Firehole River

Firehole River, Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

OK, I think this is the Firehole River.  There is actually a Firehole River, isn't there?  Pretty sure.  If not, it ought to be called Firehole River, it's a great name.

Grand Canyon

Desert View, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, 1/80s, f/6.3, ISO: 100

More coming attractions.  I'll be on the other side in a few days.  Woot.

Grand Teton

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

A preview of coming attractions.  I'll be in Wyoming in a couple of weeks and I am beyond excited.  I might even buy a cowboy hat.

Bobcat

Bobcat -- Pinnacles National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, 1/400s, f/5.6, ISO: 800

There aren't too many things in life that I find more exciting than seeing wildlife in their natural habitats.  Pongo and I bumped into this Bobcat a few months ago at Pinnacles National Park.  He didn't seem to be too bothered by our presence.  I suppose he figured he could easily handle the two of us if he had to.

Contemplating a Putt

Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Pebble Beach, CA

Here's a rare picture of me.  It was taken by my son.  I'm discussing a putt with our caddie Jon.  He was awesome.  Playing with a caddie is a lot of fun, but also a little strange because I'm not a very good golfer in spite of the fact I've been playing the game for twenty-five years and he was clearly a much better golfer than me even though I never saw him swing a club.  My wife gave Sam and me a weekend at Pebble Beach a few years ago.  It was a bucket list weekend for both of us.  We played both Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 116, image #7777.

Otters

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, 1/1600s, f/5.6, ISO: 320

Hauled Out

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO: 800

Sea otters spend most of their time in the water, but they do haul out occasionally.  It's not uncommon to see one or two on the beaches of Moss Landing's harbor.  This guy was near the seals on the sand bar.  He was quite large, almost as big as some of the smaller adult seals.

This photo is cropped a lot, but it's still pretty clear.  Sometimes I get lucky.

Southern Sea Otter

Southern Sea Otter -- Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO: 3200

I don't know of a better place to see sea otters than at Moss Landing's harbor and the adjacent Elkhorn Slough.  This guy was near the shore in the slough.  He seemed to be just hanging out, occasionally diving for food, I presume.  The life of an otter seems pretty good in the slough.

Life Is Good

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO: 500

I wish I could sleep so peacefully.

Harbor Seals

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-6.5 IS II, 1/1600s, f/5.6, ISO: 640

No doubt about it, seals sure are cute.

This is a shot from a kayaking excursion I took today at Moss Landing.  We paddled a ways up into Elkhorn Slough from the boat launch area.  These seals were on the sand bar across from the launch.  The passageway near the sand bar to the back of the harbor is extremely narrow when the tide is low, so we ended up a bit closer to these guys than normal (although we kept to the far side of the passage).  I think they must be used to boats going back and forth like that because they didn't seem particularly troubled.

Artist's Palette

Artist's Palette, Death Valley National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, 1/125s, f/8, ISO: 100

Who'd have thought plain old dirt could be so striking?  Don't miss Artist's Loop if you visit Death Valley.  It's like driving through a Road Runner cartoon.

Meep Meep.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 115 image #7215.

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

The views at Bryce Canyon seem to be endless.  It was late in the day when I took this photo.  The changes in light are quite dramatic over the course of the day.  I expected the mornings to provide the best light for photos, but I like the evening photos I took on this trip better than the morning shots.

Sunset in the Central Valley

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/80s, f/5.6, ISO: 160

Sunset photos feel like cheating.  I like 'em when I get 'em, though.  I took this one a few months ago on a bird photography trip with Pongo.  He didn't care so much about the sunset, he was more into the quacking and honking of the ducks and geese.

The Backside of Half Dome

Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, 1/100s, f/10, ISO: 100

I made a couple of trips to Glacier Point last year.  The views from there are spectacular.  This particular photo isn't from Glacier Point but from a nearby viewpoint.  Half Dome is on the left with Vernal and Nevada Falls in the middle.

Top of Lower Yellowstone Falls

Lower Yellowstone Falls, Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon PowerShot SD770 HS

There's a short trail that descends 900 feet to the top of Lower Yellowstone Falls.  It's not too tough going down but it's steep and tiring going up.  It's a trail that shouldn't be missed, though.  An astonishing view of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone awaits the intrepid as well as the unmatched sight of the clear waters of the Yellowstone River roaring over the falls.  The water is clear and mesmerizing to watch as it rolls over the rocks near the edge.  I tried to capture it in photos but it's something one needs to see in person to appreciate.

Silver Falls

Silver Falls State Park. OR
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

I shot this on the Trail of Ten Falls in Silver Falls State Park.  It's one of the best hikes I know of and not well known outside of Oregon.  Shoot, I'm not sure people outside of the Salem/Silverton area know about it.  I suppose it has something to do with the fact that none of the waterfalls in the park is over two hundred feet tall.  Multnomah Falls, by comparison, is over six hundred feet in height.  Regardless, these falls are full of drama, especially when the creeks are running high like they were the day of this photo.  This isn't even one if the official ten falls, I don't think it even rates a name.  Go figure.

Zabriski Point

Zabriski Point, Death Valley National Park, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

I love Death Valley, and one of my favorite spots is Zabriski Point.  Michelangelo Antonioni filmed a hippie orgy here in the early seventies.  Kind of a strange choice.  I was never a big Antonioni fan.

There's a big parking lot just to the left of this photo.  Truth is this picture only hints at the beauty seen from the vista to the right of this picture.  It's an easy photo op if you're in Death Valley and one that shouldn't be missed.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 114, image #531.

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO: 400

One of the cool things about birds is that they can bring a sense of the wild to urban environments.  Snowy egrets are a common sight along estuary shores, but not so much in the narrow sections which tend to be highly developed.  This guy didn't seem to mind all the buildings near the Fruitvale Bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA

One more from Crissy Field.  This one's got wildflowers in it.

Trees at Crissy Field

Crissy Field, San Francisco, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/100s, f/10, ISO: 100

There's a nice little grove of trees (cypress?) on the edge of the beach at Crissy Field in San Francisco.  I wasn't quite sure what to do with them and since this was really Pongo's walk rather than a photographic expedition, so I didn't spend a lot of time trying to figure it out.  This is what I went with.

Dunno.