Sacramento Holiday Lights
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Merry Christmas!
I joined Grant and Donna from the Northern California Photography Group (NCPG) Meetup Group to shoot holiday lights around town. We first went to the neighborhood at 53rd & S Streets and were wowed by the display there. I’d not been to that neighborhood before, but it’s well worth the trip–all the neighbors there get into the spirit of the season. We also drove downtown along J Street and through the Fab Forties, but nothing grabbed our eye, so we didn’t take any pics of those areas.
Road Trip — Highway 89 South AZ and Kanab UT
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Happy Thanksgiving!!
Day 2 of the big storm that is hovering over the area. It looks sort of clear towards the south, so let’s head down Highway 89 into Arizona and try for a view of the north rim of the Grand Canyon today. As I drove across the Arizon strip, it was looking promising, but as I entered the Kaibab National Forest, the snow started coming down. It’s pretty, but it’s cold, thank goodness I’m actually dressed for snow–I knew I brought the snow boots along for a reason. At Jacobs Lake Inn, the half-way point to the North Rim, I decide going all the way to the Grand Canyon won’t be worth it since the visibility is next to nothing in this storm and the storm seems to be getting worse. Back to Kanab, Utah, where I check out the Levi Stewart Memorial in town. It tells about the pioneers and the founding of the town. The rain certainly makes all the red rock look redder, but it’s time to go inside now.
Casto Canyon Trailhead, Dixie National Forest Utah QTVR
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Road Trip — Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon National Park Utah
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This morning I woke up to a big storm that had come over the area. So I figured, lets head towards Bryce Canyon National Park and make it a mostly driving day. Along the way I drove through Red Canyon and since it wasn’t raining too hard, I hiked along the little trail there and got right up amongst the red “hoodoos”. Hoodoos are what they call the castle-like turrets that form in the soft sandstone by the rain and wind. I just love the red rock. The rain picked back up a little, so I continued on down the road. When I reached the turn off for Cedar Breaks National Monument, I contemplated going there, but changed my mind as the snow plows pulled in behind me on the road! Naaa, I think I’ll just continue on to Bryce Canyon National Park, it’s not as high in elevation as Cedar Breaks is. As I reach the turnoff for Bryce, the rain has turned to snow, but I head on in anyways. Pictures I’ve seen of Bryce show how pretty is can be with snowfall on the red rock. Now, that only works if you have some visibility! In the middle of a snow storm, with virtually no visibility, it’s not really that spectacular, it is very quiet though and the visitor center was nice, dry and warm. As I head back south, the weather starts clearing again, so when I reach Red Canyon, I decide to explore some dirt roads to see where they go. I followed on and it took me to the Casto Canyon Trailhead. With the sun setting, I decide to continue on the dirt road because it looks like it will connect back with the highway and is going in the direction I need to go. One lone house out there was light up nice and pretty for Christmas already. And there’s the highway and now it’s back to the warm motel room for the evening. The snow storm kicks back up, so it’s a long slow drive through the snow flurries, but I make it and safe and sound.
Zion National Park QTVR
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