Not the Smoky Mountains...

A nice view of the mountains on the way back from Hume Lake in Kings Canyon National Park, CA.

Fun Photo Friday: The Bird's House - Markleeville - California

This week's Fun Photo Friday was shot in Markleeville, CA. While poking around looking for cool places to see near Lake Tahoe, we finally made our way to this quaint, cool town, and I came upon this very old bird house resting on a tree stump. I don't know why I'm inspired to show this today, but there you have it anyway.

The Building Facade at the San Diego Museum of Art - Balboa Park - San Diego - California

For visitors and locals, Balboa Park offers some amazing museums, and is also a great place to just hang out and take photos. This is the building facade of the San Diego Museum of Art, which is now about 90 years old, and was inspired by a doorway at Spain's University of Salamanca.

Fun Photo Friday: The Metropolitain Sign - Paris - France

This is from my trip to Paris in September 2002, to visit Vivendi for some business meetings. I had the opportunity to walk around the city a lot, and you come across some very cool things that you otherwise might not when you're doing the typical tourist stuff. I came across this goth-looking sign for the Metro entrance.

Yosemite, we will see you in September!

And so it has been decided that we will return to Yosemite for our upcoming vacation in September. We're excited to get out on the road again, this time with our travel trailer, and start a new adventure. This was shot in July 2010 when we were visiting Yosemite from the eastern side via Tioga Pass near Lee Vining. We made the most of the few hours we spent in the park that day, but there is a lot more to explore on that side, and I am looking forward to getting a fresh crop of photos!

Haleakala National Park - Maui - Hawaii

Haleakala National Park is a spectacular place to visit when in Maui, Hawaii. Not only is the crater of this dormant volcano a very cool site to see, but the summit offers incredible panoramic views of Maui, and some of the other nearby islands. Add it to your photo bucket list!

Fun Photo Friday: GoPro view from 44th and Lexington - New York City looking toward the East River

Last October, I extended a New York business trip into the weekend, as Darcy was heading east for a business meeting the following week, and my folks were in New York to start a week-long cruise up to Canada. We were fortunate to meet up with and visit the cousin of a friend of Darcy's, who invited us to the top of the building in which she lives. The view was spectacular, and we had it all to ourselves. We were right next to the Chrysler building (pix of that to come at another time). It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to getting there for some night shots some day!

As seen in Alaska by train

The Alaska Railroad is a fantastic way to travel through the "The Last Frontier" and great state of Alaska. This is one of many of the beautiful scenes you can take in while traveling by train. This shot was taken along the Seward Highway, in the morning, traveling from Anchorage to Seward. If possible, try to time your ride with sunrise or sunset!

This photo is available as a print from my gallery, just click on the photo to jump directly to it. Or you can take a look at all of the Alaska photos I have in my gallery.

Driving I-395: Mono Lake and Mono Cone (yes, ice cream)

After our first -- and, yes, successful -- weekend taking the trailer out, we returned it to the storage place, and met a very nice couple who had just purchased their first RV. They are heading to Lake Tahoe in two weeks, which led to the discussion about what route to take to get there, considering that the 500 mile drive in an RV will take a long time, so they'd like someplace to stay in between San Diego and Lake Tahoe. We have always taken I-395, because once you get past Ridgecrest it is a beautiful drive, and has a ton of great places to explore if you have the time.

Mono Lake is one of those places, and is not only a very cool visit in its own right, but it's also very close to the Eastern gate into Yosemite. Plus, if you go that way, you can stop at the Mono Cone in Lee Vining, and/or the Jolly Kone in Bridgeport just north of Mono Lake.

Fun Photo Friday: Beautiful Beasts Playing

For today's Fun Photo Friday, I selected this shot from our trip to Yellowstone three years ago. The bison are magnificent creatures, and we were up close with them several times, as they are often on the roads or very close to them. We caught these bison playing around with each other (at least it looked that way).

Another beach camping weekend coming soon!

This weekend we will head to Carlsbad for some beach camping, and it will be the inaugural trip for the new trailer. I'm not sure that it counts as "camping" any more, but we will be hanging out and cooking outdoors. So, we won't be sleeping in a tent...that's pretty much the only difference, right? I'll let you know how it goes. It does occur to me that Bloody Mary's will be more easily made now, though...

Sunset at Overlook Park - Carmel Valley - San Diego - California

I shot this from my Samsung Galaxy S4 while I was walking Bailey Sunday evening by the park near the house.