Saturday Shot 13 JUNE 2009
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 11:58 am
Just got home from a day in the mountains with the family followed by a night at the dirt track, so I’m sliding this Saturday Shot in just under the wire. It’s another photo from our recent romp at Tallulah Gorge State Park.
I seem to really be into flowers lately, and I’m not entirely sure why. Flowers and clouds. This is a closeup of a couple honeysuckle flowers — not necessarily my favorite flower, but one that has a lot of great memories attached. I remember walking home from school in the first grade and passing a wall every day covered in honeysuckle vines. I also remember stopping every day to suck on a few of the flowers.
When there weren’t any bees around, of course.
Is it any wonder I was often in trouble for taking too long to get home from school?
Saturday Shot 06 JUNE 2009
by Lynn Daniels on Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Once again, I’m a day late for the Saturday Shot. I considered just not posting, but decided a day late is better than no shot at all. Don’t you agree?
On Memorial Day, we packed up the kids and rode up to Tallulah Falls Gorge in Northeast Georgia. At it’s deepest point, it’s over 900 feet deep, and is billed as the deepest canyon east of the Mississippi. We used to walk the trails quite frequently, but had been exploring other areas in recent years. On Memorial Day, though, we thought it’d be fun to head on back.
I only brought my little camera; next time, I think I’ll be bringing Fred & George (those are the names I gave to my dSLR bodies). But even with the little camera (dubbed Oliver), I got some wonderful shots.
The sign near the lookout I got this photo from reads:
This view is of L’eau d’Or (French for “water of gold”).
Top of Tempesta Falls, and Hawthorne Cascade and Pool. Hurricane Falls Bridge loop and Staircase begins here. There are 1099 stairs total.
Gorge depth 350 feet.
I did get the regular photos of this view from the lookout, but decided I wanted something different. When I saw these flowers, I thought they might look good in the foreground. I like the way it turned out. What do you think?
Saturday Shot 30 MAY 2009
by Lynn Daniels on Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Welcome to the Saturday Shot on Sunday!
I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted — with the advent of Twitter and Facebook, I’m actually finding myself posting to the blog less. I also find myself visiting fewer blogs. I suppose everything goes in waves, and these things will be no different, right? Anyhoo, let’s get to the business at hand.
This is another photo from last year’s vacation at Yellowstone National Park. Here’s the story behind it:
It had only been three months since our accident; we’d only had Stella two months. Of course, Murphy’s Law dictates that if something was going to go wrong with the truck, it would happen while on vacation, right? Right. In accordance with the law, that’s exactly what happened. While driving through the park during a big ol’ thunderstorm, the check engine light began to glow.
The next morning, we made a few phone calls from our cabin and found a Ford dealership in Cody, Wyoming. We could have taken our normal route to Cody, which would have been back over the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, and that would have been just fine because that’s a beautiful drive. It was also a drive we’ve seen a number of times before. Every time we come into Cooke City (our normal vacation home base) we come via the Chief Joseph. Whenever we leave Cooke City and head toward home, we do that via the Chief Joseph. So on this day, we decided upon an alternate route: The East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
Yes, it was a longer route, but we really didn’t care. We were on vacation, after all. Plus, that was the only entrance we’d never used. Which meant we had yet to explore that area of the park.
Along the way, we passed Sylvan Lake. There was still a tremendous amount of snow surrounding the lake, and look! It’s still partially frozen! Absolutely photo-worthy. The East Entrance of the park did not disappoint. I was, however, disappointed that we didn’t make it back over that way again for more photos. Hopefully, next time.
As promised, here’s your bonus shot — another photo of Sylvan Lake, from a different angle and converted to black & white:
We won’t be able to return to Parkadise this year, so all I’ll have to sustain me are my photographs and memories. Fingers crossed we’ll see another trip out west in the future.
In case you’re wondering — the problem with Stella was some sort of blockage, the details of which I don’t remember. While serious, it wasn’t serious enough for us to have to spend money and fix it right then. We brought the truck home and into our local dealership, where it was fixed under our service contract and cost us nothing.
Saturday Shot 09 MAY 2009
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 8:58 am
I can’t resist. Today’s Saturday Shot is another from the Georgia Aquarium. I gotta admit, I was pretty fascinated by the alligators. Took lots of pictures of them.
