiti, panhandlers, litter, litter, grafitti, panhandlers, tourists, wandering, wandering, glimpses of the space needle. shops, crowds, crowds, noise, car fumes, litter, interesting people, street people, traffic, traffic, etc, etc. GET ME OUT OF HERE!

After the unspeakable beauty of national parks, I'm not getting anything out of this city thing. No, I didn't go to the top of the Space Needle even though I was near by. I switched to Plan B, which was developed back in the car as I locked myself securely away from the poison of the city.

And I remembered what was said to me in Glacier. I met some hikers from the Seattle area and asked them what I should check out. They highly recommended Mt Rainier among other things. When I asked what sites I should check out in the city when I visited Seattle, they replied, “Why would you want to do that?”

Seattle from Alki Beach

Wandering West Day 15 - Unexpected Majesty

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 05:09:00 +0000

FEDERAL WAY, WA – Today I drove from Spokane, WA to Federal Way, WA (20 minutes south of Seattle). I had planned to stop at the Grand Coulee Dam on the way, a detour off the interstate. That detour led me through what is called the “Scablands” of Washington.

325 miles

God of the Gadgets

I love my gadgets, iPod, GPS, cell phone, PDA, digital camera. But they all need power or they are useless. So I dubbed Grand Coulee Dam their god. Grand Coulee Dam has the third largest hydroelectric power capacity in the world. The other two dams are in South America and it will be fourth once the Three Gorges dam is completed in China. It was first when it was built.

Grand Coulee Dam

Scablands

Don't you just love that word? The geological history of Easter Washington state is remarkable and hard to summarize here. Just imagine lakes, floods, rivers and waterfalls on a scale that dwarfs anything that exists today. In a nutshell, there were lakes that covered much of Montana damed up by glaciers. When those glacial dams burst, the water rushed through the columbia river basin, from Montana, through eastern Washington state, and out through Oregon. This happened many times. The geological formations created are gigantic. The story of how this geological story was uncovered (by J. Harlen Bretz) is also interesting but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.
Scabland Geology
J. Harlen Bretz
Channeled Scablands
Missoula Floods
On the way back to the interstate from Grand Coulee, I passed Dry Falls State Park. I almost didn't stop and you can't quite see it from the road, but aren't you glad I did:

Dry Falls

Wandering West Day 14 - Glacier to Spokane, WA

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 04:42:00 +0000

SPOKANE, WA - Purely a travel day, 370 miles in about 8 hours.

Wandering West Day 13 - Fire in the Park

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 04:13:00 +0000

GLACIER NP, WYOMING - On July 28, a forest fire started in the Eagle Lake area of Glacier NP. It was small, under 50 acres, and no we talked to at first seemed especially worried. But that all changed.
July 28 PM - Started in Eagle Lake Area 50 acres, On the way to our hotel we notice the smoke and observe a plane circling and dropping smoke jumbers in parachutes
July 29 AM – I see my friends off and begin a slow meander from one end of the park to another. The ranger at the St Mary's entrance (East) tells me the fire is 250 acres and the rumor has it its was started by boy scouts camping there. I believe it, I was a boy scout and I know what they are capable of. In the Eagle Lake Area there are no fires allowed since it is near a Native American lumber industry area.
July 29 PM – After traveling the Going-To-Sun Road all the way to the western end I am told that the road is closed at Logan pass and I will have to drive around. When I get to rt 89 on the eastern side near St Mary I can see the flames from the road, an awesome site but I don't stop to take pictures. When I get to Babb they are closing the road I just was on., areas of the where park evacuated along with St. Mary.
August 2 – From the website I learn that as of August 2 the evacuation was lifted.
August 5 – Just checked the web and it appears that the fire is still buring, 50% contained and encompasses 27,000 acres. The fire spread to Blackfeet Tribal Trust lands. Here is the incident report.

The fire on its first day.

The smoke from fire in its second day

Peaceful elsewhere in the park

Wandering West Day 12 - Gorgeous, Gorgeous, Gorgeous

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 04:01:00 +0000

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA – I've been to no small number of national parks and I have to admit that Glacier is in the running for the most gorgeous. In the central part of the park there are gorgeous views everywhere you look from the main road as well as hidden away in short and long hikes.

Today we took two short hikes, Avalanche Creek and Hidden Lake.

Avalanche Creek

Avalanche Lake

Hidden Lake

Wandering West Day 11 – Canada

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 04:38:00 +0000

GLACIER NP, MONTANA - On my third day in Glacier we traveled the to Canadian side of the park, Waterton National Park, for a boat ride on Waterton Lake. The boat ride was a welcome relief from that long hike yesterday. They took us back across the border into the US where we got our passport stamped at Goat Haunt. Also, I think we all came to the conclusion that the US side of the park, especially the northeastern end, is the most beautiful.

