Hana

I haven’t driven to Hana for a number of years. Each year we are in Maui, I think maybe we should do it but it seems we never get around to doing it. Of course there is all the discussion about should you do it or just take a tour. Well we did do the tour about seven years ago and with that you get the whole loop through the dirt/lava road that the rental car says DON”T drive. We also stopped and the little church that has the cemetery where Lindbergh is buried. It is a nice little old church but I don’t have a reason to visit the grave so don’t need to do that again.

Well this year we did it. I got the CD just to act as a guide but the main thing is start early and don’t be in a hurry. I pulled over often for those people that were interested in the destination and not the journey. Of course I wanted to take a lot of pictures so that required many stops. One of our stops was the Keanae Arboretum for a walk through the trees and flowers. The eucalyptus tree may be one of the most fun for the beautiful multi-colored trunk but there are many flowers and plants that make it a nice relaxing walk. The Royal Poinciana or Flame tree also is great to see and photograph.

There are many other spots along the way to stop and take pictures and two small villages that are probably nicer to see from the lookout than in town. Also the locals are not to happy with a lot of tourists going through their property. We did stop at one old church Kaulanapueo established in 1853. It has a very nice grounds and church. Very similar to the church in Makena established in 1832 that we have visited before and did again this year..

We packed our lunch and had it a park just before Hana. It might have been nicer to wait the short time and have it at the harbor in Hana. We didn’t visit anything but the harbor in Hana but I did take a picture from the harbor of the old Hawaiian village at the cultural center. It was during this time we had just a little rain but for the most part it was a great day.

We did stop at one park close to Hana where Marilyn took a rest and I walked around taking pictures. It had a nice black sand beach and many mongooses. I thin each bush and each rock wall had its share. They were introduced to control the rat population but now are killing the shore birds by eating there eggs.

We continued on past Hana to a waterfall but did not go as far as the Seven Pools. There could be some good pictures there but was ready to head back.

Lazy days

The stormy weather has not made for good snorkeling so we have been relaxing and doing other things. We took the drive up the mountain. We didn't go all the way to the top of Haleakala but did walk through Hosmer Grove. I was looking for birds but all we saw were the two Nene geese at the sign for Haleakala. You could hear a lot of birds but they were well hid in the trees.
We also took a walk along the beach front hotels in Wailea-Makena. There are some nice beachs and hotels. Lots of birds and beautiful flowers along the walk. We go up into the Fairmont Hotel to see what it is like. It is very nice but I am not sure that is my way to see Hawaii to say nothing of the cost.
We also took the time to go to Lahaina for dinner at Kimo's. That is one thing we always like to do. They have fresh fish prepared in several ways and then of course you have to have Hula Pie.
We continue to lose at tennis

Rain in Hawaii

Well it is Sunday and we have finished our first week in Maui. We have had some great snorkeling, played tennis and lost, well we won the second time, and I have taken a lot of pictures. We are in the middle of a rain storm that may last until Tuesday so we have a forced break.
I have been processing pictures and one thing I discovered as I was working on the Halloween pictures was the one of the picture of a nicely dressed couples that I took looked liked Kelsey Grammer. Then to my surprise in the paper it said that he and his wife were at the celebration. He was one of the families that had to evacuate their home in California because of the fires. We meet another couple when we were picking up our car said they came to Maui because they had to evacuate their home. I guess that if you have to leave your home you might as well come to Maui for a week or two.
We will have to wait until the rain ends in a day or two to enjoy a drive around the island. One thing the rain did was produce a great sunset this evening. It didn't rain all day be off and on with little sun. I got my morning walk before the rain. Yesterday we took some of the pictures I took of Fergie and his birds to him as he was reading on the beach.

Halloween in Maui

Since we started come to Maui during Halloween the last three years we have made the trip to Lahaina for the big celebration. They say 30,000 people show up so I will take there word. It starts at 2:30 in the afternoon when they shut down Front Street. They have waited until later in previous years but had problems getting all the parked cars off the street before the kids parade at 4:30. It stop about midnight, I don't know the exact time we never stay that long.
Costumes are of all kinds. I would say that the smaller costumes see to show up as it gets later. We made our appearance in the Raggedy Ann and Andy we wore the last two years. Our picture was taken many times so I am sure it is out there somewhere besides the picture I post. The kids parade at 4:30 is very informal once the band, fire truck, and dignitaries make the trip it never really stops. People are parading up and down Front street all night to see and be seen.
We got dinner from one of the stands under the banyan tree and spend the evening walking a sitting on the sidelines like the thousands of others. About 7:30 a light rain started so we decided to call it an day so any mini costumes will not be in my pictures. I only showed you the front view of the Naked Chef so you will never know if he had anything on under that apron.

