Father & Son Road Trip

I've been wanting to visit and explore Bodie Historical State Park (Semi-Ghost Town) for some time and I finally made it happen with my son.   My don and I made a road trip up highway 395 to Bodie, making a stop at Mono Lake and Yosemite during our trip.  We had a very nice time exploring Bodie and visiting Yosemite, a place we haven't been for approx 10 years.

This first shot was taken while driving through Lone Pine on highway 395 during the first day of our road trip.  Love the open field with all the yellow wild flowers growing.

A stop I wanted to make to take a look was Mono Lake.  The sky was clear and it was very windy, which made my shots somewhat limited.  A sunset might have been pretty cool, but both of us were ready to get to Bridgeport and have some dinner.

Below is my favorite shot from Mono Lake.

Day 2 of our road trip was going to be spent in Bodie Historical State Park.  While driving towards Bodie the scenery opened up and gave us this view, which of course I had to stop and get a shot of.

The next several shots were taken while exploring Bodie Historical State Park.  Bodie isn't officially a Ghost Town as some of the park rangers who work there and offer tours actually live in some of the structures.  I do plan on making another trip out here to explore and photograph more.

My son and I

 After spending our second night in Bridgeport we made the drive through Yosemite, Yosemite Valley, and then Glacier Point, before heading to Fresno to spend the night.

This first shot is on highway 120 just after leaving Lee Vinning and before entering Yosemite National Park.

During this time of the year some of the water falls are dry as they develop from snow or rain fall at the higher elevations.  This also meant that Mirror Lake was dry, which was a bummer, especially with the drought California has had.

The below scene is usually a small lake that reflects the mountains in the background.

This shot was from an overlook as we left Glacier Point, I should have waited longer for the sunset to watch it develop more and get some shots, but I am very happy with this shot.

After leaving Yosemite and heading towards Fresno my son and I were watching the sunset develop.  Just at the right moment we came to a turn off, which allowed us to stop and get a shot.  It's a good thing we stopped.  Just after taking this shot the colors quickly faded away into darkness.

It was a great trip and glad my son could enjoy and experience it with me.

Havasu Vacation 2012

Its been a month since I've been back from our family Lake Havasu vacation and I'm finally getting this post put together.  I still have a slide show to get jiggy with, but that a different story and blog post.

Every year on our way to Havasu we stop at Denny's in Blythe for lunch.  This is something my daughter looks forward to each and every year, but this year my daughter didn't want to go and stayed home.  Needless to say this was a little rough on the wife and I since this will be her first time home alone for that long, but we have to let our children grow and I know she's very responsible.  So this shot was taken for her, my SWEETHEART.

Now another thing we do each and every time we arrive at Havasu Springs Resort is to relax in the pool after unpacking.  Other than relaxing in the pool myself I tend to bring the camera and by camera I mean my Canon Mark IIn and the 70-200 f/2.8, and I do get into the water to get these shots.  It is all about the shot - right.

Well what can I say, I am on vacation :)

Each night I hope for partial cloud cover and colorful sunsets, well the first night in Havasu did not let me down.  The next two shots were done in HDR, something I've been learning and playing with.  Well more playing then learning.

This is where we will spend our days during the next week.  Canopy's are put up with a nice screen to give us some much needed shade.  Home away from home.

What is havasu without water sports such as wake boarding, knee boarding, and tubing, which you will see in the shots below

The beginning of Day 2 in havasu

Just something fun

Day 3's sunset

Day 4, fun in the sun and relaxing in the water.

Day 5 - the wify

Sunset for Day 5

Day 6

Our last full day in Havasu.  Now recently I've been seeing people post shots of their feet in the various areas they are, so here are my feet, crooked toes and all.

And yet another tradition, group shot the day we leave.  I love you all and had a great time, see ya next year on the Lake.

Loved the clouds while heading home.