Remember the time I almost got locked in a state park overnight?

haha.  yeah, that was great.


Yesterday was a very full day.  I started with Photowalk El Paso -- short and sweet, but lots of good shots!  After lunch and a little regroup I headed along El Paso's Mission Trail, with stops at Ysleta Mission, Socorro Mission, and the Presidio Chapel of San Elizario.



Towards sunset I headed up Transmountain Road and enjoyed some of the most stunning views in El Paso.  I headed into Franklin Mountains State Park in search of a beautiful sunset vantage point.  I had a couple of adventures while in the state park... first off, during a trip to a park restroom, I saw a scorpion crawling around in a trash can.  How he got there and how he hoped to get out, I have no idea.  I left him happily exploring a dirty diaper -- the things we see while we're on the road! 



The sunset was incredible.  I found a gorgeous spot with no one else around but a noisy rattlesnake somewhere nearby (I never did see him, but I kept an eye out) and sat for over an hour enjoying the view.  Its amazing how rarely during normal daily life that we make time to do something like watch the sun set.  


Just after the sun went down past the horizon, I made my way out of the park and found myself on the inside of a locked gate.  Oops.  I was super lucky because the park ranger who had just locked the gate was still hanging around.  After a lengthy scolding (he thought I was a teenager) he unlocked the gate and let me out.  Thanks, Park Ranger Guy!  I'm super glad I didn't have to hide in my rental car all night for warmth.  Ah, adventures in solo travel.  


To make those people in my life who tend to worry feel a little better about the 'what-ifs' (you know who you are...) here are some lovely photos from yesterday! 


;-)

The Plaza Theatre of El Paso

A shot of the El Paso Convention Center

Hey look, its me...

Ysleta Mission

The Presidio Chapel at San Elizario

Hey look, its me -- after the poo-scorpion, but before the near stranding

A view worth a stranding... I think so anyway...

See what I mean?  Gorgeous.

Time to go get yelled at by a park ranger!

Now I'm on my way to Yuma, Arizona.  My train was supposed to leave at 1:47pm but got delayed until 3:45pm.  I was suuuuuuper hoping the delay would make it a 3:10 to Yuma (yuk yuk), but no suck luck.


Thanks for checkin' in!  Happy Mother's Day!

Day Trip to White Sands!

Yesterday I took a day trip to White Sands National Monument with my friend Mark.  When you arrive at White Sands, its alarming how suddenly the landscape changes from scrubby desert to giant white dunes of sand with very little vegetation.  The dunes are comprised of gypsum -- remnants of an ancient lake bed -- and once you climb over a dune, you're surrounded by a vast, quiet, and alien landscape.  

We walked the dunes for a couple of hours in the middle of the day, when the sun was directly overhead (so glad for a polarizing filter!).  Then we took a little drive up into the mountains, stopping for lunch in Cloudcroft, NM.  The transition from White Sands, up into the mountains was incredible... many ear-pops and a drop of about 30* in 20 minutes.  As we climbed up into the higher elevations, the landscape changed from desert to pine forest, and we even witnessed a hail storm!  After lunch we ventured back down to White Sands to photograph the dunes with new lighting conditions, and a very impressive storm on the horizon.  If you haven't been to White Sands National Monument, you need to get there.  It was an incredible day!

On the road again...

After an amazing photowalk in San Antonio on Wednesday, I took at 2:30am train to El Paso.  It's amazing how this trip is flying by... so much Texas in so little time!

Here are a few shots from Wednesday in San Antonio, and Thursday on the train to El Paso!  Today I'm off to White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, and tomorrow is our El Paso Photowalk.  More photos soon!

New Orleans summarized in photos

First of all, I love New Orleans.  There are so many things going on in so many directions.  There is literally something for everyone.  I was really lucky to have a private tour guide for my stay.  I don't think I would have gotten as much out of my time in NOLA without the wealth of historical background information provided by Dawn Carl (my hostess and the leader of our photowalk on saturday).  Dawn's background in genealogy really helped bring the architecture, culture, and history of the city to life.  We had a whirlwind tour -- I visited two plantations, a gigantic cemetery,  two parks, several bars, and restaurants known only to the locals.  I drank local beer, ate my first and second Po-Boy, and tried alligator and catfish.

I left New Orleans today with a smile on my face and a promise to myself to return soon.  There is so much more to see!

It's been a couple of days since my last blogpost, so here are a LOT of photos to reward you for your patience!  

Group photo from Saturday's excellent NOLA Photowalk coming soon :-)

The incredible 300+ year old oak trees of Oak Alley Plantation -- we waited 40 minutes to get a shot without people in it!

The dining room at Houmas House -- one of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen.  

The gorillapod comes through again...
10-22mm lens + gorillapod focus with ballhead x = epic levels of winning at spiral staircases

Looking up at a chandelier at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans

One of the many gorgeous homes in the French Quarter

Looking toward a private courtyard in the French Quarter

The windows of the Roosevelt

Gorgeous scroll work on a gate in the Quarter

Hey look, its me!!!  This is my fake smile because an old man was telling me that my camera is too heavy and carrying it will hurt my back.  He then showed me his little point and shoot and told me it was just as good.  Yeah right, dude.  At least he didn't see me carrying my 50lbs. pack :-)

Do you think Oak Alley Plantation will let me build a tree house and set up shop?  I'll pull up my rope ladder during the day if its a liability thing...

It wouldn't be a trip to The Big Easy without a shot of a Mardi Gras mask!

Many many thanks to Christine at the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, to Hillary at Oak Alley Plantation, and to the lovely Dawn Carl for her amazing leadership on the photowalk, her wealth of historical knowledge, and for letting me try her gator bites.

I'm on the way to San Antonio for my first of two photowalks this week.  Join me and Lotus Carroll for Wednesday's Photowalk, or tag along on Saturday for Photowalk El Paso!