Sunsets Archives ~ Page 4 of 4 ~ Rambling ranger

January 1, 2020

My Favorite Unpublished Photos of 2019

Happy New Year! Patti of Pilotfish has presented us with a delightful yet difficult challenge this week -Favorite Photos of 2019. How do you choose? It isn’t easy.

I got distracted a lot as I browsed through thousands of photos, with an image catching my eye and sending me into a memory. Focus, Di, focus! Don’t go down that rabbit hole! Is it really one of your 10 best of the year?

In the end, I couldn’t do it. I could narrow it down to 40 or so, but 10? Impossible!

So I took a page from NatGeo’s book. I COULD narrow it down to my favorite 10 unpublished photos of the year, ones that for one reason or another had not made it onto a blog post.

I’ll do this directionally. I’ll start in the northwest and make my way down towards the southeast.

Matanuska Valley, Alaska

I had an early morning doctor’s appointment. However, it was a 7-hour drive from my home in remote rural Alaska to the doctor’s office. So I left after work, drove part way, slept in the back of my truck, and continued on my way just before the crack of dawn. My reward was a beautiful sunrise over the Matanuska River, one of the most spectacular sunrises I’ve ever seen. My photos don’t do it justice, but here’s my best shot at it.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

We have some really big mountains in the Wrangells. In fact, Wrangell-St. Elias has more mountains over 14,500 feet than anywhere else in North America. Furthermore, unlike Colorado’s 14-ers, Alaska’s mountains start from a lot closer to sea level! They are REALLY big mountains. I like this image because you get an impression of just how big they really are.

Stone Mountain Provincial Park, British Columbia

My favorite day when I drive the Al-Can Highway is the day I drive through Stone Mountain and Muncho Lake Provincial Parks. They are both home to the somewhat rare and beautiful Stone Sheep, and if I’m lucky I might see one. This year I was able to shoot this environmental portrait of a ram doing what Stone Sheep do best, climbing cliffs.

Electra Road near Jackson, CA

Although I’m usually raving about the wildflowers in the desert, by the time April rolls around you’ll find fantastic wildflowers in the Sierra foothills, too. That’s where I captured this image of a swallowtail butterfly sipping nectar from a flower.

My favorite unpublished photo of 2019 — The Mighty Ocean

Point Pinos, California

I think this is my new favorite photo of 2019. I don’t know why I never noticed it before. I was trying to capture the power and fury of a winter storm on the Pacific coast. Big waves. I can watch them all day.

Piedras Blancas, California

One of my favorite photographic experiences of 2019 was watching the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas. It was a true wildlife drama, with hundreds of seals birthing, mating and fighting just yards away from their human voyeurs. As I watched, the seals struck me as some of the most ill-tempered animals I’d ever seen, always fighting and arguing – all of them, not just the bulls. Mating, in most cases, seemed exceptionally harsh and brutal. This couple was the exception. They seemed, dare I say it, actually content and peaceful with each other! I tried to capture that feeling.

Joshua Tree National Park

If you follow my blog at all, you know that no roundup of my favorite photos of 2019 would be complete without at least one closeup of a desert wildflower. I love getting up all close and personal with cactus blossoms. They’re exquisite. I found this one in Joshua Tree National Park.

Anza Borrego State Park, California

Because my little Toyota truck is only 2 wheel drive, sometimes my dispersed camping options are somewhat limited. I find myself returning to one particular campsite in Anza Borrego again and again. But even though flowers are going crazy in the rest of the park, there are usually very few or no flowers in my favorite canyon. This year was different. This year, my camping canyon was one of the park’s wildflower hotspots. I took this photo from the hill behind my camp.

Tucson, Arizona

There’s a reason Arizona is famous for its sunsets. Just sayin’.

Well, I had a hard time picking my favorite. And I find it hard to be objective. Each image is colored by the experience that accompanied it.

How about you? Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments.

December 26, 2019

2019 Photography Destinations – A Baker’s Dozen Part 1

As I look back over 2019, I feel fortunate. I had some incredible opportunities to spend time in a few of our country’s most amazing photography destinations. Some were popular places, in danger of being loved to death. Others were just as special, but not as well known, the kinds of places that creep up on you and get under your skin. Forever.

I thought I’d make a Top Ten list, it being close to the New Year and all. But I found I couldn’t narrow it down to just ten places. So I came up with a baker’s dozen. Then my post was too long. So I broke it into parts 1 and 2, the Rambling Ranger’s favorite photography destinations of 2019. Here is Part 1.

13) Elkhorn Slough / Moss Landing

This spot is one of those best-kept secrets. It’s a location that skates by under the radar on a coastline filled with destinations that are a bit TOO popular (Big Sur, Point Lobos, Monterey). Although Elkhorn Slough doesn’t have the flashy scenery of those more fashionable destinations, the wildlife watching here is fabulous. Look for a plethora of shorebirds. The main draw, however, is the sea otters. This just may be the best place on the Pacific coast to observe those cute little critters.