Snorkeling

I would have to say that one of my favorite things to do whenever I visit Maui is to go snorkeling. My first attempt over twenty years ago was not a good experience but I stuck with it and now I can't wait to get in the water and see what fish will present itself today. There is such a variety of colorful fish in the waters around Maui that I always enjoy myself.
Of course now I have added the additional task of trying to take pictures. The additional problem with picture taking is the fish do not pose and as the water stirs up the sand and other junk on the ocean floor each speck interferes with that perfect shot. The use of Photoshop provides many tools to save some of the pictures but I have taken over 500 pictures and probably only have about 20 that are much to talk about.
One of the problems I have is lighting and the deeper the water the greater the problem. Of course I always want the light coming from behind me so would the fish please move over and then stop while I take a picture. It is impossible to use the viewfinder or view screen to see what is in the frame so I just point and shoot. I find that I tend to aim high and the fish is at the bottom of the picture.
I think our trip to Ahihi fish preserve Tuesday provided the best shooting for many different fish and clear water.

Hawaii 1

Well we are settling into the Hawaiian routine. One surprise for us was the wait for our compact car. There was a long line of people waiting for their car at Alamo. Well they had a long line of convertibles that nobody had rented them so the lady outside said I can upgrade you to a convertible for free and about five of us took her up on the deal. So we are now driving a mustang convertible for the two weeks. Is is warm but has been getting windy in the afternoon and we had to up the top up coming back from Lahaina because of the wind.
I have been out snorkeling twice but really didn't get to much for pictures. The water is rough enough that the pictures are not sharp but I did see a big turtle that lives across the street on Sunday. Of course when Marilyn when out with my on Monday we didn't find it. I have also been taking my four mile walk each morning and taking some pictures of flowers and birds.
Sunday we took a drive up to Lahaina to see the keiki hula show. It was a much younger group that we often see. They also had a young boy that had just recently won a hula competition for his group.
While walking the beach across the street from our resort we saw a man out feeding the birds. He says he does it about every day and the birds seem to know him. If he is just sitting reading they will come up looking for food.

Fall in Corvallis

Fall in Oregon can be very cool and wet but it is also very beautiful. The trees and shrubs turn wonderful reds and yellows and the clouds create colorful sunrises and sunsets. It seems the spiders have also come out to build their webs in the trees and shrubs. I have been trying to capture some of this color in my photographs. It is not easy to get just the picture you want. It seems the light, color, and focus never seem to come together on the same picture.
I have been able to get a few pictures that show some of the beauty that it seems only the eye can see and fully appreciate the full beauty. It is a short time and you really get a mix of weather and color that will soon pass. We now head to Maui and all of this will chance.

Stevie's Birthday

Well Stevie is now ten years old. We went to Portland last Sunday to celebrate her birthday. Marilyn bought a cake and we were off to meet Stevie, Joanna, Lance, and Brooke. The first order of business was for Grandma to take Stevie to ToysR Us shopping. Stevie selected the game “20 Questions”, a large art set of pencils, crayons and other necessary supplies, construction paper, a granddaughter bracelet, and a subscription to “Ranger Rick” magazine.
Then it was off to Chuck E. Cheese’s for pizza, soda, and games. I guarded the table while Marilyn took pictures, and the others used their tokens to play games and win tickets for prizes. It was not the best pizza and definitely not a quiet place but the girls love it.
Once the tokens were gone and the pizza eaten it was back to the house for cake and ice cream. I think a good time was had by all and it was good to see everyone again.

High Desert Museum

We made our yearly visit to the High Desert Museum and got to see a lot of the exhibits. It is into the winter so there was no “Birds of Prey” show and we didn't take the time to visit the Native American's Exhibit
The big show of the day was at the Desertarium. Lizards, snakes, tortoise, scorpions, and gila monster were out under the heat lamps. They had a short presentation and there was even an opportunity to pet the snake or submit a name for the two new gila monsters. The Birds of Prey are usually my favorite but it is now the winter season so all we saw were the birds in their cage and the wire mesh made pictures difficult.
The homestead exhibit had two sheep and a lady acting as the homesteader and telling you about the life in the little cabin. The steam sawmill is nice but I have never been there the days they have it running. I think it is only like four times a year but all the the lumber used in building the barn comes from the mill. The 1 to 12 scale model of a sawmill is interesting. It took the man 25 years to build and is a very nice job. They say the steam engine even works. I will have to take their word on that.
The river otter talk was just that. The 12 year old male was not going to get up from his nap for a few fish. They had a second female until last March when she died of old age. Both the lynx and the bobcat were also taking there nap all day long.
We did go through the Spirit of the West Gallery that has a number of very nice life size dioramas and also visited a gallery with a large glass exhibit and video.
Several places had bird feeders and benches that provided an opportunity to watch the bird and squirrels feeding.

