Under The Pier - San Clemente - California

Here's a shot from our weekend in San Clemente recently, where we camped at San Clemente State Beach. We took a nice walk into town from the campground.

San Diego Surf Sunset

Here's a sunset shot from last year down at Cardiff. I'll have news soon regarding my proximity to Cardiff, and, no, it's not camping information. More soon.

Mammoth Hot Springs Terrace - Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming

Mammoth Hot Springs is just a few miles in from the northwest entrance into Yellowstone National Park. It is such a great place to walk and hike, and to discover the very cool colors that have been created by thousands of years of hot water getting cooled and deposited onto the yellowstone rock.

Fun Photo Friday: Tulips in New York

These Tulips were in prime bloom in New York when I captured them in April 2011.

Tree View - Emerald Bay - Lake Tahoe - California

Here's a shot I took above Emerald Bay, while hiking around the rocks (in search of a good shot!). Such a great place to spend the day. Check that...such a great place to spend the summer. Check that...such a great place.

Mere weeks away from Bridalveil Falls (and more!) in Yosemite National Park

Ahhhhh, Yosemite. We are now merely weeks away from our first big trip with our travel trailer, and Yosemite is a featured part of the journey. This is one of the shots I took of Bridalveil Falls from our 2012 visit there. We were there early in the morning, so I was able to get some very nice lighting, as well as the half-moon, into the shot of the falls. I'm not sure if there will even be a trickle there this year, given the drought, but Yosemite offers a ton of great hikes and views regardless. And, apparently, The Plague as well...we'll try to do our best to avoid that!

Fun Photo Friday: Palomar Observatory

Well, if you're only looking at my photos, then this is as close as you're going to get to see the Perseid meteor showers. Sorry, that's all I've got this time around.

Alaska - The Last Frontier

I never get tired of going through my photos of Alaska, and I look forward to Darcy and I getting back up there some day. This one was shot around sunrise in Denali National Park in early September 2009...the "fall" season.

L'église de la Madeleine - Paris - France

On my trip to Paris in 2002, I took a photowalk around the city. I've been working on some of the digital photos I took from my Minolta Dimage camera. This shot is of the La Madeleine, a Roman Catholic church that was designed as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army.

Fun Photo Friday & I-395 Treasures: The General Store in Markleeville

Another featured treasure off the I-395, the small town of Markleeville is a quaint town that was established in the early 1860s. Although it isn't "just off" the I-395, it's not a long drive, and it's definitely worth a visit. Take a walk around the small town, and go up the hill to where the old schoolhouse and jail are located. They've been kept in very good shape and are really interesting to see. This is the General Store, which may not have changed in the past 150 years, other than I noticed this summer when we visited that it is now painted red instead of white.

One other interesting note of this town, the namesake of the town was killed in a gunfight, apparently, before the town was established on his land.

I-395 Treasures: Virginia Lakes - California

Continuing the feature of treasures that can be found off the CA/NV I-395, last Sunday Darcy and I decided to take a turn to seek out a new area right before the highway descent to Mono Lake. After a beautiful short 4 mile drive off the highway, we found ourselves at Virginia Lakes, which is a group of small lakes that look perfect for hiking around, fishing, and canoeing. There is also a very nice campground (Trumbull) there, and a resort of cabins and a restaurant. This was shot near the resort, on Little Virginia Lake. It's a beautiful area, and is now on our camping bucket list!

I-395 Treasures: Bridgeport, California

This week I'll post some photos of the treasures that are along or near the I-395, which we travel when driving back and forth between San Diego and Lake Tahoe. Today's shot was taken from the town of Bridgeport, CA. Bridgeport is a large beautiful prairie that is surrounded by mountains, including the Sierra Nevadas. It has an incredible old-western feel to it, and is a great place to stop for food (the Jolly Kone has been mentioned many times in photos/blogs past!), or just to check out the local stores. While we've passed through on 4th of July, we've never stayed for the festivities that include a Rodeo and purportedly amazing display of fireworks.

If you find yourself driving the I-395 north of Mono Lake, you won't miss Bridgeport because you'll drive right through the middle of town, and you'll see this view.