Windmills

Driving out of the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon just after midnight I came upon a strange and surreal sight...

Nine large windmills, each with three 147ft long blades. With the mounting the diameter comes to 350ft. That's 50ft longer than a football field! The tips of these blades can be cruising at 170mph!

Sunday at The Teva Mountain Games

The view that I was greeted with Sunday morning.


Entry #3 to the photography contest

Saturday at The Teva Mountain Games

Entry #2 to the photography competition


Image #8000: Slopestyle event


Camp Hale Saturday night

Friday at The Teva Mountain Games

Today was sunny and dry. I had mixed feelings about this. I enjoyed being dry and not having to awkwardly grope at my camera controls with numb hands. On the other hand mid-day sun (when most of these events happen) can be terrible lighting, uncomfortable to stand in for long periods of time and tends to cause an awful farmer's tan. Inclement weather at events like these can give opportunity for far more dramatic pictures due to dramatic lighting and dramatic expressions as athletes struggle to perform in cold, wet conditions.


Friday morning breakfast at Ford Park


Image #7000: Sarah Austin of Canada


Entry #1 to the photo contest

Image #6000

Image #6000: Showing off the back of Kimber's lovely wedding dress.

California State Parks Saved!

Several months ago I wrote a letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger telling him exactly what I thought of his proposal to close 48 state parks and 16 state beaches as part of his budget plan. I received a response, but it was a lame excuse email from an intern.

Today I received this email from the group whose website I used to send Schwarzenegger my two cents:

Hi Robert,

Thanks to your e-mails and generous contributions, today Gov. Schwarzenegger REMOVED the proposal to close 48 state parks and 16 state beaches from his budget plan.

I'm really relieved, and proud, that we were able to stop this plan -- together.

Once the governor proposed closing 48 state parks we jumped into action. Meeting with staff in the governor's office, working with the media, and working with all of you, we demonstrated strong opposition to the proposal to close the parks.

In one week, more than 31,000 of us e-mailed the governor and asked him to keep the parks open. The good news is that he heard us and for now the parks are safe, but this campaign has taught us that the parks need more protection. For years, funding for the parks has gone down.

While this is not the end of the fight -- we will now need to make sure we have a long term plan for protecting our parks -- it is a huge victory.

So pat yourself on the back and get ready for the next battle. We need to reverse the trend of park funding and ensure that we can protect our parks for future generations.

Thanks for all your hard work.

Sincerely,

Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
DanJ@environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org

It feels good to know that I spoke up on an issue I felt strongly about and contributed to a collective voice that was heard and answered.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Bath Time For Radley

Radley

Image #5000

Llama, llama, llama, llama, llama, LLAMA!!!

Henry Coe State Park

Typical courting scenario of most species:
male shows off mad skills, female not impressed


Dave shows off mad skills with a watermelon eating speed record
disclaimer: no females were harmed (or impressed) in the filming of this event


Rodrigo and Annie in the narrows


Dave, Lemar and California poppies


Annie A.

Sunset Over Anderson Reservoir

Beautiful sunset en route to trailhead = night hiking!

Indoor Skydiving

Emily decided that for her 30th birthday she wanted to try out indoor skydiving at iFly. Jessica and I decided to support and endorse her decision.





Jessica


me


Emily

Night Photography

Image #4000

On The Rocks

After a beautiful drive along Calaveras Road, from both the Milpitas and Sunol ends of the road, and watching a towtruck pull a backwards and vertical Mazda Miata up the embankment, my friend Steven and I found Sunol Regional Park. We hiked a mile through beautiful green wooded hills blooming with all kinds of wildflowers to Indian Joe Caves. The caves were nice and made for some good shade...but that's not why we came here. We were just two guys out to climb on the rocks...and talk about relationships with girls that are on the rocks (and/or nonexistent). The caves are formed by a jumble of large basalt boulders which make for some short but fun 10-40 foot top-rope climbs. The basalt here is of the fine-grained variety, which means smooth, which means something new for someone, such as myself, who is used to climbing on granite and recently sandstone!


Steven catching some rays.


Me getting a leg up.

Image #3000

Image #3000: Woodside High School senior fashion show.

St. George, UT

Hanging out in St. George.

...more pics

Southern Utah Slot Canyons

Taking the elevator down in Slideanide.


Losing my head in Arscenic.

Monument Valley

Sedona, AZ

Some of the sweetest mountain biking in one of the least camping friendly towns I have ever encountered.

The Grand Canyon

First light of the day on The Grand Canyon.
First sight in my life of The Grand Canyon.

Rock Band

I got a fever. And the only cure is more cowbell!
(l to r) Nick, Steven, Sam, myself and James

Image #2000

Image #2000: Sam cuts Andy's hair

My cousin Sam and his wife Emily drove out from Utah to visit for the week. Friday night we did a little impromptu photo shoot before Sam cut Andy's hair.

A Walk At The Baylands

I decided to take my camera and go for a walk at the baylands late this afternoon. As I was photographing this Great Egret, a couple and their teenage daughter strolled up next to me to take pictures and watch the egret preen itself in the light of the setting sun. The daughter had a Canon PowerShot S5 IS but the dad was curious with my setup and the big lens I was shooting with. So I handed him my camera and told him to check it out for himself. We chatted about cameras, I identified some birds for them and then I commented on the mom's Scorpions concert t-shirt. We then talked shop about concerts for the next twenty minutes or so. During my conversation with Johnny, Robyn and Stephanie the egret had finished preening, hopped in the water and was making its way towards us, fishing for minnows. I snapped this picture just as it was moving from sunlight to shadow.



Great Egret

Football And Grocery Shopping

In the morning I played in a full blown flag football game on Paly's field with refs, coaches, fans, mascots, cheerleaders and all. The ladies played a game before us and made a killing. The men took the field after, bursting through a large banner and then promptly lost. Pizza and burgers were had by all afterwards.

In the afternoon I went grocery shopping with a friend and convinced her (a grown woman) to push me (a grown man) in a small size shopping cart, through the parking lot of the Milk Pail Market as I waved to anyone and everyone in sight. A random adventure and cherished memory indeed!