Eagle Crest

We have settled in at Eagle Crest Resort for the week. It is cool but looks like it should be a good week with little rain. The trees have started to change so there are some spots of color among the pine trees. There was a touch of snow on the pass as we came over but don't think there will be much more this week. I did put in the chains in just in case.
Sunday we took a walk down by the river and through the residential area. Once we reached the hotel, I continued on for the longer walk by the river while Marilyn headed straight back to the condo. Didn't see many animals on the walk. There was the large flock of geese that live on the lake and golf course behind the hotel that are always there with a few ducks. I don't think they ever fly more than 100 yards. I am sure there are many golfers that wish roast goose was served more often at the local restaurant. I did see some other ducks and geese along the river that do fly and would fit into a different group that the ducks and geese by the lake.
When I returned to the condo Marilyn told me about all the birds and deer that had come by to pay a visit. In fact five deer seem to just live around the condo. Marilyn called them the security force for the area. There were three smaller deer and their two mothers in the group. The doe would come up to eat crackers from the people next door.
We played a game of tennis in the afternoon and then I went to get some additional pictures of the area in the late afternoon light. We will be playing tennis and visiting the area on days with little rain.

The Mammoth Site

While Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Devils Tower all provided some opportunity to learn a little about the site and people represented, for the most part they were photo opportunities and a chance to see something I had wanted to see in person. The visit to The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD was different and part of a continuing educational dig into the ice age.
We went to Hot Springs on the morning of the day we visited Crazy Horse. It was a nice drive through the grasslands and we saw prairie dogs and bison along the way. The actual site started as a housing development for Hot Springs in 1974 when the person leveling the property to start construction noticed he had uncovered a tusk and as they say the rest is history. The developer agreed to sell the land to a group to develop the site. One requirement that he placed on the development was that no bones where to leave the site. This means that anyone wanting to study the bones must come to Hot Springs.
The have build a building over this onetime sinkhole that contains at least 55 Mammoths and many other animals that were trapped 26,000 years ago. You tour through the dig that they estimate will last a least 60 more years and see many bones still resting where they were discovered. In addition they have a display area and windows that allow you to look in at the work being done in the lab. This was an unexpected site that I was very glad we took the time to visit. However, Marilyn says we will not be part of the volunteer group that comes in the spring to help with the dig.

Mt. Rushmore - Crazy Horse

Our Bed and Breakfast provided an excellent location to visit the various sites around Custer, SD. Since both Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial had evening shows including a light show we decided to reach the memorials in the afternoon and spend time there until the night shows. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate for a successful visit to either site.
On our way to Mount Rushmore we drove through Custer State Park along Needles Highway. It was a slow drive with a narrow winding road with great views. The Eye of the Needle was one of two one-way tunnels along the road. We meet a bus along the road and I don’t think I could fit it through the tunnels. It was slow but a lot of places to stop and enjoy the views since I was not getting to look at the views while I was driving. The road also took us past the Black Hills Playhouse. It had closed the day before so there was just people around packing up and moving out.
Before stopping at the memorial we visited the Gutzon Borglum museum. As we arrived at Mount Rushmore we were greeted by a mass of people and rain. We grabbed our umbrellas and headed for a view of the famous memorial to Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. We did get some breaks in the rain and in fact once we started the Ranger Walk below the faces it stopped raining making for a pleasant walk and good pictures. A number of the mountains goats roam the area along with chipmunks and even a tortoise. After the Ranger Walk about the presidents we listened to a talk on how the monument was carved and visited the museum about the construction. We waited around for the night show honoring the presidents and veterans and the big lighting of the presidents faces. We got to enjoy a very nice sunset and as the lights were turned on all the clouds the added to the sunset hid the faces and all we saw was beautifully lit fog.
Like Mt. Rushmore the Crazy Horse Memorial is mostly a photo op of a carved mountain but the plan for Crazy Horse Memorial is so large you wonder if it ever will be completed. The sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski is larger than life person that started a project that is now continued by seven of his ten children and his wife. Mt. Rushmore would fit on the forehead of Crazy Horse and only the face is done at this time. There is a large display of Native American artifacts and other things to see. You can even ride a van up to the arm right under the face for only $125. No, we didn’t do that. We did not have to put up with rain on this visit be it was much colder than it was the night before a Mr. Rushmore and the wind made watching the excellent laser show a freezing experience. I did sit through the show and got some pictures but once we got back to the Bed and Breakfast Marilyn ran a tub full of hot water and we both took a turn warming up in the hot water.

