Landscape – Page 4 – Adventures Beyond The Lens

The one red tree at Copper Falls State Park

February 4, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Copper Falls State Park, Fall Colors, State Park, Wisconsin1 Comment

The waterfalls in Wisconsin may not be as impressive as those in Iceland or Hawaii but there are some that are worth seeing. Copper Falls State Park is a beautiful state park in northern Wisconsin at the intersection of two rivers. The park has a couple waterfalls (spoiler alert: one of them is named Copper Falls), trails with great views of the rivers and surrounding forest, and interesting geology. We visited on a fall day several years ago to see the waterfalls and enjoy the fall colors. The hiking was great due to the beautiful fall weather but the fall colors were just a little before their peak. While many of the trees in the park had leaves that had turned yellow, those that turn red and orange had not really started changing their color yet. Fortunately, the few trees that had started turning already just happened to be right next to Copper Falls.

104ºF

January 30, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Arizona, Grand Canyon, Hiking2 Comments

Hiking the Grand Canyon

Hiking through the Grand Canyon is an epic experience. Hiking from the north rim of the Grand Canyon down to the river requires a hike of 14 miles with nearly a mile of elevation loss and the hike up from the river to the south rim requires hiking another 9 miles and gaining most of that mile of elevation back. It is an intense hike that requires a lot of preparation but is well worth the effort. While the most stunning views of the Grand Canyon are from the rim, there is something special about being down deep inside the canyon, completely secluded from the outside world. It is serene and peaceful, surprisingly green with an environment that changes drastically throughout the hike. It is a little hard to put into words but it is unlike any other hike I have other done.

The heat of the canyon

The temperature outside is currently -20ºF. This is a stark contrast to the heat down in the Grand Canyon. During the summer, the temperatures get dangerously hot. The day in early June that we hiked down, the heat was not *that* bad, only a high of 104ºF. But it was enough that we started our hike down at just after 4 a.m. so that we could make it to the bottom of the canyon before the worst heat of the day arrived. The last section of hike down into the Grand Canyon from the north rim is called “The Box” because there are steep canyon walls on either side of the trail. As the sun beats down during the morning and early afternoon, the canyon walls absorb the heat and walking through “The Box” feels like walking through an oven. This is why we started our hike so early, so that we would be finished before the oven had fully pre-heated. While “The Box” can be hellishly hot, it is also a beautiful area of the canyon.

Hiking through The Box area of the Grand Canyon, as the trail follows a creek with steep canyon walls on either side.

-24ºF

January 29, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Ice, Lake Michigan, Rocks, WinterLeave a comment

Winter is hitting hard here right now. After nearly a foot of snow with some freezing rain mixed in yesterday, the low temperature tomorrow is going to be -24ºF. The high isn’t much better, at -14ºF. But it doesn’t sound nearly as bad as the wind chill, which may approach -60ºF. Isn’t winter fun? In honor of the “wonderful” winter weather we are having, I thought it would be appropriate to post a wintery photo today, and maybe tomorrow find a photo from someplace warm to at least temporarily escape the bitter cold. This photo was taken a few years ago along the shore of Lake Michigan. After a day of snow and freezing rain, the temperatures dropped rather dramatically (sound familiar?) and, combined with the waves crashing up onto shore, gave the rocks along the shore a good coating of ice, which looked rather nice when combined with the calm water of the lake that day. The layer of ice on the parking lot (which can be seen on the right side of the photo), was not quite as exciting, nor was the layer of ice in many other places that day, but at least it worked well for these rocks.

Ice covered rocks along the shore of Lake Michigan

Bathroom with a view

January 26, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Colorado, Hiking, Rocky Mountain National ParkLeave a comment

Rocky Mountain National Park is full of great hikes. As you might expect from a park with the word “mountain” in the name, many of the trails include pretty significant elevation gain. The hike up to Chasm Lake is one such hike. The trail is also one of the few in the park with a “bathroom” along the trail. While the “bathroom” may be pretty rustic, I doubt there are many bathrooms in the country with such an amazing view.

