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.

Old Mountainous Skywatch

Here's an old scanned slide from 1995 for this week's Skywatch Friday entry. It's near the famous town of Aspen as the clouds cleared at the end of a small snowstorm.

Phantom Canyon Brewing Company

Brewpubs which brew their own beer are very popular in Colorado. Here's one in downtown Colorado Springs.

Their beer is excellent and the food is tasty too. It's my entry for Our World Tuesday this week.

Kyongju Palace

Continuing with photos from Kyongju, South Korea, here is the first of a series from a palace.

My wife is visible in this photo! And it's for Vintage Weekly.

Siamese Twins Rocks

If you've read this blog for long you know that Garden of the Gods is one of my favorite places to go, and I visit several times every year. Here are some photos of the Siamese Twins rock formation; it's not as well-known as some of the others because you have to hike a few hundred yards to it (it isn't visible from the roads). We start with the trail leading up to it.

And here's the formation itself in the classic Colorado sunshine.

You can look through it at Pikes Peak (this time the sunshine had disappeared).

There are other rock formations nearby.

Climbing without the right equipment is not allowed in this park.

This is an obvious entry for both the Orange Friday and Scenic Sunday memes.

Unusual Sunrise

This week's Skywatch Friday entry is a sunrise with unusual clouds.

It doesn't have the deep reds we sometimes see here but I still loved it!

Driving to California

Long road trips are part of Our World here in the American West. These are photos from when we drove to California back in May; we drove approximately 2,700 miles (4,345 km) in five days. We start with Interstate 70 (shortened as I-70) here in Colorado, which leads through mountains. This major highway tops out over 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) above sea level, at which point it goes through a tunnel!

There are pretty canyons too.

In Utah the terrain is much dryer but still very pretty.

This final shot is from California, which is also often very dry. We're no longer on the interstate but on a smaller road.

Road trips can be fun but this much driving does become a little monotonous.

South Korean Bell

This week's Vintage Weekly post is the famous Bell of King Seongdeok in Kyongju (Gyeongju), South Korea. Don't read the text after the photo if you're squeamish.

The legend (which may not be true) is that when the bell was initially cast it made no sound when struck. A monk dreamed that if a child was thrown into the metal as the bell was recast, the bell would ring. So this was done, and the bell now rings with the most beautiful tones (although it's no longer rung due to its age and condition).

New Years Socks

Here's a photo of my favorite Camera Critter, Socks, taken last January 1. He's probably thinking "let's get on with this hike, stop taking photos of me!"

Visit another fine meme, Pets Forever, to see more of our favorite animals. And I'm entering the photo into Tina's PicStory whose theme next week is snugly - Socks loves to snuggle with us day or night.

Curvy Lightning

I didn't get as many lightning photos last summer as I wanted, but fortunately I have several that I haven't posted yet. Here's one of them taken from our deck.

Fortunately it hit behind that house, not on the house. Join the skywatching fun at Skywatch Friday.

Long Train

Last week I showed you some train tracks in Colorado Springs. These tracks are active, with coal being most commonly transported.

These trains are very long and take many minutes to pass by.

They have several engines at the front and back to help them get over the nearby hills (specifically, Monument Hill which is around 7,300 feet or 2,225 meters elevation at the low point where the train goes over it).

The freight cars can seem endless.

It's a big part of Our World Tuesday.

Symonds Yat

I'm skipping all over the world for my Vintage Weekly posts - this week it's back to England for a view of Symonds Yat in 1975.

Red Rock Canyon in January

Next week's theme at Tina's PicStory is red, so I'm going all the way back to a New Year's Day hike in Red Rock Canyon. It's also for Orange Friday and Scenic Sunday (if it's active this week).

This is a great winter hike - because of the lower elevation it doesn't get much snow, and any snow melts quickly.

Even though it's within the city it's still full of pretty sights.

And there's even an old quarry to walk through!

I'm sure I'll be back here again many times.

Misty, Snowy Mountains

I'm going back to October 1995 for this week's Skywatch Friday entry. It's an old scanned slide, taken one morning while camping not far from the town of Aspen when I woke up to fresh snow and a nearly-collapsed tent.

But the beauty was worth it, and I have more scans to post soon from this trip.

Train Tracks

For this week's Our World Tuesday entry, here are some train tracks taken on a walk in Colorado Springs late last year.

I wonder what we'll see on these tracks for next week's entry?

Kyongju, South Korea

I'm going back to South Korea for this 1998 Vintage Weekly photo, to the city of Kyongju or Gyeongju, as Tina's PicStory theme this week is K. This is a burial mound, kings were buried in these many centuries ago.

The people give some sense of the size of the mound.