Moss Landing State Beach, California — Sea Otter Waving

12) Death Valley National Park

I spent most of March in Death Valley. I had committed myself months earlier to leading a few hikes there, before I could predict where the best desert wildflowers would be. The flowers were very late in Death Valley, with only a few blooming in March. It drove me a little crazy to be stuck there, as I knew that both Anza-Borrego and Joshua Tree were experiencing exceptional blooms.

But the great thing about Death Valley is that it is an amazing photography destination even if there are no flowers blooming. The austere beauty and diversity of landscapes offer endless opportunities for inspiration and creativity. I saw a few new places and revisited a lot of old favorites, too.

Mesquite Sand Dunes — Death Valley National Park

11) Southern Colorado Rockies

I had a short housesit in Durango over Thanksgiving this year. It’s always a blessing to spend time in southern Colorado. I love that edge environment, where the mountains meet the desert, giving you the best of both worlds. From the Great Sand Dunes to the many hot springs, from the jagged ragged peaks of the Rockies to the mesas and canyons of the Colorado Plateau, there were so many choices, all within a day’s drive of my base in Durango. The southern Colorado Rockies are another place I find myself returning to, again and again.

Million Dollar Highway — Durango is beautiful.

10) Denali Highway

This is one of my favorite places to see the fall colors in Alaska. And Alaska often has some OUTRAGEOUS fall colors! The blueberries are pretty incredible on the Denali Highway, too! Late August to early September is the time frame to aim for if you want to see the tundra put on its fancy dancin’ clothes. Special bonus: You might get lucky and see that visual symphony, the Aurora, too!

The Denali Highway is a great fall photography destination — Fall colors along the Denali Highway

9) Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky has a special place in my heart because I lived in both Estes Park and Grand Lake long ago in my younger days. I was fortunate to land a housesit in Allenspark, at the southwest corner of Rocky Mountain National Park, in October. It was a blast from the past, revisiting the environment that first instilled in me my deep love of the mountains.

Rocky is one of the best places in the country to catch the elk rut. It is also home to superb alpine scenery, wonderful hikes, and brilliant aspens. One thing to keep in mind – like Arches and Zion, this park is in the process of being loved to death. Be aware of your impact. Choose the trail less traveled. Give the animals their space and leave no trace so that we can all continue to enjoy Rocky for generations to come.

Colorado Rockies — My old stomping grounds

8) Point Pinos

Storm watching. Big waves. That’s why Point Pinos, in Pacific Grove, California, made my list. This is the first place I’ve ever been at all successful at capturing the essence of the power of the ocean. The surf here is awesome, in the original sense of that word.

Pacific Grove was also a place of great sadness for me, where I witnessed the crash of ecosystems, both terrestrial and maritime. The near-extinction of the Monarch Butterfly and the exponential effects of sea star wasting and a warming ocean were only too apparent during my stay here. Although it was heartbreaking, I felt it was important to be a witness.

Big wave, Point Pinos, Monterey Coast, CA — Point Pinos is a great place to watch the big waves.

7) Tucson, Arizona

There’s a reason why Arizona sunsets are famous. I swear they’re the most lurid sunsets I’ve ever seen! I love the cacti, too, stately saguaro and crazy cholla. I spent a few weeks in Tucson on a housesit last February and was surprised at how much I liked it since I’m not much of a city girl. But national and state parks abound, as well as other great open spaces.

Colorful sunsets make Saguaro National Park an excellent photography destination. — Crazy cholla

These were just a few of my favorite photo destinations for 2019. I’ll let you in on the rest by New Year’s Eve. What were some of yours? Let me know in the comments!

October 28, 2019

Seeing Double – Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #69

For this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge, Tina asks us to focus on things that come in twos. My first inclination is to share some of my wildlife images that double the fun.

Kluane National Park, Canada — Dall Sheep on the Al-Can Highway

Piedras Blancas NWR — Elephant Seal Cows

Death Valley National Park — Burros nuzzling each other near Rhyolite, NV

Yellowstone National Park — Bison in Yellowstone

But I can’t resist adding a few desert wildflowers – because you know me, that’s what I do…

I’d like to open and close this little exercise with seeing double in the landscape. No. I’m not talking about reflections – that’s a whole ‘nother post. I hope you enjoy seeing double!

August 8, 2019

Wolverine Mountain

Sunset on University Peak, Wrangell St. Elias National Park

Alone

The plane dropped me off on the top of the mountain on a beautiful sunshiny summer afternoon. I looked around at the undulating green tundra surrounding me and across the mile-deep chasm in front of me to an endless vista of nameless mountains and glaciers. I was alone.

Alone. It took a few moments for it to sink in just HOW alone I was. There was no one else around, or likely to be around, either, for miles and miles because “you can’t get there from here.” Due to big, burly glacial rivers and precipitous cliffs, the only way to get there was to fly. I had been an avid backpacker and wilderness wanderer all my life, but I had never experienced true wilderness like this. I took off all my clothes and ran around naked for a while to celebrate, just because I could.

