Cloudy Garden

For Scenic Sunday, here are some less than perfect shots from a cloudy day in Garden of the Gods.

The colors come alive in the sunshine, but that wasn't to happen on this particular day.

Simple Blue Skies

Here's a set of simple blue skies for this week's Skywatch Friday entry. These were all taken over the last couple of weeks on short hikes with Socks, the first in Pulpit Rock park, and the last two in the nearby Black Forest Regional Park this past Saturday. These are the skies we see most of the winter - we're lucky as the mountains shield us from most bad weather.

Stanley Park

This week's theme at Tina's PicStory is "A Walk In The Park," and I think one of the best city parks I've ever seen is Vancouver's Stanley Park. So here are a couple of shots of rainforest growth that I took on a trail in that park last May. It's also a wonderful part of Our World Tuesday.

This is a large and varied park, and I've got more photos to come.

Corsica's Mountains

Here are my last worthwhile photos of Corsica. Much of the island is mountainous, and I remember getting very carsick on this bus trip, so I believe my father probably took these shots with my camera.

These are also just about the last of my ancient, discolored prints. From here on any scans I post are either from slides, or from more recent prints that are in much better shape. A couple of years ago I spent a couple of weekends scanning in every photo I've ever taken, so I've got lots of them!

Monument Rock

One of my favorite local hikes is Monument Rock. A couple of days ago I posted the sign at the trail-head, and here are the rest of my photos from that hike last summer for the Scenic Sunday meme. First, I found this barbed wire right next to the trail.

 I enjoyed this sunny meadow.

 I'm not sure what these few remaining wooden planks were part of.

 I loved the shape of this tree against the sky.

 And in contrast, these rows of trees were obviously planted.

 Here's the obligatory shot of Monument Rock, this time reflected in a muddy puddle.

 And finally, a cocoon with caterpillars still inside.

It's amazing what you can find on a short, nearby hike if you keep your eyes open!

Mountain Lions?

Signs, Signs is an interesting idea for a meme, although I've not participated before. But when I saw this sign at a local trail-head, I had to take a photo and link it there. I'll post the rest of the photos from this hike later this week.

It didn't stop me from hiking with my dog Socks, and we both survived. I've seen bears (mama with two cubs within 30 feet of me on a trail), coyotes, and I'm pretty certain that we encountered a mountain lion this summer although it quickly moved off the trail. We've even had a bear walk through our front yard. It's a wild area in which I live!

Wynn, Las Vegas

For this week's view of Our World Tuesday, and for the theme of "Last Year" on Tina's PicStory, here are the last of my photos from last year's trip to Las Vegas. This time, it's the very upmarket Wynn Hotel and Casino, with lots of waterfalls.

I'm surprised they even let me in there, as I'm definitely not an upmarket guy!