Winter in Pulpit Rock Park

As winter moves in, I still like to go for hikes, although closer to town rather than in the mountains since the lower elevation means higher temperatures and less snow. Here are some photos from a hike in Pulpit Rock Park last winter, a few miles north of downtown Colorado Springs.

As you can see water freezes in the winter. But we still get our common blue skies!

In the summer this would be a small stream.

It's not really as cold as it looks, it's usually well above freezing in the day, so I chose areas that don't get much sunlight for these photos. They're a frozen entry for the great Our World Tuesday meme, as well as having lots of shadows for Shadow Shot Sunday.

And since I won't likely be posting again for a couple of days, I want to wish all my readers a Happy New Year!

Dinosaur?

Is that a dinosaur looking down at me?

The photo was taken at Disney's Hollywood Studios for Skywatch Friday.

Merry Christmas

I hope all my readers have a very Merry Christmas.

These photos were taken at Disney's Hollywood Studios a week ago when I was in Florida for my daughter's wedding, all of them handheld with my old Nikon D40X and their brilliant little 35mm f/1.8 lens. It was the most impressive light display I've ever seen, and they would periodically change in time to music. I'm linking these photos to the Our World Tuesday meme.

Epcot Center

As Sonia figured out, the previous photo was of the famous giant sphere at Epcot Center, at Disney World, in Florida. Here's another, more distant one. It's not as sharp as I would like as it was handheld at night. The structure in front is the monorail.

I was there for my daughter's wedding! And this post is an early one for Scenic Sunday.

What's This?

If I haven't approved or responded to your comments yet it's because I've been away for a week and left a couple of posts to go up automatically. I'll get to everything in the next day or two. Any guesses where I've been? This photo is a pretty good hint - I'll update the post with appropriate labels later in the week when I answer the question...

Sandia Peak Ride

Here are some photos I took while riding the impressive Sandia Peak Tramway near Albuquerque. As you can see the mountains are fairly dry.

This photo looks back towards the city from the longest span. There were forest fires in Arizona at the time so there's haze; normally the view would be perfect.

Here's another photo from the longest span looking towards the top.

And this is looking straight down, hopefully it doesn't make you too dizzy!

It's a ride worth taking if you don't mind heights. Next week I'll try to remember to post some shots from the top. In the meantime visit Our World Tuesday for more photos. Between this and the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway it's been quite the year for high rides!

Kyongju Palace (3)

Here's the final photo I have from a palace in Kyongju, South Korea - I've been showing other parts of the palace the last couple of Saturdays.

It's a vintage 1998 photo for Vintage Weekly.

Sandia Peak Tramway

Coming back from California earlier this year we stayed a night in Albuquerque. Probably the most famous attraction there is the Sandia Peak Tramway that takes you to the crestline of the Sandia Mountains.

I hope you're not afraid of heights before you board and commit yourself to the ride.

And it is certainly high, as it's got the world's third-longest single span.

Next week I'll show you photos I took on the ride. I'm linking this to the Shadow Shot Sunday meme for the second photo, to Our World Tuesday, and to Scenic Sunday.

Prospect Lake Sunrise

These photos are taken at Prospect Lake early one morning, near downtown Colorado Springs.

The first was taken with a wide-angle lens, while the second was taken from the same spot with a telephoto lens.

Visit the awesome Skywatch Friday meme for lots of great photos!

Kyongju Palace (2)

For Vintage Weekly, here's another photo from a palace in Kyongju, South Korea, from a 1998 trip there.

You will probably notice a slowdown in my posting for a while as I don't have the time to devote to blogging right now. But don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, and I'll keep posting even if it's only once or twice a week.