Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Mammoth - Second Round of Images

I love vacations. This one was particularly special to me because it will be one of the last ones Kymberli and I take as a family of two. I am sure Baby Q will love our future vacations, as will I, but I really wanted Kymberli and I to go and have fun. Take as many photos as we wanted and get to do things we normally don't get to do.

I'll be showcasing many photos, but I need to give some details on the trip. We did a lot and we experienced a lot. Kymberli talks about the best coffee shop we went to. This place was great. We sat outside to listen to the band and everyone was drinking beer or wine. We must have stuck out like a sore thumb because we were actually drinking coffee! It was truly a sight. When I say beer, I mean that every outside had a 12 pack on their table and when another person showed up, they also had a 12 pack. I couldn't believe it. There were dogs everywhere, too. Big, little, colorful, plain and they had so much energy. I think THEY were the ones drinking the coffee!

The Hot Creek Fish Hatchery and Hot Springs were pretty cool. <-- Gotta love my goofiness, right? Color. Vastness. Absolut Beauty.

We went to view Devils Postpile and it was fantastic. I had read some about how it was formed, but it actually see it and see the size of the columns of basalt was incredible. I have to admit that after experiencing an earthquake a few weeks ago and then standing in front of the rockpile made me a bit nervous.

We also made a trek into Bodie. Ever hear of it? No? Well, Bodie is a ghost town. It's an old settlement where a little gold was discovered (ok, a lot) and it turned into a little city of sorts. They had over 10,000 people living there in its heyday. Pretty cool stuff.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite photos and memories from our trip. It was an incredible three days of fun with my wife.

One of the things that had us cracking up on the trip was this billboard... you can see why.



The rainbow trout were hungry!





This guy was big and very cute.



Devils Postpile







This Jay was squawking up a storm. I kept telling him I wasn't feeding him, but he wouldn't take no for an answer.



These guys were spotted by my wife in Yosemite. We got within 30 feet of them.





There you go. Round three will be coming tomorrow. I didn't want to bog down anyone's internet connection tonight. I hope you enjoy them If you do, please leave me a comment. If you have constructive criticism, please leave that as well. I can always use some improvement and would love to hear what you all have to say.

5 comments:

Jim, "Homer" said...

What great shots, it really sounds like you two had a wonderful time. I look forward to seeing round III.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shots. I love the ones with the streams.

Glad you had a wonderful time and by next summer Baby Q will love the hiking in his/her back pack :-)

Love Mom II

kymberli q. said...

Awesome images, honey! There are too many favorites to choose! I have to say the first one is classic! LOL

cassandra-m said...

These photos are just like opening a magazine for National Geographic. WOW WOW WOW...You have such an eye to capture the perfect scene of God's beauty. Great pics!!!!!

cassandra-m said...

PS...How great that you guys took some personal time for the two of you!