Off to Custer SD

After spending time with my classmates it was off to Custer, SD. Along the way we drove through farmland and mountains. We stopped at Thermopolis, WY to see the hot springs and walk on the newly renovated swinging bridge. I remember walking on it when I was a young boy but this time I only ventured out bout fifteen feet. And took Marilyn’s picture on the bridge. It was a wonderful spot for a picnic and swim in the naturally heated water at the Star Plunge when we were on the farm.
Since Devil’s Tower was only about thirty miles off the road we made a quick stop at America’s first National Monument. If you are not planning to climb the rock or take a big hike Devil’s Tower is not a big stop. I was amazed when the Ranger said the normal climb is three to eight hours but the record is 18 minutes. It is very impressive site and also featured in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I spent almost as much time trying to get a good picture of the prairie dogs just inside the entrance to the park as I did at the monument.
We then continued on to our bed and breakfast Strutton Inn just out of Custer, SD. It was a very pleasant place to spend three nights. They have nine rooms but only one other room was occupied two of the nights and then a couple from Switzerland joined us for the third night. The rooms were comfortable and the breakfasts were fantastic. We did not spend must time at the Inn but it did provide us with a good base for Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Mammoth site visits.

Going Home?

Can you go home again? I don’t suppose so but it was interesting to meet with some of my friends from high school. You can think about how your life would be different if you had made other choices and even think about how different my life and that of my son Scott is from my parents that homesteaded in Wyoming in 1935.
The first stop was back to Pavillion to see how it had changed. We stopped at the Methodist church that had not changed much but they have added a new kitchen and community room. The main part of the church is much the same as when I conducted services during the summer when I was home from college and the church did not have a pastor.
From there we drove past the old high school that is about to be torn down and on to the new high school to watch some of a football game. I did get to talk to a brother of one of my classmates and meet Karen that had organized a meeting of a few classmates for later in the evening.
Driving through the country to the old farm, I was lucky enough to find my old neighbor out in his yard. After finishing college he returned to the family farm and became one of the major farmers in the area. He took time to show off his sugar beets and talk for a while. After that we drove past the old farm and on into town. Yes things have changed a lot.
That night three of the women from my class and two brothers from classes before us met for a drink and dinner. Of the 13 people in my class that graduated four of us were there that night, three have died, and others are scattered. Only three years until our 50th year since graduation and hopefully most of the remaining ten will be able to meet and share stories. I did enjoy seeing those that I did.

Virginia City and the Tetons

We took one day to visit Virginia City, Montana. It was a drive through ranch country to a town that is both old and new. Virgina City was a gold mining town in the 1860's and has a colorful history with all the violence, gold, and politics of any great Ghost Town, but it is not Ghost Town it is the county seat in the present time. We toured the town looking at all the old buildings that look much as they did 100 years ago. We ended the day by going to the Opera House to see the Drunkard. We also visited Nevada City three miles down the road to visit the Music Hall and play a few of the old musical machines.
One other day was spent going to Jackson Hole and Jackson, WY. The weather did not cooperate for us on this day. We were plagued with rain and clouds covering the mountains so picture taking was poor. Then to end the day I went to the gallery of Keith Fay my favorite artist of the area and his gallery was closed. I am not sure why. I left a note and hope to stop by on the way home. Would be good to see him again. He is not 86 and broke a hip last winter. When we say him nine years ago he said he wasn't going to die so his artwork was not going to go up in value.
I did recover some of the picture taking on the way to Riverton, WY when I got a great shot of MT. Moran reflecting in the water. I also hope to get some pictures as we return to Oregon.

