I always see colorful leaves that have already changed after coming down from backpacking in the high country as soon as Labor Day. This always seems early but the scraggly small shrub like aspen always turn quickly. The larger healthier trees next to water hold on much longer into the autumn season. You’ll notice most Sierra in Autumn pics are mostly gold and orange. It’s tough to go out and find a good mixed color palette in the Eastern Sierra. Keep that in mind during your search for color up here.
First Light in the Canyon, Baja California, Mexico
I can’t remember the last time I heard some good news coming from Baja in the past year. It’s been a while since I’ve been down there because of all the media reports on the drup war, even David Muench told me to stay away from our border traffic areas and scenic parks. Of course I’m not one to stay away from something for too that I loved to photograph in the past. I finally gave in to my inner explorer and took a trip down to a very remote oasis deep in the Sonoran Desert of Baja. We passed through a couple of border towns in Mexico and the streets were full of people going about there business. I had a couple of guides that showed us around when we stopped at a super market to stalk up on food, water and spirits. I finished shopping quickly and went for a walk down to a taco stand with a friend from New Zealand. The walk was longer then I thought so I figured if anything bad is going to happen in Mexico now would of been a great time when I was seperated from the group and eco bus we were traveling on. Of course nothing happened and the only odd thing I saw was a hamburger truck passed by. Hmmm, in America or at least Los Angeles we have a lot of taco trucks it would be pretty ironic if they have hamburger trucks in Mexico? Hmmm.
At this moment I’m thinking this better not be the last time I’m seen. Easy to hide the feeling with a smile.
Here is a view of the basin below as we come down from the mountains.
Eventually we make it there and I get to explore this Sonoran Desert Oasis in the middle of nowhere.. .
After traveling so many miles via the eco friendly vegitable oil powered bus, walking across the San Diego / Mexican border crossing with only what you could carry on you in one backpacking trip and walking again from where the terrain became too difficult for the bus makes the beauty of desert something to cherish.
“I never saw a thing that the media used to keep me out of Mexico for over a year, Baja is different then mainland Mexico and TJ!”
Here is a little odd time lapse video I randomly put together to make my friends look like random free bird hippie types
I had never even thought of creating a time lapse video but I took my old 5D down into Mexico and it didn’t have the HD video on so I improvised.
I recently had the chance to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park this past June. Most of the park was covered in snow so I headed off the beaten path to the outskirts of the park hoping to find something a little less photographed. Here is a view from the top of a cinder cone of rolling painted hills, it was well worth the walk up to the top.
In the image above I was watching the shadow from the lip of the cone slowly move across the scene just before it revealed the trees completely. It wasn’t very slow since I remember having to react quickly while I was thinking why can’t the trees be exactly where I want them to be? The shutter fired away since some moments pass and the oppertunity is lost until a next attempt.
Who checks under the hood everytime before they get in there car? I don’t but I had a slow leak at the time so I was pretty surprised to find this basketball sized living rodent just sitting cozy and comfortably as it was in the beginning of the video. After 2 trekking poles and a ranger with 2 brooms sticks we got the marmot to run for the woods. Out of pure curiosity, I have always wondered what a marmot tastes like so lucky for him or her there wasn’t a roasting.
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