A "bathroom" along the trail up to Chasm Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

Down the goat trail

January 25, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Alaska, Bird Ridge Trail, HikingLeave a comment

The drive from Anchorage, Alaska down to Seward, Alaska is a beautiful drive with views of water, mountains, and glaciers and regular sightings of whales and goats along the way. While the drive can be done in under two hours, we took the better part of a day, making several stops along the way. One of those stops was to hike the Bird Ridge Trail. The trail is a challenging, steep climb but the views are well worth it. Our timing was fortunate in that we got nice views from the top before the clouds rolled in. As we hiked down, I was busy taking photos and my wife was leading the way. I did not notice when we accidentally veered off the trail and started following a trail frequented more often by mountain goats than hikers, as it was quite steep and narrow. However, we eventually found our way back to the main trail and it made for an interesting adventure.

Magical Forest

January 17, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Alaska Hiking ForestLeave a comment

This photo taken near Seward, Alaska. We had taken a full day boat tour into Kenai Fjords National Park earlier in the day and after sitting all day, we felt like going for a short hike before dinner and ended up here. The trail went through a beautiful forest that looked like it was out of a fairy tale.

The -3°F Heatwave

January 14, 2019January 12, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Cross-Country, Snow, Winter, WisconsinLeave a comment

This photo was taken last winter at Beaver Brook Wildlife Area in northwestern Wisconsin, which has some very nice cross-country ski trails. The weather was rather brutal while we were in the area and on the “warm” day with a high temperate of -3°F, we went cross-country skiing. While the temperature was bitter cold, at least there was no wind and there was even a little sun. This photo was taken in the late afternoon as the sun was disappearing. Not surprisingly, we had the ski trails to ourselves and it was quite peaceful.

Cross-country ski trail in northwestern Wisconsin.

Camera Regrets

January 12, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Cenote, Mexico, YucatánLeave a comment

This photo was taken at Cenote Ik Kil in the
Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, near the Mayan ruins Chichen Itza. A cenote is a sinkhole, but instead of worrying people about their houses collapsing into the earth, like has become a concern in areas of the United States in the past few years, the cenotes in the Yucatán Peninsula are tourist attractions. Cenote Ik Kil is popular because of its location near Chichen Itza and for its natural beauty, with the large opening and vines growing down from above. This photo is, no doubt, not one of the greatest photos taken of Ik Kil. As we were planning to swim in the cenote, I only brought my waterproof point and shoot camera down into the cenote with me, not my DSLR. While swimming in the cenote was great, I wish I had better photos from that day.

See The Light

January 9, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Chicago2 Comments

Botanical Gardens

Along with zoos, botanical gardens are a great place place to take photos. They are usually reasonably priced (and many are free with a membership to the American Horticultural Society), full of interesting plants of all varieties, and provide different photo opportunities at different times of year, depending on what is in bloom. Many also have waterfalls, ponds, and interesting architectural features.

Reflecting Light on the Japanese Tree

This photo was taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The gardens there are beautifully designed, well maintained, and the only fee is for parking (which is free for AHS members). Each of the gardens within the Chicago Botanic Garden are unique. The Japanese Garden in particular is very nicely done. The tree in this photo is in the Japanese Garden, which is on an island. As we walked past it in the late afternoon, the sun was reflecting off of the water and lighting up branches that would normally be in the shade, which creating an interesting visual effect.

Tree in the late afternoon sun at the Chicago Botanic Garden

Fall Colors in Door County

January 4, 2019Posted in LandscapeTagged Door County, Fall Colors, HDR, WisconsinLeave a comment

Four Seasons

As the dead of winter approaches, it can be hard to remember why living in a place where winter means below-zero temperatures and the sun setting around 4 p.m., that is, on the rare days when the sun is hidden behind the clouds all days. Luckily, there are some upsides, like the excitement of nature coming back to life in the spring, appreciating the warm sunny days during the summer, being able to enjoy a white Christmas, and the beauty of leaves changing their colors during the fall.

Fall Colors in Door County

This photo was taken a few years ago during a weekend trip to Door County, Wisconsin. Door County is a wonderful area with several state and county parks, charming small towns, and miles and miles of shoreline, with Lake Michigan on one side of the peninsula and Green Bay on the other. The fall colors were at their peak the weekend we visited and while it was cloudy and rainy the entire time, the weather didn’t stop us from taking in the natural beauty Door County has to offer. This photo was taken along a quiet country road as we were on our way to one of the parks.