Yellowstone Vacation

Well we are now at the Lake condo at Big Sky, Montana. The first two days we spent short days going to West Yellowstone and the uper loop of Yellowstone. We have had some rain most days but not for any long period of time. At least it doesn't interfere with the touring. After not being back here for nine years my first impression of Yellowstone would have to be a amount of growth that has happened since the 1988 fire. I was in Yellowstone during the fire and know all the cries from people about how they should have not let it burn at first and the Rangers saying the fire was part of the natural process. Well the trees don't grow as fast as they do in Oregon but the number of trees in the burn area is much more than I expected. The problem is that trees live longer than we do and the time it takes a long time for the new forest to grow and it does not fit into our lifetime.
The the Lake Condos are same as always and we do see a lot of animals right our our window. The moose is still around. We have yet to see the cow but did see a yearling. Both have been around we just missed the cow. The beaver are in the lake and a pair of cormorant are almost always in the tree or nearby. The say there have been bear around but not this week.
The Sunday trip around the upper loop was good for animals but also presented the first disappointment. They are repairing the road to the Artist Point, the best place to see the lower falls of the Yellowstone so we could not drive there. Looking for animals is always interesting the first time you see something you are all excited because you don't know if you will see them again then after awhile you say. “Just another elk.” Of course you are always looking to get a better picture of that great bull elk or bison but I think we have done well with those two. The coyote we saw was by the luck of stopping a view point and it just walked by. I was also surprised that we did not see any elk at Mammoth usually there is a large herd around town.
On Monday we made the short trip to West Yellowstone so I could get some pictures of the painted bison and visit the wolf and grizzly center. I was surprised when I loaded the painted bison on flickr they got 30 views in three days. The live bison pictures don't do as well. The visit to the wlfk and grizzly center should be our only chance to see the wolf or grizzly bear. At this time of year most of the grizzly are at higher altitudes and wolves just don't stand by the road.
The Tuesday drive around the lower loop allowed us to see Old Faithful and drive the north side of the Yellowstone canyon to get a picture of the lower falls. As bad as the road was along the north side of the canyon, I would think that next year it may be closed so they can repair it. Of course there a many other waterfalls to see and I got pictures of many but Old Faithful and Lower Falls are just two things you have to visit if you are going to be in Yellowstone. The last time we were in Yellowstone we did not see many bison. This year elk and bison are plentiful. If fact nothing gets your attention more that a herd of about 30 bison coming down the highway toward you. The people behind them had to wait and when they are coming toward you want the picture and then I don't want them to think my car is challenging them in anyway. So it did take a little time to get through that bison jam.

Photoshop CS3

My big adventure this summer has been learning Photoshop CS3 and how to use it to improve or modify my photographs. Oh yes, there is the basic how to change exposure or highlights or even put two photographs together, but now I am working with a big step up from the old Photoshop 6 and gaining a little understanding of what happens and when is it best to use a function.
I will admit that working through the lessons that came with the program and the book I bought gets confusing and sometime a little boring. Yet the lessons do show me how the different functions that change the photo but I am sometimes not sure just what function would do the best job on a given photo. All of the basics are great and now I can merge several pictures together without using the stitch function in my camera. This gives a little more freedom of shooting several shots and merging as long as you keep the camera in about the same place for all the shots.
I have been looking at many of the pictures on Flickr and getting some ideas of things to do. Two functions that I am really excited about are the merging of two or three pictures with different exposures to produce a picture with a wider range of light values. I have yet to get much for pictures that will work but basic experimentation has been interesting. The second is OOB (Out Of Bounds) that produces a photo with some 3-D effect. A search of Flickr gives 6,600+ examples of this procedure and is my biggest work right now. I have used this on a number of pictures and look at the examples to try to get new ideas. The tutorial on OOB provides some basic steps in the process but looking at the pictures you can see that it is only the beginning. You also need to look at the picture in a different way to see how to make it OOB. You see a couple of my examples in this blog and more on Flickr.

Block Party

We had our neighborhood block party. For the third year we have made it an Ice Cream Social. Since Tony next door is the local Tilamook Ice cream man for the local fairs it is a logical thing to do. He has his wagon that he sets up at most activities in the area. We didn’t get the wagon because it is fair time but we did get a discount on ice cream, free cups, and people bring toppings.
We had about 75 people show up and a few forgot about the party. Everyone had a good time. Marilyn played the roll of teacher again and had a number of games for kids of all ages to play, like garbage can races and water balloon toss.
Again this year the fire truck came and gave rides to kids of all ages. This was a big hit with everyone.
In addition we collected food for the food bank and got 50 pounds of canned food and $29 for the food bank.
More pictures on Flickr.