Posted by Karen on 15-Oct-2009
(Click photo for all 49 photos)
It’s been raining heavily for the last few days and today was supposed to be rain-free and warm, so what better day to head out for a hike? As Candace and I headed up to South Yuba River State Park to hike the Independence Trail, we remarked that for a “nice sunny day” it sure was foggy and wet out there and sure enough it started raining before we even started out. We donned the ponchos and headed on down the trail. A previous time I hiked this easy trail after a rain, we spotted California Newts all over the place and it was really cool, so I suggested we take the east side of the trail this time also, to maybe see some. Candace was the one to spot the first one as it was scurrying trying to get out of sight. The rain let up, but the fog still clung to the mountain sides and the raindrops on the plants gave us plenty of photo opportunities. We stopped for a bit so Candace could practice making “fairy” water, where moving water looks are ethereal. I’d left my big camera in the SUV with the rain, so no fairy water pictures for me this trip. This is actually a very cool hike when the trail is wet, all the colors just seem to pop.
Distance: approx. 4.5 miles
Posted by Karen on 10-Oct-2009
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I joined the Northern California Photography Meetup Group (NCPG) for a day of driving around the Sierra Nevada Mountains to look for the autumn colors. In my carpool was Lori, Jackie and Michele and we had a blast! The caravan headed up Highway 50, over the Morman Emigrant Pass to Highway 88. A couple of breaks to enjoy the views and then we arrived in Hope Valley and caught up with the caravan. Lunch in Markleeville and then off to Monitor Pass, which usually has gorgeous quaking aspens. However, this year has been weird weather with early winter storms and such, so the colors were not all that fantastic in my opinion, but there was still some. Our final stop was alongside the Carson River and then back home.
Posted by Karen on 08-Sep-2009
(Click photo for all 34 photos)
Today was the Worldwide Moment which is “- a global simultaneous photo shoot for peace – when the Moment was September 9 at 9:09am in the +09GMT time zone. (09.09.09+09GMT@09:09)”. In Sacramento, our Worldwide Moment was at 5:09pm and I met some of the members of the Sacramento Digital Photography Meetup Group in Old Sacramento for us to take our photo and submit it to the website. We then all went to Fanny Ann’s Saloon to grab a bite and a cool drink. Fanny Ann’s is exactly the same dive it was 25 years ago when I used to sometimes go there to party, but it is definately a lot quieter on a Tuesday evening than on a weekend night.. LOL! Lori and I hung around for awhile taking sunset and twilight shots around the Tower Bridge and the Sacramento River.
Posted by Karen on 26-Jul-2009
(Click photo for all 63 photos)
I joined Tamara and the The Roseville-Rocklin Hikers Meetup Group for a hike to Pilot Creek Falls, also commonly known as University Falls. The falls are located in the area of Quintette, which is nothing more than an town sign on the main road, although I’m sure there are house back there somewhere. The trail down is mostly a fire road, running next to a water flume and is nicely shaded. Even though the trail is posted against vehicles, along the way I saw several cars and trucks crashed off the side and could only think, this is what happens when you try to 4WD beyond your abilities. The falls are three smooth rock dropoffs that allow you to slide down them and drop into a nice deep cool pool at the bottom. After a nice lunch at the falls, I headed back up slowly in the heat of the day; even with shade, 100?F is pretty warm hiking.
GPS Stats: • Odometer: 5.98 miles • Total Time: 4:58 • Moving Time: 2:00 • Moving Average: 3.0 mph • Overall Average: 1.2 mph
