Socks (My Dog)

Although I don't post pictures of my family here, I do occasionally post pictures of my little Pomeranian, Socks. Here he is laying on the carpet.

And here he enjoying a walk in the local park.

And here he is making himself comfortable in bed.

Northport & Cold Spring Harbor

It was cold in New York, as these pictures show, all from Long Island. The first two are of the harbor in Northport.

The next two are in Cold Spring Harbor, home of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, famous for its discoveries in DNA.

Ventura Harbor

A couple more pictures from California, this time from Ventura Harbor.

Even on the beach I was able to find a flower growing.

Ground Zero

I was in New York with my family a couple of weeks ago visiting my father and stepmother, as well as my brother and his family. While there we made a visit to Ground Zero, which at this point is a large construction site. I found it very moving, very difficult not to think about what had happened there. The last time I was there, the World Trade Center was still standing; in fact, we all went to the top as tourists no more than a couple of months before 9/11. I have to admit, I'm not sure I would want to work on the site.

More from New York in a few weeks.

Old Mining Equipment

Last fall I was exploring the Cripple Creek and Victor region on the other side of Pikes Peak, and there was some old mining equipment by the side of the road. This area was a huge gold camp, one of the largest finds in history - in fact that's where the expression "Pikes Peak or bust" comes from.

Florissant

About 30 minutes west of Colorado Springs is the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Fossilized redwood stumps up to 14 feet in diameter can be found, and it's one of the richest fossil deposits in the world. It's well worth the effort for those interested in such things.

The park also includes the restored Hornbek Homestead.

Garden of the Gods (Part 2)

This week I got a new 10-20 mm super-wide-angle zoom lens (that's 15-30 mm in 35mm film terms) and decided to go back to Garden of the Gods specifically to try it out. Since I work nearby I went early in the morning and also in the late afternoon sunshine to try to capture the best light.

The first five pictures are all of the North Gateway Rock, also known as Kissing Camels. The scale doesn't come across in these pictures - the rock is 320 feet high. The first is taken from the main parking lot near base of the rock, as wide as the lens will go at 10 mm.

The next two show the other side of the rock, with the dedication plaque.

Again, the scale is huge. I'm standing right at the base of a 300-foot high rock, looking almost straight up in this picture.

This is taken towards the back of North Gateway Rock in the late afternoon sunshine.

This is the only telephoto shot in this post, showing the feature at the top that gives Kissing Camels its name.

This is South Gateway Rock.

And finally, here's White Rock in the afternoon sun.