Mount Rainier From Plane

Here's a Skywatch Friday shot of Mount Rainier, on the way back from South Korea last year.

1986 Olympic Mountains (4)

1986 Olympic Mountains (3)

Mount Fuji (2)

At the fifth station where the road ended we found the Fujisan Komitake Shrine.

As you'd expect it was beautiful and well-kept.

There were also some lovely views from this area.

As you can see the clouds were moving in. From here it was off to another scenic area, Lake Ashi.

Our World Tuesday

1986 Olympic Mountains (2)

Mount Fuji

The one package trip we did in Japan was to Mount Fuji and the nearby Lake Ashi, as these aren't easy to get to without driving.

At 12,389 feet (3,776 meters) high it's an impressive sight even from a distance.

But as you get closer you realize how big it really is.

The road ends at the Fifth Station, where there are some tourist facilities and a small shrine which I'll show you next week.

Here's a final shot from later in the day just before the clouds moved in, near Lake Ashi.

Our World Tuesday

1986 Olympics!

The Olympic Mountains in Washington State, that is, from a 1986 visit. They're not far from Seattle.

Stone Mountain

When we were in Georgia over the holidays we spent a morning at the famous Stone Mountain park. All photos were taken with my phone.

It's just what it sounds like, a stone dome standing 825 feet above the surrounding area.

It's a pretty walk up.

It's very different from my local mountains, and easy to climb given the high elevations my lungs are used to.

There's also a tram to the top.

The views are certainly impressive.

It's definitely worth a visit if you're in the Atlanta area.

Our World Tuesday

Mountains and Mine

Skywatch Friday

Another Ski Day

I went skiing again on Saturday - it's been wonderful to get back into this sport that I love. I felt comfortable enough this time to go into the trees.

I love the views from the top.

Here's an old chairlift I rode up. There's not even a safety bar on this one; it's on the advanced side of the mountain so anybody riding it would presumably be comfortable without one. (These days most chairlifts are detachable high-speed lifts, but there are a few older ones at the resorts.)

And more views, this time as the wind was kicking up and some weather moving in.

My GPS watch shows exactly where I went and gives me statistics. Total distance covered (trails and lifts): 28.73 miles (46.24 km). Maximum elevation above sea level: 12,275 feet (3.74 km). Highest speed: 35.27 miles per hour (56.76 kph). I can even see an online map with full details.

Blue Monday

Our World Tuesday

Copper Mountain

I went skiing for the first time in over 10 years on Saturday, thanks to a promotional season pass for Copper Mountain Resort. (All photos are taken with my old point-and-shoot camera as I didn't want to ski with the big one.)

It was a perfect blue-sky Colorado day and I couldn't imagine anything I'd rather be doing. I had an absolute blast and I'm sure I'll be out several more times this winter.

After a few rusty turns it all came back and it was like I never took a ten-year break.

Which way should I go? (For non-skiers, in the U.S.A. black-diamond runs are classified "most difficult" or "expert terrain"; the only higher classification is "experts only".)

Let's try some moguls.

I went down this run.

There were no cliffs, but a couple of moderately steep stretches.

Blue Monday

Our World Tuesday

RMNP 1997 (2)

Here's another photo from a short 1997 visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. As you can tell we didn't have great weather on the trip.

Scenic Weekends

Vintage Weekly

RMNP 1997 (1)

Here's an old shot taken in Rocky Mountain National Park back in May of 1997.

Scenic Weekends

Vintage Weekly

Driving Past Blanca Peak

On a one-day road trip last fall, we were driving past 14,351-foot (4,374 m) Blanca Peak when I snapped these shots. There's more to come from this trip.

And on the same trip, here's Mount Mestas, not as tall at 11,573-foot (3,527 m) but still rising well above the surrounding landscape.

Blue Monday

Scenic Weekends

River Rafting

Here's a scanned 1993 print from a river rafting trip I took on the Arkansas River, in the mountains of Colorado.

Visit Vintage Weekly for more vintage photos.

Misty Aspen Mountains

Early October 1995, camping near Aspen. The morning's view near the tent.

A scanned slide for Vintage Weekly and Skywatch Friday.

2008 Cloudy Peaks

Here's a photo I've had in my to-post folder for a while, from a 2008 trip to the Colorado mountains. I figure it will make a fun Skywatch Friday shot with sun, snow, blue skies, clouds, fog - just about everything except a rainbow.

I want to take a drive into the mountains in the next couple of weeks - although it's been dry where I live in the foothills, there's lots of snow up there.

Happy Thanksgiving

To all those who celebrate it, Happy Thanksgiving. Until we moved to the United States, we had never heard of it, but here it's a major holiday, with most companies giving employees a four-day weekend. It's a time to spend with family and friends, and to give thanks for our blessings. I don't have a themed photograph for it, but since this is a photo blog here's a 1986 photo of Mount Rainier scanned from an old slide.

Skywatch Friday

Vintage Weekly

Mountains

I've hardly started posting my photos from our May trip to California. Here's the first one I took, our local mountains from the airplane.

I think it qualifies as a Scenic Weekends post.

Independence Pass (October 1995)

Near Aspen, a road goes over Independence Pass, topping out at an elevation of 12,095 feet (3,687 meters) above sea level. If I remember correctly, this photo is a slide taken near the top back in October of 1995.

I'm linking to Vintage Weekly and Our World Tuesday.