Sunrise Surprise

The next morning I got up especially early. Although the view was spectacular wherever I looked, I had a special spot in mind. Just a few hundred yards from my tent was a small pond accented by the brilliant magenta hues of a patch of fireweed. Across the pond was a view of the most spectacular peaks in the entire range. If I timed it right, I should be able to catch the alpenglow on those peaks in that sweet morning light, with the pond and fireweed in the foreground. I grabbed my tripod and camera, nothing else, and headed out to watch the sunrise.

It seemed like I could see forever across the mossy tundra, but appearances are deceiving. The land was as rumpled as a blanket thrown over a litter of puppies. I dropped down over a rise – right onto – a grizzly bear, grazing on the grass.

University Range, Wrangell St. Elias National Park — University Range from Wolverine Mountain

Number one rule in bear country is never surprise the bear, and I was just feet away, having approached swiftly and silently. Even though I was way too close, he hadn’t noticed me yet. I hightailed it out of there as fast as I could, and as soon as I was far enough away to not surprise him, I started singing loudly to make him aware of my presence. “Oh Lord, please don’t let the bear eat me” went the refrain.

I returned to my tent, which was way too close to that bear for comfort, and grabbed the things I needed to spend all day away (including the bear spray I’d left in the tent the first time out). I was pretty nervous when I came back to camp that evening, but thankfully he was long gone.

Unexpected Encounter

The next morning, I packed up and headed for the landing strip to wait for the plane.

It was another beautiful day, but a bit breezier than the last two. I heard the buzz of the plane and knew my ride was on its way. The pilot, Kelly Bay, started his final approach. An errant gust of wind slammed into the plane, tipping one of the wings perilously close to the ground. Kelly accelerated and got out of there fast, waving goodbye, accident narrowly averted.

View from Wolverine Mountain, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park — Upper Chitistone River Canyon

Since it was too windy to land, I was kind of stranded. After all, you can’t get there from here, so all I could do was wait until the wind died down and he returned. So I kicked back on my pack and contemplated the sublime scenery. There are definitely worse places, and circumstances, to be stranded in. Since I was supposed to work that evening, I just looked at it as a bonus day off in paradise!

That is, until I saw the dark brown shape running across the tundra. It was pretty far away, and there’s no sense of scale above timberline, but it was the same dark brown color as that damn bear. I thought, “ Oh no, not again!”

So I started singing. As I did, I pulled my binoculars from my pack to get a good look at the beast. Hmmm, it’s got a tail. It’s NOT a bear. Wolf? Strange, wolves don’t run with their tails between their legs like that, and I’ve never seen one that dark brown color.

Then the animal heard my voice and started to turn, running back the way it had come. I saw the yellow stripe along its side. Damn! Wolverine! I’d never seen one before. What a rare and wonderful sighting! I was so mad at myself for chasing away a wolverine before I even had a chance to photograph it.

Chitistone Canyon, Wrangell St. Elias National Park — Downstream on the Chitistone

When Kelly finally returned later that afternoon, I shared with him the story of my little adventure.

“Wolverine, huh? You’re lucky! What a great sighting!” He contemplated my story for a few moments. “You know, we call this airstrip Chitistone Heights. I hate that name. Sounds like a soap opera. I think I’ll rename it after your experience. Wolverine Mountain.”

That was 25 years ago, almost to the day. Wolverine Mountain it is, beloved by many. Michelle McAfee even wrote a song about it. Although I practice Leave No Trace, somehow I seem to have made my mark on this wilderness. How amazing it is to live in a place where our stories can still become part of the landscape.

View of Chitistone Canyon, Wrangell St. Elias National Park — Clouds over Chitistone Canyon

August 1, 2019

Seascapes – Lens-Artists Photo Challenge

Thanks to Amy for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. I love photographing the ocean!

I’ve always been more of a mountain girl than an ocean girl. I did spend a couple of winters in the Florida Keys in my early 20s. It was too flat for me. I got homesick for vertical topography.

Wild waves off the Monterey coast — Wild Waves at Point Pinos, CA

Since then, other than one winter in Hawaii, I’ve made the mountains and the deserts my home. Although I’d occasionally visit the coast on my way somewhere else, I never really spent much time there.

That changed a couple of winters ago when I took up petsitting. I’ve finally had a few opportunities to live near, and get to know, the shore and its many moods, spending quality time on the Pacific Coast beaches in Washington, Oregon, and California.

I’ve learned to love the sea in its many moods –

calm

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington

or wild,

Crashing surf at Point Lobos, Central California coast

sunny,

tidal pool and ses stack, Oregon Coast — Seal Rocks, Oregon

foggy,

or stormy.

Storm clouds lifting at sunset, Long Beach Peninsula, WA — God rays at sunset, Long Beach Peninsula, WA

I like the big waves of winter a lot. I could watch them for hours.

But what I like the best are the sunsets. Sometimes I shoot generic sunsets – just sky, waves, and sand.

Sunset at Fort Stephens State Park, Oregon — Sunset on the Oregon Coast

But often I try to find a silhouette the foreground to set off the sunset. Sometimes I use nature-

sometimes not.

Sunset on Pigeon Point Lighthouse, CA — Pigeon Point Lighthouse, CA

When was the last time you caught a sunset at the sea?

Category: Sunsets