US/Canadian border gets a hair cut every 15 years

View into Canada from the US end of Waterton Lake

On the way back we caught a mother bear and her two cubs crossing the road. Here is what I got of it:

Baby bear negotiating guard rail

Wandering West Day 10 – Walk in the Clouds

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 00:51:00 +0000

GLACIER NP, MONTANA – Joining up with friends in Glacier, we had planned to hike the Highline Trail to the Loop trail. It was an 11 mile hike along the Garden Wall and up to Granite Chalet. Beautiful views every step of the way.

View from trail

The Garden Wall

Excuse me mr Mountain Goat, can you scooch your butt over so we can pass?

Wandering West Day 9 - On to Glacier NP

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 04:06:00 +0000

GLACIER NP, MONTANA - Drove the 510 miles from inside Yellowstone to Glacier National Park in about 10 hours with a long lunch.

Montana is big, sparsely populated and brown. Apparently they used to have unlimited speed limits on the highways but I only encountered 70mph signs.

Montana "Big Sky"

Arriving at Glacier National Park there were the typical (at least to me now) wildlife watchers out. There was a family of grizzlies foraging on the mountainside near the hotel and we spent an hour or two watching. Here's the best I could get with my 300mm.

Grizzly foraging for huckleberries

Wandering West Day 8 – Watching the Wolves

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 03:54:00 +0000

YELLOWSTONE NP, WYOMING – Today started overcast and gloomy but sure didn't end that way. I wanted to see the rest of the trail along the south of the canyon so I hiked from Artist's Point to Sublime Point and back. (I guess its called Sublime Point because why its important ain't obvious, the views are much better elsewhere.) The rest of the day I wandered through the park stopping at various places as it rained on and off. Mostly I was in the north west end of the park and spent time at Mammoth.

Mule deer buck in the morning

Lower Yellowstone Falls

Hot spring at Mammoth Springs

I had wanted to end a day at one of the pull offs overlooking Antelope Valley (between Canyon and Tower Fall). That was where you might see wildlife and the view alone was better than TV. So I found a pull-off all my own, made my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, set up my beach chair and relaxed. Soon a couple of the hardcore wildlife watchers showed up. They were very friendly and let me borrow one of there binoculars. Carl had a very nice scope and before long had spotted a group of wolves, 2 adults and 2 pups. I spent the rest of the evening watching them romp about. It was very satisfying even if they were only black and gray specks in the binoculars. Carl narrated with his better view and shared stories of other wildlife viewing experiences. All in all a perfect way to end my Yellowstone stay.

Wandering West Day 7 - Mt. Washburn

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 03:40:00 +0000

YELLOWSTONE NP, WYOMING - Woke up today to rain. Not very exciting but I was able to get my laundry done. By midday (usual for Yellowstone) the rain had stopped and I was determined to hike Mt Washburn. This had been described to me as a “must do” hike in Yellowstone and I knew Teri would never forgive me if I didn't at least try it. The weather obliged and I hiked the 2.8 miles up (grueling but beautiful) to the top. Along the way there were lots of wildflowers, great views, mountain goats and bighorn sheep.

This is my best side

Dead trees at top of Mt Washburn

I found that I liked the Roosevelt Lodge restaurant the best. It was away from the crowds and the food was excellent. On the way back it began to rain and I joined a bunch of parked cars overlooking Antelope Creek Valley oohing and aahing over the lightning. Yeah, that would have been a great picture, sorry...

Wandering West Day 6 - Rivers, Falls and Canyons

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Sardelli) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 02:18:00 +0000

Hiking the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

YELLOWSTONE NP, WYOMING - I hadn't been hiking to get in shape for this trip due to a bruised toe so I needed a warm up hike. The Canyon rim hikes are right around the corner from me so I hiked from the Brink on the north side to the bottom of Uncle Tom's trail on the south side and back. I've been getting an early start (always at the cafeteria for breakfast when it opens at 6:30) and it was nice to have the trail and the fall overlooks almost all to myself. That area of the park gets real crowded but not until 9:30 or so.

Lower Yellowstone Falls with rainbow

Tower Fall Area

After this old man had a nap I drove up the road to the Tower Falls/Roosevelt area's. There are some beautiful views of the canyon along that way as well as some interesting rock formations. I also hiked along the north rim of the canyon on the Yellowstone River Picnic Area Trail. There I got more great views of the canyon and Yellowstone River. I found an elk antler that had be left along the trail. Small temptation to take it out but that is a big no no here so the pic is all I got.

Bob with elk antler

Connectivity

Finally, I must confess that I left the most magnificent piece on God's green earth to get connected to the internet, oh joy. At the North entrance there is a town called Gardiner right at the park gate. At “Flying Pigs”, an outdoor gear store, there are computers and wifi, blessed wifi. Apparently there is at least one other establishment in the town with public internet access. However, all in all, my connectivity at Yellowstone and Glacier is very limited or non-existent.