It could be because this guy in particular stayed so near the plexi. He didn’t move much, yet I still enjoyed shooting him. I took full body shots. Photos like this one of his eye. Pictures of his feet. The whole time, he kinda looked like he wasn’t really enjoying it. That one eye looking at me seemed to say You are SO lucky we’re separated by this plexiglass; if it wasn’t here I would TOTALLY eat your ass.
Seriously. Look at that eye! Can’t you see it?
Saturday Shot 02 MAY 2009
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 5:47 pm
It’s Yellowstone Country again! I know a lot of people are tired of seeing cold and snow, but here in my world today it’s rainy and dreary, and I wanted some pretty in my life. I think this shot is pretty.
I got this photo our first day out after arriving in Cooke City, Montana. We took a drive partway up the Beartooth Scenic Highway (US 212) and stopped near a huge snow field so the kids could get out and play. I must have taken a couple hundred pictures of my kids in the snow, trudging through drifts and sometimes falling thigh-deep in the white stuff. It was a lot of fun.
I saw this scene across the street, so I waited until there were no cars, and raced to the other side the shot shot shot. I got as close to the water as I dared — I had visions of the snow giving way beneath me and plunging me into this creek that I knew absolutely had to be icy cold. Because of that, I didn’t stay long, but it looks like I didn’t have to. Look at the picture I got!
Saturday Shot 25 APR 2009
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 4:54 pm
I finally got the photos from our trip to the aquarium downloaded, though I still have yet to go through them. All 548 of them. Getting this done is probably going to take some time.
This photo, however, immediately caught my eye. Could be because of the deep blue field the jellyfish is against. Could be the hint of movement detected in the jellyfish. It could also be because this was the first photo my cursor landed on.
As I get photos processed, I’ll be adding them to my Flickr photostream. I may also add them to the albums here on my website; I haven’t decided yet.
Now, I must go and prepare for tonight’s dirt track races. Have a wonderful weekend!
Loud & Exhilarating. And Loud. Did I Mention Loud?
by Lynn Daniels on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 10:49 pm
I meant to post this before today, but I only just started getting the photos processed. Who knew picking my mother up from the airport (and the prior prep) would consume so much of my time?
Yes, my mother’s in town, visiting for a month. I’m exhausted already, but I wanted to be sure to get this posted.
This past Saturday, I got my First Time. We went to qualifying at the 2009 NHRA Southern Nationals at the Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA. I’d been to a couple “test & tunes” and lower-level drag races, but I’d never been to NHRA-sanctioned races before. Talk about an experience! (All photos in this post are clickable — see them all and more in my Flickr photostream)
First of all, it was loud. Very, very loud. And very crowded. It was kind of funny — the first Top Fuel dragster raced down the track, and it was loud. The next race was two Top Fuel dragsters. Talk about a shock to my system! Not only was it much louder (twice as loud, to be precise *snicker*), but — and I don’t know how to say this without sounding a bit pornographic — my entire body was vibrating long after the race ended.
The funny cars were no slouches in the volume department, either. They were equally fun to watch, and seeing their crews lift the entire body after the burnout and prior to the race cracked me up every time.
The crowd really was enthusiastic, often jumping to their feet for the Top Fuel races. Unfortunately, that meant I couldn’t see the end of the race; half the time I couldn’t tell who won. Thank goodness for the giant screen toward the end of the track. When I couldn’t see the actual race, I’d watch the finish on the screen. Not that it mattered. Most of the names were foreign to me, so the winners made no difference. Still, I got to see the starts, and that was good enough.
It was fun seeing the races in person, hearing names over the loudspeakers I’d heard on television so many times (just a couple of ‘em; it was still exciting). Partway through the day, we left the stands and wandered the pits for a while. We saw some of the cars up close and watched teams make adjustments to their cars. We were right there when Tony Pedregon’s team fired up his funny car. I managed to get a single shot before being chased away by the toxic fumes.
Of course, while we wandered the pits, there was more to see than just the racing teams…
Sitting in the stands, and we were really stuffed in there, it was easy to tell who many of the folks were there to see: the Force Team. Huge cheers went up when John Force and Ashley Force Hood raced, and there seemed to be a mass food/bathroom break afterward.
Overall, a good time and lots of fun. And a long day. Since it wasn’t too hot, it never really got too miserable. Next time, though, I bring my dSLR. The point-n-shoot camera was fine for the first time, but I want better shots. 
Saturday Shot 18 APR 2009
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 9:16 am
I figured I’d try to slide my Saturday Shot in before we left for the races today.
This week’s photo comes from last year’s Yellowstone trip. One thing that strikes me every time we visit is the large number of “tree skeletons” — those little bits of trees remaining after the forest fire — throughout the park. They still stand tall and proud, but without any of the greenery one is accustomed to seeing adorning them. Don’t they look like skeletons? They’re very light in color and very naked — skeleton-ish.
They’re always somewhat creepy to see, especially considering how they got there in the first place. When you look at these acres of dead trees, you can almost see the fury of the fires that consumed that life. Almost hear the crackling flames and smell the burning wood. I think this photo is made a little more foreboding by that storm brewing overhead. The only thing that would have made this photo even more eerie ( <– that word looked so wrong, I had to look it up in the dictionary!) is a bright bolt of lighting slashed across the landscape.
Lost ‘Em…Just in Time
by Lynn Daniels on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I’m a little late in posting this, but I did get the pictures on time. What am I talking about? Why, The Great Front Yard Project, of course!
If you’re playing the comparison game, here are links to previous posts: March • February • January • December • November
As I said, I went out and took these pictures on April 5th. To my disappointment (ahem!), no stripper poles appeared. Instead, leaves disappeared. Yes, you read that right, the leaves finally gave up the ghost and dropped from the trees! Can you believe it?
*click photo for larger version*
We’ll start with Huey. It’s not surprising he has no dead leaves clinging; he hasn’t had any for a few months. He did yield a surprise this month:
*Click photo for larger version*
You see that? He’s starting to leaf out up top! Of course, it is spring, so that can’t entirely be surprising. And yet…it is. I don’t know why.
*Click photo for larger version*
Here we have Dewey and Louie. That Dewey’s wearing no dead leaves is also no surprise. But take a look at Louie back there! He may be a little hard to see, being his branches are totally void of dead leaves! Can you believe that? Nary a dead leaf to be seen! I didn’t think it would ever happen, but there you have it. It happened not long after the snowstorm, and it happened quickly. I walked out of the house one day and there stood Naked Louie. Sadly, minus a stripper pole.
*Click photo for larger version*
Finally, here we have Cousin Frank. I just named him that, and if he previously had a name, then I’ve just renamed him. So there.
Anyway, here’s Cousin Frank. If he was the only tree you saw in my yard, you’d know for sure spring is here. Look at all those bright green leaves! And it doesn’t hurt that he’s got a backdrop of those pretty (yet extremely invasive and hurtful toward trees) purple flowering vines. Doesn’t he just scream spring?
So there you have it. It took until April for the leaves to leave (**snork**). I wonder how long it’ll be before all the trees are fully leafed. Guess I’ll keep taking pictures.
A Car in the Backyard
by Lynn Daniels on Monday, April 13, 2009 at 11:21 pm
(**Click any of the photos in this post to view a larger version**)
That’s what I said to my kids early Saturday evening: “You might want to come down here. There’s a car in the backyard.” This was just moments after I’d heard a strange, loud thunk. At first I’d assumed the noise came from a dump truck hitting a large bump on the road. After I heard the thunk, I glanced out the back window and saw traffic backed up on the road behind my house.
I should point out my property backs up to a pretty busy local road. My house is a ways off the road, but my property isn’t. And this just happens to be a time of the year I can actually see the road. The time before the trees completely leaf out and obscure the view.
Anyway, I saw that traffic was backed up. So I went into my backyard — the fenced-in portion where the dogs hang out. I got about halfway back and saw a yellow car against a tree at the back of the property.
Taken after the police arrived and before traffic was completely cleared from the road.
I yelled upstairs to my children, grabbed my little camera, and headed out the back door. This time, I headed for the portion of my property beyond the back fence — close enough to see, far away enough to stay out of the way. My first thought when I got back there: Nice car. At that point, I had no idea of the damage; the portion I could see appeared relatively unscathed aside from the fact it had come off the road and down an embankment.
The driver of the car talking to a firefighter.
Then I noticed the man I surmised was the car’s driver. He was kind of wandering, almost zombie-like. Clearly dazed. He’d go sit on the gas thingie (yes, I know there’s a technical term, I just can’t come up with it right now), then he’d get up and wander around, then he’d go over to the car and walk around it as though he couldn’t believe what had happened (I can’t blame him there), then he’d open the door and rummage around inside, then he’d return to the gas thingie and start all over again.
Again, I made sure to stay back out of the way. I was being a good example for my kids. I’m not going closer, you better not get closer either!
Police and fire personnel standing next to the motorcycle.
Morbid curiosity had me in its clutches. Can you blame me? Part of this ended up right on the edge of my property, just a few feet from a portion of LittleDude’s go-kart track. But still, I didn’t want to interfere, so I didn’t ask for details. I just stood there quietly and tried to eavesdrop. That’s when I heard a police officer call for an ambulance. “Car vs. motorcycle,” he said.
Motorcycle?
I hadn’t seen beyond the yellow car in my yard yet. But sure enough, I looked up at the road and saw a motorcycle down on the road. There was already another ambulance up near the motorcycle. An ambulance, a fire engine, and a handful of police cars.
At one point, I did manage to call out to the driver of the car and ask if he was okay. “I think I sprained my ankle,” he replied, still doing his dazed circle from the gas thingie to his car.
A wrecker hooks up and drags the classic car back up the embankment to the roadway before loading it up on the flatbed truck.
Not long after that, he was taken away by ambulance. Most of the other curious onlookers had already left at this point, but I was still curious. I wanted to see what the police did to investigate the accident. It was different, watching from the outside and not as a dazed victim. I watched them spray paint the leaves in my yard to mark the positioning of the car. One officer measured the distance from what I assumed was the point of impact down to where the car landed. Another photographed the scene. I saw them wander a bit up on the roadway, but being below the level of the road, I couldn’t really tell what they were doing. I inched closer, but since the car was still there, I didn’t want to get too close. I was trying to respect law enforcement doing their jobs.
Besides, somebody working the accident scene had already noticed me. I’m not sure which agency he was with, but I saw him glancing over at me a few times then saying something to the emergency personnel he was confabbing with. I was dying to fetch my dSLR from the house and grab some shots with that, but since I’d already been seen, I was afraid to. I’ve heard on more than one occasion of law enforcement stopping photographers, and I knew that 40D was much more conspicuous than my little point-n-shoot, so I stuck with the little sucker.
The car's back up on the roadway, and the damage looked more extensive than I'd initially thought.
Eventually the wrecker showed up, hooked up to the car, and dragged it back up the embankment, deepening the ruts the car had made on its way down. And once the car was away from my yard, I was less afraid of getting in the way. I moved closer and to higher ground so I could get a better view of what was going on. Debris was scattered across the road, each little piece noted with a circle of bright orange spray paint around it. I couldn’t really tell what most of the debris was, although I did note there was a work boot up there. That sight made me a little sick to my stomach. Had it come from the foot of the motorcycle rider?
A better view of the damage, although the camera's focus was a little off.
Daylight was quickly fading, we’d been out there a couple hours. There was a still a lot of discussion among the police officers, though I couldn’t really make out what was being said. Eventually, the car and the motorcycle were loaded up on the flatbed, and the wrecker driver cleaned up the road. Some debris he picked up and dropped into a 5-gallon bucket he took with him, others he just swept off the road. When the wrecker left, the fire truck moved in. Firefighters pulled the hose off the truck and sprayed down the roadway. Somebody said something about a fuel leak, so I couldn’t help but be grateful they were cleaning it up. Not long after that, the firetrucks left. Then the police left. Then for the first time in over two hours, regular traffic traveled the road again.
The markings left behind by accident investigation. They even marked the path of the car's tires.
I came back inside the house, fixed a quick dinner for my kids, then got on the computer. There’s a scanner website where I can listen to my county’s police and fire radio traffic, so I pulled that up, went to the archives, and listened to the chatter during the accident investigation. I hoped to figure out what happened from what I heard.
That didn’t quite work out. The only new thing I learned was that Life Flight had initially been called, but was later canceled. I tried not to read too much into that; the accident scene is only 1/2 mile from the nearest hospital.
Today I learned the man on the motorcycle was killed, pronounced dead at the hospital. Our little weekly newspaper’s website reported that both that motorcycle and the car were going the same direction. Odd, since there’s only one lane of travel. The article also mentions the accident is still under investigation, so I’m guessing I’ll probably never know how it happened.
The only thing I know for sure is lives were turned upside down that day. And I’m a little disturbed by how morbidly curious I was.
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